MSB received a Grants-in-Aid award to conduct research on Phase II of the National Heritage Area designation through the State Office of History and Archaeology. The grant helped fund research to continue developing overall historical contexts for the NHA designation. It also funded presentations delivered to numerous hobby groups and Community Councils in the Valley. A core group of citizens acting as a task force will assist in determining what Communities want to champion and what they see as important resources in their respective communities.

A National Heritage Area is natural, historic, or cultural resources that together represent distinctive aspects of American heritage worthy of recognition.

A National Heritage Area is managed by a locally determined entity, usually made up of citizens, government officials, and representatives of private and non-profit corporations. The entity formulates management goals, identifies community-initiated programs for funds, allocates funds, and monitors progress toward goals.

A National Heritage Area is a place designated by Congress where natural, cultural, historic and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activities shaped by geography. These patterns make National Heritage Areas representative of the national experience through the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved in them. Continued use of National Heritage Areas by people whose traditions helped to shape the landscapes enhances their significance.