"Designating Shepherd of the Hills State Park, Henning Conservation Area, and the Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama Amphitheater as a National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) would preserve this culturally significant Ozarks landscape while expanding recreation and heritage tourism. Under federal policy, NHLDs are designated by the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service (NPS), pursuant to the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and implementing regulations at 36 C.F.R. Part 65. This designation is reserved for places of exceptional national significance, particularly where multiple, geographically linked landscapes, structures, and cultural features collectively convey a cohesive and nationally important American story."
— Scott Winton, The New Outlook
