Spanning 3,000 miles of Washington State’s saltwater shoreline, the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area recognizes our state’s unique and diverse maritime culture. This new designation supports our coastal communities in celebrating, maintaining, and sharing their water-based stories.

Draft Management Plan public comment period now closed

Through two years of input and collaboration from across the region, the planning team for the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area created a Management Plan for this new program. This plan charts the course ahead for Maritime Washington, which aims to celebrate, maintain, and share the sites and stories of our saltwater shorelines. That plan is now under review by the National Park Service and Secretary of Interior, with an anticipated approval by the end of 2022. Until then, we’re working with communities across the region to identify partners, surface new stories, and begin building the Maritime Washington network. 

Stay in the loop on approval of the Management Plan and other Maritime Washington activities by signing up for our emails:

Explore the Maritime Mapper

The Maritime Mapper allowed members of the public to identify maritime places they value along our saltwater shores and waterways. Although the Mapper is now closed for new submissions, we invite you to explore the over 200 sites submitted by fellow residents and visitors! Plan your next maritime adventure today:

Review public input from Spring 2021

During the winter and spring of 2021, we held a series of workshops, focus groups, surveys, and other public engagement activities to help determine the direction and priorities of Maritime Washington. Hundreds of Washingtonians helped determine the future of this new National Heritage Area by sharing their thoughts and ideas about the past, present, and future of our state’s saltwater shorelines. Through this public input, we learned more about what makes our shores and waterways unique, the threats and opportunities facing our shorelines, and how this new program can support communities and Tribes in maintaining and sharing their unique maritime heritage. For a snapshot of what we learned, check out this overview:

The Maritime Washington planning team used this input to create a Management Plan for the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area, which will serve as a framework for how we’ll work together to celebrate, maintain, and share our state’s unique maritime places and heritage.

Return to Maritime Washington NHA homepage.