Drafter
Clerk 07/07/2009
Title
A MOTION supporting the proposal to designate Washington state's coastline and Puget Sound a Maritime National Heritage Area.
Body
WHEREAS, Washington state has a rich and varied maritime heritage, as described in the following excerpt from materials prepared by the Washington state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation: "There are stories here. Canoe cultures. The age of European exploration. Gray, Thompson, the Pacific Fur Company, Hudson's Bay Company. Trade with Asia, shipped east on James J. Hill's railroad. Oyster boats, fishing fleets, the mosquito fleet. Whaling ships from Grays Harbor to Westport. Canneries up and down the coasts. Steamers to the Klondike. Freighters, tankers, container ships. Bremerton, Everett and Bangor. Lighthouses and shipwrecks. Dozens of tribal groups and affiliations. The Alaska fleet, sheltered and repaired in protected Puget Sound waters. Salmon and more salmon, caught and dried and canned. Then, fewer and fewer salmon, stewarded and defended and celebrated. And always fishing, shipping, trading, and lives shaped by water. Washington's Pacific and inland coast is a place where maritime dramas large and small helped to shape a nation," and
WHEREAS, the National Heritage Area designation has been created by Congress to recognize nationally-important natural, cultural, historic, and recreational resources, and the designation of an area as a National Heritage Area requires an act of Congress, and
WHEREAS, there were forty-nine National Heritage Areas across the United States as of May 2009, but none on the west coast, and
WHEREAS, the possible benefits of designation as a National Heritage Area include the following, as described by the Washington state Department of Archaeology And Historic Preservation: "Designation as a National Heritage Area can raise awareness of the quality and importance of local history, helping communities preserve their historic r...

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