Southern Maryland National Heritage Area outlines funding, management plan and community priorities

Lucille Walker, executive director of the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, briefed the St. Mary's County Historic Preservation Commission on the program's work, funding structure and next steps after its 2022 congressional designation and May 2023 launch.

"We were actually the fastest heritage area that's ever been designated. We got it done in 2 years," Walker said, describing the area that covers Calvert, Charles, St. Mary's and southern Prince George's counties and citing the region's historical claims, from early religious freedom measures to UNESCO and National Marine Sanctuary designations at Mallows Bay.

Walker said the heritage area is distinct from a national park: it is funded through the National Park Service and a state heritage program but does not principally own land. She stressed the program's emphasis on heritage tourism and community-led interpretation, saying heritage is "food, ... folk ways, culture, art, song, dance, theater, landscapes, buildings, boats, barns, festivals, waterways, innovations, technologies, and so much more." She described projects already under way, including the film Grandma's Hands (a Maryland Public Television half-hour aired near Thanksgiving and a full-length version scheduled…