42 counties designated Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area
<p align="justify">President Bush officially has designated a 42-county section of central Illinois as the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.
<p align="justify">The president on Thursday signed into law the plan that Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, and Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield, have been pushing. The heritage area includes Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties.
<p align="justify">The measure provides for up to $15 million in federal funds over a 15-year period. The money, which is subject to congressional appropriation each year, will fund grants for projects that help tell the story of Lincoln's life in Illinois.
<p align="justify">Creation of the Lincoln National Heritage Area was one provision in a larger piece of legislation, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.
<p align="justify">The act deals with a variety of matters related to public lands. For instance, the new law also creates two other new national heritage areas, one covering parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia, and the other in New York.
<p align="justify">One of the purposes of the Lincoln National Heritage Area is "to recognize and interpret the distinctive role the region played in shaping the man who would become the 16th President of the United States, and how Abraham Lincoln's life left its traces in the stories, folklore, buildings, streetscapes, and landscapes of the region," according to the new law.
<p align="justify">As the local coordinating entity of the Lincoln National Heritage Area, the Springfield-based Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition will prepare a management plan for the area.
<p align="justify">Hal Smith, director of the coalition, said designation as a heritage area "will help us more fully develop and interpret a rich and vivid visitor experience that reflects the impact Lincoln had on our history and culture."
<p align="justify">"Our mission will be to create and market a visitor experience that is interesting, historic and fun for travelers from across America and around the world," Smith said in a news release.
<p align="justify">These are the 42 counties included in the Lincoln National Heritage Area:
<p align="justify">Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Jersey, Knox, LaSalle, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Mason, McDonough, McLean, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Tazewell, Vermillion, Warren and Woodford counties.
<p align="justify">Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.