A team from the National Geographic will lead the development of a management plan for a national heritage area that includes Douglas and over 40 eastern Kansas and western Missouri counties.

The management plan will serve as a road map for connecting the Civil War era histories in The Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area created by Congress and endorsed by President Bush in October 2006.

Deanell Reece Tacha, chairwoman of the heritage board of trustees, said the board is pleased to partner with the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations. The group will bring expertise in helping develop the economic, cultural and educational potential of the area.

“This heritage area is a unique and extraordinary opportunity to focus the attention of the nation and people of the region on the history-shaping events and stories that occurred here and ignited the flames of the Civil War,” Tacha said.

In addition, the heritage board also announced that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt will serve as honorary co-chairs of the heritage board.

The heritage area emphasizes the region’s role in struggles for freedom that shaped the nation, Sebelius said in a news release. “It is imperative that we work together to preserve this history and interpret it for future generations,” she said.

Blunt agreed. “Historic preservation allows us to maintain important reminders of our past and preserve those memories for future generations,” he said in a release from his office.

Work on the development plan will begin immediately with public meetings and other discovery processes to be completed by the fall of 2008. After that completion the documented plan must be approved by the National Park Service and signed by the Secretary of the Interior. That will allow federal funds to be allocated to help implement the plan.