Specific
Missions Initiative goals include:
- Enhance communication among those involved in the management of Spanish Colonial Mission sites on both sides of the international border
- Create education and preservation programs that accurately portray the mission system as an integrated network
- Develop consistent criteria for preserving, cataloguing, and interpreting cultural resources of Spanish missions in the U.S. and Mexico
- Support economic development of host communities through the promotion of heritage tourism
The Missions Initiative acknowledges and draws on the experience of other collaborative efforts to manage similar cultural resources. The program recognizes the constant need for consulting with Native American communities in the United States and Mexico, reconciling multiple jurisdictions, and addressing border security concerns. Other administrative details outlined in this document include:
- Agreements made to date that govern the proposed activities
- Proposed organizational structures for the initiative
Together, these elements represent a dynamic beginning for the development of management practices that will benefit both cultural resources and the social and economic sustainability of communities in northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S.