Momentum is building for Blackstone national park

A national park in sections of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor would be a great benefit in preserving and promoting the historic valley, say supporters. It would elevate areas in the valley to a status enjoyed by such places as Yellowstone National Park. But the creation of the park is up to Congress, and despite recent positive testimony before a Senate subcommittee, the fate of potentially millions of dollars for the valley lies in the hands of politicians.
Since 1965, the nation’s smallest state has had the country’s smallest national park, the 4.5-acre Roger Williams National Memorial on North Main Street, in Providence. Officials from all levels of government are hopeful that will change sometime soon, but there are no guarantees.
“Nothing is easy in this Congress. … This isn’t a slam dunk,” said Chip Unruh, spokesman for Sen. Jack Reed. “That [March 7] hearing helped generate momentum, but … no major national park legislation has passed this Congress. So this will be a very heavy lift,” he said following the Senate hearing by a subcommittee of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Still, supporters are hopeful this is the year Congress will give its support.
“In its heyday this was the center of the United States, it was the center of commerce because of the industriousness and the innovation that took place here,” said Blackstone Valley Tourism Council President Robert Billington. “The heritage corridor has worked on this for 25 years and we’ve worked on it for 27 years. This would be the crowning jewel of our efforts.”
There are no specific estimates on the revenue expected to be generated by the proposed park, but according to a recent National Park Service study, the Roger Williams National Memorial brought in $3.33 million in revenue to the state in 2010. It was responsible for 51,559 visitors and supported 53 jobs. Heritage-corridor officials expect the new park would generate at least the same revenue. “We spoke to the people that put that report together,” said Jan Reitsma, superintendent of the corridor. “It doesn’t focus on national-heritage areas but the same rationale applies to us with a multiplier affect from the programs that we have and the visitors we attract.”
Recognition of portions of the valley as a national park would amount to a federal seal of cultural and historical significance, Billington said. That amounts to positive advertising. He could not estimate the anticipated revenue but agreed it could be extrapolated from the Providence park.
For Don Martin, owner of Blackstone Valley Outfitters in Lincoln, the difference will be tangible. “We supply kayaks, fishing gear, bike rentals, backpacking, hiking and trail running,” he said. “Being [near] a national park will improve business. Usually our business is weather dependent; snowshoeing and ice fishing in the winter and hiking, cycling and kayaking in the summer.
“A national park would mean a lot to us,” he continued. “It would bring more revenue, more people and promote the valley.”
The entire corridor will not be designated as a national park as the valley consists of 24 cities and towns across two states. “A park would be established inside the corridor and consist of a few special historic districts that were found to be of particular national significance,” Reitsma said. Those locations include the historic districts of Slater Mill in Pawtucket, the villages of Slatersville and Ashton in Rhode Island, the entire Blackstone River and its tributaries, the Blackstone Canal and the Massachusetts villages of Whitinsville and Hopedale.
‘The environment around those places is going to change in a very positive way,” Billington said.
According to Reitsma, the establishment of a national park would guarantee a permanent presence of the National Park Service in the corridor. “That’s the biggest benefit because it means there’s an ongoing commitment to protect those resources and to do more programming. On the one hand we can manage the park as a park, but on the other help the success of the larger corridor.”
The corridor was created by Congress in 1986 to help restore, protect and preserve the cultural, historical and natural resources of the area, which is considered to be the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. Its status had been reauthorized by Congress since then but Billington and others recognized the region needed permanent protection.
Because of their efforts, Congress directed the National Park Service to conduct a study of the corridor in 2005, to determine which areas within its boundaries were nationally significant and whether they were suitable to become part of the park system. The study concluded a new park should be created and over time would include expenditures of $6.1 million for construction and rehabilitation of facilities, research, planning, and development of exhibits. When fully established, the park would have an estimated $3.5 million annual operating cost. •

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