[Heritage] Heritage Commission Recommends Four Goals For Heritage

[Heritage Info]

The Oregon Heritage Commission is recommending that individuals,
businesses and organizations re-vitalize Oregon heritage resources by
focusing on four goals. The recommendations were announced today after
the Commission completed an 18-month-long study to determine the common
challenges facing hundreds of heritage organizations in Oregon.

“Oregon’s heritage is at risk from both external and internal
challenges,” says Commission chair George Kramer. “Some are
statewide and nationwide in nature, while others are found in
communities and organizations. No single solution, not even money, will
solve all of these challenges.”

The Heritage Commission’s first recommendation is to request the 2011
Legislature to appoint an interim task force to examine the issues
facing city, county and state heritage organizations and to recommend
solutions for them.

“The commissioners thank Rep. Peter Buckley for introducing HB 3210
to initiate the Oregon Heritage Vitality Task Force,” said Kramer.
“The Commission sees the task force as a key step toward solving
the number one heritage issue in the state: the challenge of stable
funding, both public and private.”

The Heritage Commission also set three other goals in its report:
--   Determine the economic and cultural value of heritage in Oregon,
including its direct and secondary effects. The Commission’s report
says there are indications the amounts from building restoration and
renovation, tourism and other heritage economic sectors is significant,
but totals have never been compiled.
--  Strategically communicate consistent information about the value
and importance of heritage to the economy and daily lives of
Oregonians.
--  Increase the capacity of heritage organizations and businesses to
collaboratively expand their leadership, development, preservation,
community-building, communications, educational offerings and
technology.

The Commission was established in 1995 to assure the conservation,
development and coordination of Oregon’s heritage. Nine members are
appointed by the Governor, with ex-officio members representing the
Oregon Historical Society and seven state agencies.

The Commission initiated its statewide analysis of Oregon’s heritage
organizations and service models in late 2009, the state’s
sesquicentennial year. Commissioners were concerned that the Oregon
Historical Society, End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in
Oregon City, the Southern Oregon Historical Society and other high
profile heritage organizations were facing struggles that threatened
their continued operation.

The Commission’s recently released Oregon Heritage Vitality Report is
precedent-setting in that it looks at Oregon heritage comprehensively,
with the greatest emphasis on museums, historic preservation, historic
cemeteries, historical societies, local heritage efforts, archives and
archaeology. The report is available at
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/OHC/vitality.shtml 

For more information, contact Commission coordinator Kyle Jansson at
503-986-0673 or heritage.info at state.or.us