Following a series of community workshops earlier this year, a working group developed the strategy which sets out aims, objectives and proposed actions for protecting Central Otago's heritage.
Now, the group is asking for public feedback to determine "where to from here", Heritage Strategy Working Group chairman John Lane, of Roxburgh, said.
"We have more archaeological and historical type sites throughout Central as a result of pastoral farming and goldmining and so on than any other place throughout the country."
However, it was not just about the physical remnants of the region's earliest inhabitants, but also their stories.
Mr Lane said those stories - anecdotes about the region or what life was like - would also come under the strategy's umbrella as they were just as important as the physical history but easily lost.
This strategy was about setting "a direction for the protection, preservation, celebration and management of Central Otago's heritage".
Based on the workshops, the group found the key concerns of people were protecting and preserving heritage; celebrating heritage; funding and management.
While various aspects of the region's heritage are protected and managed by a range of legislation and regulation or other plans and policies administered by agencies, organisations, iwi, council and community groups, there has been no district-wide, overarching strategy until now.
There are 22 proposed actions in the strategy, which include the investigation of new incentives to encourage the preservation of heritage; recognising heritage through community awards; exploring opportunities to develop new heritage events; establishing a district-wide strategy for museums; reviewing the heritage sections in the Central Otago District Plan as part of the District Plan review and further encouraging collaboration between community groups, schools, museums and libraries to include heritage in children's learning.
Submissions close on September 14 and will be reviewed by the working group in October before the strategy is launched in November.
