The purpose of the heritage partnership program funding is to engage national heritage arearecipients, partners, communities, and or visitors in shared environmental stewardship

Award Overview

The National Park Service (NPS) awarded Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, Inc. a $1.0M Cooperative Agreement under the Heritage Partnership Program (CFDA 15.939) effective August 14, 2025, through June 30, 2026. This award supports the organization's mission to advance environmental stewardship and preserve the cultural, historical, and natural resources of a 29-municipality region spanning Litchfield County, Connecticut and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Products and Services

The funded activities encompass heritage preservation, conservation, education, and outdoor recreation initiatives designed to strengthen regional identity and increase public awareness of local history. Key deliverables include heritage tourism development, interpretation and educational programming, historic preservation initiatives, youth engagement in landscape stewardship activities, public art programming, and interpretive signage development. The organization utilizes award funds to provide sub-grants to regional partners, support administrative operations, and develop collaborative community engagement programs that enhance understanding of the Upper Housatonic Valley watershed's unique heritage resources. These activities benefit the general public, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private entities within the designated National Heritage Area.

This is done bypromoting greater public and private participation in preservation, conservation, education, and outdoorrecreation programs and activities, and building resource stewardship ethics in its participants. The upper housatonic national heritage area, INC. Develops projects that assist in the promotion, facilitation, and improvement of peoples understanding of the important natural, cultural and recreational resources of the berkshires in western massachusetts, through preservation resource initiatives engaging the public and providing financial support to the region and staff, bolstering the local economy. The heritage area strengthens the regions identity, increases public awareness of local history and the need for preservation, and encourages research on local history and its incorporation into the educational curriculum. Its programs enhance the quality of community character, while controlling undesirable growth and improving the local economy. Beneficiaries include general public, states and or their political subdivisions, non-profits, private entities, the heritage area management coordinating entity.