Sponsors (2)
The bill establishes a new National Heritage Area that brings federal support, coordinated conservation, and local leadership to boost cultural preservation and tourism, but that support is time-limited and the designation brings planning burdens and potential tourism-related infrastructure and community impacts.
Local nonprofits and communities in Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming Counties can access up to 15 years of federal technical and financial assistance to support cultural, historic, and economic development projects tied to the new National Heritage Area, enabling project implementation and local economic/tourism growth.
Residents and visitors in the four-county region gain coordinated heritage conservation, promotion, and tourism planning through a designated National Heritage Area and a local management entity, improving preservation, recreation opportunities, and regional visibility.
A named local coordinating nonprofit is given formal leadership and a 3-year management-plan timeline, which can accelerate project planning and eligibility for federal support and help attract private funding, partnerships, and volunteers.
Nonprofits, local governments, and communities face the risk that federal assistance ends after 15 years, potentially leaving projects without ongoing federal funding or requiring new Congressional authorization to continue support.
Residents and local governments may incur higher infrastructure costs, congestion, and alterations to community character from increased tourism and visitor traffic tied to the designation if growth is not carefully managed.
The 3-year requirement to produce an approved management plan places planning and administrative burdens on the local nonprofit coordinating entity and creates a risk of delays in accessing federal resources if the plan is late.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area, names a local coordinating entity, requires a management plan within 3 years, and limits federal assistance to 15 years.
Designates the Endless Mountains region of northeastern Pennsylvania as a National Heritage Area and names Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc. as the local coordinating entity. The Secretary of the Interior will set the heritage area boundaries based on a feasibility study, the local entity must submit a management plan within three years, and federal assistance authority for the area ends 15 years after enactment.
Official title: To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage Area System the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Dan Meuser · Last progress March 26, 2026