By Barry Eberling | DAILY REPUBLIC | January 21, 2009
A boat moves through the Suisun Marsh earlier last year. Photo by Chris Jordan
FAIRFIELD - Three words could help boost the profile of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and such towns as Rio Vista: 'National Heritage Area.'
No longer would the region merely be the Delta, a place that remains unknown to many Californians. Supporters say a national designation would give the Delta the type of cachet and image that attracts both attention and tourists.
Linda Fiack, executive director of the Delta Protection Commission, compared the possible designation to a scenic highway sign.
'It's part of marketing the Delta,' she said.
The commission today will consider seeking a consultant to help with a National Heritage Area feasibility study. The commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at the San Joaquin County WorkNet Building, 56 South Lincoln St. in Stockton.
Congress bestows National Heritage Area status. The nation has 37 designated areas such as the Silos and Smokestacks area in Iowa that highlights that region's agricultural heritage.
'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 them,' according to the National Park Service.
National Heritage Areas can receive financial assistance and advice from the National Park Service, as well as use the National Park Service arrowhead logo in marketing efforts.
A Delta National Heritage Area could start at Sacramento and extend south along the Sacramento River, including such cities as Rio Vista, Isleton, Clarksburg, Walnut Grove and Courtland.
A National Heritage Area could possibly extend all the way to the Carquinez Strait in San Pablo Bay, west of Benicia. The Carquinez Strait Preservation Trust has broached this idea with Fiack.
The federal government doesn't impose land use controls along with the designation, according to a report to the commission.
Promoting the Delta
Supporters say the Delta should be considered a National Heritage Area for the following reasons:
- Second largest estuary in the United States
- Pacific Flyway stopover
- Gold Rush corridor between San Francisco and mountains
- Center for water-based recreation
- Agricultural region that ships products throughout the world
- Multicultural, rural landscape
- One of the world's largest inland deltas
- Engineering feat, with 1,100 miles of levees creating existing Delta environment
(Delta Protection Commission)
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