Summary
The planning, treatment, and maintenance of cultural landscapes requires
a multi-disciplinary approach. In landscapes, such as parks and playgrounds,
battlefields, cemeteries, village greens, and agricultural land preserves
more than any other type of historic resource--communities rightly presume
a sense of stewardship. It is often this grass roots commitment that has
been a catalyst for current research and planning initiatives. Individual
residential properties often do not require the same level of public outreach, yet
a systematic planning process will assist in making educated treatment,
management and maintenance decisions.
Wise stewardship protects the character, and or spirit of a place by
recognizing history as change over time. Often, this also involves our own
respectful changes through treatment. The potential benefits from the preservation
of cultural landscapes are enormous. Landscapes provide scenic, economic,
ecological, social, recreational and educational opportunities that help
us understand ourselves as individuals, communities and as a nation. Their
ongoing preservation can yield an improved quality of life for all, and,
above all, a sense of place or identity for future generations.
Selected Reading
Birnbaum, Charles A., guest editor. Preservation Forum. "Focus on
Landscape Preservation". Washington, D.C.: National Trustfor Historic
Preservation, Volume 7, No. 3, May/June 1992.
Buggey Susan, guest editor. APT Bulletin. Special Issue: Conserving Historic
Landscapes. Fredericksburg, VA: Association for PreservationTechnology
International, Volume XXIV, No. 3-4, 1992.
Burns, John A, and the Staff of HABS/HAER. Recording Historic Structures.
American Institute of Architects Press, 1989.(Includes chapter on the
documentation of Meridian Hill Park,pp. 206-219.)
Diehl, Janet and Thomas S. Barrett, et al. The Conservation Easement Handbook.
Managing Land Conservation and Historic Preservation Easement Programs,
The Land Trust Exchange (now Alliance) and the Trust for Public Land, 1988.
International Committee of Historic Gardens and Sites, ICOMOS-IFLA.Jardins et Sites Historiques, Scientific Journal. ICOMOS1993. Compilation of
papers on the subject, in both English andFrench.
Kelso, William M., and Rachel Most. Earth Patterns: Essays in Landscape
Archaeology. Charlottesville, VA. University Press of Virginia, 1990.
Stokes, Samuel, N., et al. Saving America's Countryside: A Guide to Rural
Conservation. Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press, 1989.
Tishler, William, editor. American Landscape Architecture: Designers
and Places. Washington, DC: The Preservation Press,1989.
Acknowledgements
The author, Charles A. Birnbaum, Coordinator, Historic Landscape Initiative,
Preservation Assistance Division, National Park Service would like to acknowledge
the assistance of H. Ward Jandl and Kay Weeks. The Olmsted Center for Landscape
Preservation at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site including
Margie Coffin, Lauren Meier, Nora Mitchell, and Charlie Pepper provided invaluable
support. In particular, the proposed rewrite on Preservation Maintenance
and historic plant materials was written by Margie Coffin. Significant contributions
were also made by Patricia M. O'Donnell, Linda McClelland, Ellen Lipsey,
Christine Capella Peters, Robert Page, Ian Firth and Robert Melnick. Useful comments
and technical assistance were provided by regional NPS staff (Mary Hughes,
Lucy Lawliss, Jill Cowley, Sherda Williams, Michael Crowe, Robbyn Jackson)
and staff at the Preservation Assistance Division (Cheryl Wagner, Michael
Auer and Anne Grimmer).
Washington, D.C. September, 1994
This publication has been prepared pursuant to the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, which directs the Secretary
of the Interior to develop and make available information concerning historic
properties. Technical Preservation Services (TPS), Heritage Preservation
Services Division, National Park Service prepares standards, guidelines,
and other educational materials on responsible historic preservation treatments
for a broad public.
"Protecting Cultural Landscapes" an Historic Preservation Brief
