Crooked Road dropping pursuit of National Heritage Area designation
ABINGDON — Crooked Road officials announced Thursday afternoon that the non-profit organization is dropping its pursuit of a National Heritage Area designation for Southwest Virginia due to growing opposition.
Crooked Road officials said the decision was made because the designation had become divisive and failed to unify “the entire region”.
“The Crooked Road believes it can best serve the region in the role of a unifying entity,” Hinshelwood said. “Although a significant number of localities have supported it, the proposed Crooked Road National Heritage Area designation has not unified the entire region.”
Opposition to the designation has been growing in recent months after local Tea Party groups began expressing concerns about how property rights would be impacted if the NHA was approved by Congress.
Oppenents say the NHA designation would effectively put the counties involved under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Service and Department of Interior.
Officials with the Crooked Road and backers of the NHA, which include U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), maintain the designation will have no
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