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A.  The Atchafalaya Basin, with its adjacent lands and communities, is a place where natural, scenic, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography.  These patterns make the basin, its people, and surroundings significant in the unfolding of the state’s history and representative of the national experience through the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved.  Continued use of this heritage region by people whose traditions help to shape the landscape enhances its significance.

B.  The legislature recognizes that:

(1)  The Atchafalaya Basin region is an assemblage of rich and varied resources representing a unique aspect of Louisiana heritage which can be best managed as such an assemblage through partnerships.

(2)  The region reflects a complex mixture of people and their origins, traditions, customs, beliefs, and folkways of interest to the state and nation.

(3)  The region’s patterns of natural, scenic, and cultural resource features, qualities, processes, uses, values, and relationships must be conserved.

(4)  The Atchafalaya Basin and its adjacent lands and waters offer outstanding recreation opportunities, educational experiences, and potential for scientific research.

(5)  The combination of resource patterns important to the multiple themes of the region must retain their stability, integrity, sustainability, health, and attractiveness to be capable of supporting interpretation.

(6)  The resources represented in the region must continue to be productive and economically viable, consistent with sound ecosystem management policies and practices.

(7)  The Atchafalaya region enjoys broad support for state and national designation as a heritage area.

(8)  Principal organizations and individuals, drawn from a broad cross section of constituencies, are willing to develop partnerships to achieve stated goals and realize a vision consistent with establishment of a heritage area.

(9)  The heritage area concept enjoys the consent of local governments in the area.

Acts 1997, No. 1440, §1, eff. July 1, 1998; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 112, §4, eff. Jan. 1, 2003.