Maritime Washington National Heritage Act would create a Heritage Area of the entire coastline of Washington State. The unelected National Park Service and an unelected quasi-governmental Private Trust Organization would be in charge of administering and distributing tax-payer and private monies in the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights is fighting this Heritage Area. Individual Property Owners expect the right to self-determination through elected and accountable representatives. National Heritage Areas are mapped regions which include thousands of private properties within the borders of a Heritage Area. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/petition-to-deny-maritime-washington-national-heritage-area.html Many of the counties of Washington State are already suffering at the hands of governmental regulation. Many, especially on the Washington Peninsula are extremely cash strapped due to Federal Land Ownership and loss of income from banned, burdened, and curtailed industries. In these cases, the management of additional land by the National Park Service will entangle the counties in additional lost revenues and associated cuts and for schools, and municipal services. This kind of planning results in social injustice for rural citizens already paying the price economically for federal decision making. These once proud and industrious citizens are now reduced to watching the former source of their livelihood go up in smoke resultant of forest fires due to the heavily mismanaged park in their midst. Access and uses are severely limited in many areas of the Olympic National Forest which has meanwhile been designated as a World Heritage Site which encumbers the area further by requiring it to meet the standards of United Nations favor in promoting parks on it's worldwide list of Areas. This does not foster, but limits the potential pool of visitors to the area. The World Heritage Site status promotes buffer zones around these parks, and would most likely result in the entire Olympic Peninsula falling under the control of the National Park Service; the National Park plus buffer zones plus the Maritime Heritage Area would result in little if any private property remaining unencumbered by the National Park Service and the federal government. It is difficult to imagine how this scenario would result in enhancing tourism or local economic growth, considering the restrictive management in evidence today. Similar impact to private property could be expected throughout the Straight of Juan DeFuca counties. The remaining counties mapped into this Heritage Area can expect an additional layer of regulation and bureaucracy in addition to the many levels of county, city, state, and federal regulations and policies, plans, and projects that are interfering with economies and harming agricultural lands and industry. The Maritime Washington National Heritage Area purports to enhance economies via tourism dollars, yet if this were the case, the communities effected by the management of National Parks would be swimming in dollars and have no need of further enhancements via the National Park Service laying claim to additional management of private properties and businesses within the mapped area of the Maritime Washington Heritage Area. While the tourism industry is to some extent profitable to property owners and counties, it is not and should never be intended to be a main industry capable of sustaining the tax base and economic needs of the thousands of citizens in these Washington Counties. As is the case in considering the designation of National Heritage Areas in the State of Washington there remain concerns about the possible direct or indirect effects of such designations on local communities and private property, including regulatory or bureaucratic interference with private properties. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/petition-to-deny-maritime-washington-national-heritage-area.html You can help by signing the petition to deny the designation of the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. You can add your voice and opinion through this petition and you can share this petition with friends and family. Together we can stop the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area!
August 9, 2015