S-2801-119
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held.
Sponsored by Margaret Hassan (D-NH)
What it does
This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study assessing whether Canterbury Shaker Village in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, is suitable and feasible for designation as a National Heritage Area. The study would be conducted in consultation with state and local historic preservation officers, historical societies, tourism offices, and other relevant organizations. The bill does not designate the area — it only authorizes the study.
Who benefits
Canterbury Shaker Village, Inc., the nonprofit museum that owns and operates the site, would gain federal attention and potential future designation. Local and regional tourism businesses in Merrimack County and surrounding New Hampshire communities could benefit from increased visibility. Historians, educators, and researchers focused on Shaker history, American religious history, and 19th-century utopian movements would benefit from elevated federal recognition. New Hampshire state and local governments could benefit from potential future federal heritage area funding and programming. Preservation advocates broadly would benefit from the precedent of federal study of a privately held historic site.
Who is hurt
Taxpayers would bear the modest cost of conducting the study, though no specific appropriation is made in the bill. Other National Heritage Area study candidates competing for Interior Department staff time and resources could face delays. Landowners within or adjacent to the study area boundary may have concerns about potential future land-use implications if a heritage area designation eventually follows, though the bill itself imposes no restrictions.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that Canterbury Shaker Village is a National Historic Landmark of demonstrable national significance — the last surviving Shaker community to deliberately preserve its entire legacy intact — and that a formal federal study is a prudent, low-cost step before any designation decision is made. They contend the site's 700 acres, 25 historic buildings, and extensive archaeological resources represent an irreplaceable record of American religious, social, and design history that merits the same federal recognition afforded to comparable heritage areas across the country.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the National Heritage Area program already encompasses over 60 designated areas, and that authorizing additional studies without a clear funding framework or prioritization criteria risks expanding a program that the Government Accountability Office has previously found lacks consistent performance metrics and accountability standards. They contend that Canterbury Shaker Village, as a well-funded private nonprofit with existing National Historic Landmark status, does not require federal study resources that could be directed toward less-documented or more at-risk cultural landscapes.