ESTABLISH A NATIONAL PARK THAT POSITIONS THE REGION AS A NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL, HISTORICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER.

Challenge: A National Park designation could position this region as a nationally significant cultural, historical, and environmental center.  A future Hudson River Valley Park could be modeled after the Mississippi National River & Heritage Area, the Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center, or Presidio Park in San Francisco. As part of the study, the perimeters of the designated area would be more specifically defined

Establish a National Park that showcases the Valley’s cultural, historic and environmental assets

• Advocate for resources for a National Park Service study regarding the protection, preservation, and enhancement of the significant values of the Hudson River Valley in the area from Westchester and Rockland Counties to Albany and Rensselaer Counties.

• Initiate an in-depth, detailed inventory of the cultural, environmental and educational assets of the region.  This inventory will identify the capital needs of existing organizations.  It will be an important tool to communicate our needs to elected officials.

• Forecast a sense of personal and community stewardship of the Hudson River Valley.  Advance and promote the idea that Everyone is a Steward; Everyone has a Voice.

• Convene scholars, cultural and environmental leaders on this topic frequently through professional and educational conferences and focused community meetings.  Enlist these leaders as “Hudson Ambassadors.”

• Advocate for green jobs in all Hudson River Valley industries and regions.

• Integrate learning about the River and surrounding lands, the watershed and run-off areas into the K-18 curriculum and lifelong learning.  Encourage educational, environmental and cultural institutions to have a deeper commitment to this work.  We propose using the “No Child Without Wet Feet” approach.

• Make certain that many voices reflect the Hudson River Valley’s sense of place.  Anecdotal comments collected in the summer 2009 survey of Hudson Valley cultural institutions holding collections of recorded oral histories, turned up the statement that regional “voices” should be recorded, preserved and made known.  We recommend being far more public about this work, and deliberately involving those most directly engaged in this concept of sense of place: contemporary artists and writers, workers in environmental studies, naturalists, waterways and river commerce, agriculture/farming art, architecture and restoration crafts, archaeologies who have excavated in the Valley, commuters and community activists.  We encourage more public dialogue between the elders who were stewards of the land and those who are responsible the day-to-day management of watershed-related resources.

• Advance this work through conferences and symposia at cultural, environmental and educational institutions. Take advantage of the many libraries in the region that reach diverse audiences and the libraries involved in oral history projects.

• Encourage regional field trips for the general public related for the study of the environment.  Local cultural and educational institutions should develop “tool kits” with key information to build greater in-depth public knowledge about our region.  These institutions can help compile oral histories about the area to get more people involved in this dialogue.