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Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area
A natural jewel just minutes from downtown Atlanta
When the 40,000-acre Arabia Mountain was designated as a national heritage area in October 2006, it became the State’s second national heritage area (of 37 heritage areas in the U.S.). According to the National Park Service, a national heritage area is, “a place designated by the United States Congress where natural, cultural, historic and recreational resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally-distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. These areas tell nationally important stories about our nation and are representative of the national experience through both the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved within in them.”
Different from a national park, properties in a heritage area are neither managed nor owned by the National Park Service. Instead, stakeholders determine the appropriate conservation and interpretation of the landscape and its heritage during the completion of a management plan.
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The Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area management plan combines an innovative plan with an effective community-minded visioning process. Through the planning effort, initiated by the non-profit, Arabia Alliance, the planning studio at Ecos completed an environmental analysis and extensive stakeholder outreach process—establishing goals, guidelines, strategies, and a concept plan for the national heritage area. The overarching vision of the management plan is to protect, connect and educate through cultural preservation, natural conservation, interpretation and education, recreation and economic development.
The process included establishing a diversified stakeholder steering
committee, who collaborated to advance the vision, and an extensive outreach
which incorporated community meetings and an interactive internet site
for data distribution and feedback. The plan represents a comprehensive
strategy for the future management of the heritage area’s diverse
historic, natural, and cultural resources. |
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Ecos led the nine-month planning process, which included sub-consultants
from Boston-based, Icon Architecture, Inc., and Atlanta firms, Planners for Environmental Quality and The Media Kitchen. The plan’s editors were Frank Relations and Mr. Kelly Jordan. The management plan received two Georgia chapter awards in 2005 from the American Planning Association and the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The management plan represents a vision and a strategy that will protect the Heritage Area’s assets, link key sites, foster educational opportunities and communicate the region’s layered and diverse heritage. Importantly, a number of the two dozen stakeholders and partners have already embraced the plan and are seeking implementation. For more information about the Arabia Mountain national heritage area and the management plan, please visit www.arabiaalliance.org.
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