Our Mission

To provide observations and information on the emerging fields of landscape scale conservation, heritage preservation, and sustainable community development.

About Us
the observer

Newsletter

Stay up-to-date with the latest nature, culture and community news.

Email:

We won’t spam you or share your information. Newsletters are sent approximately 10 times a year. Unsubscribe at any time.

Popular Posts
Get Involved
Credit: Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

A Holistic Approach to Open Space

The Rensselaer Plateau in New York State offers an exciting case study in collaboration, with public and private stakeholders joining together to foster conservation across property lines and political jurisdictions. The plateau is one of 165 conservation initiatives in the Northeast, from West Virginia to Maine, applying “a whole systems, large landscape approach” as part of a project by the Regional Plan Association. Learn more about the origins and outcomes of this model.

Read More »

NPS Names First Superintendent for Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument

Established by Presidential Proclamation on March 25, 2013, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument commemorates the life of the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, a fearless woman who enabled many enslaved people to emancipate themselves and escape to freedom in the North. The site now has its first permanent Superintendent, Cherie Butler, a a 21-year veteran of the National Park Service.

Read More »

The Italian-New York Connections on Parks and Protected Areas

As an advocate of parks, protected areas and historic preservation in New York State and beyond, my interest has been less with the traditional public estate parks (local, state and national) and more with area wide parks, greenways, landscapes and heritage areas like the six million acre Adirondack Park, the 3 million acre Hudson River Greenway and state and national heritage areas. I expected to find historic landscapes in Italy that were being managed as parks, but thanks to the emerging effect of the European Union (“EU”) I found more park interest and activity than I expected.

Read More »
Credit Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Pennsylvania Agricultural History Project Wins National Award

The Vernacular Architecture Forum recently awarded the Pennsylvania Agricultural History Project its Paul E. Buchanan Award in recognition of the project’s contribution to the study of the nation’s built environment. The Agricultural History Project includes narrative histories describing the evolution of different farming systems around the state, historic census data, a field guide to historic farm buildings and landscapes, bibliographic resources and more.

Read More »

Adirondack Park: Landscape No Longer Contested

Has the time come for the Adirondack Park to be “inspirational, educational, recreational, ecological and economically sustainable?” If so, what has changed in local and state politics to allow for such a transformation. Paul Bray explains how a contested landscape is now becoming collaborative.

Read More »
Credit: Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

A Holistic Approach to Open Space

The Rensselaer Plateau in New York State offers an exciting case study in collaboration, with public and private stakeholders joining together to foster conservation across property lines and political jurisdictions. The plateau is one of 165 conservation initiatives in the Northeast, from West Virginia to Maine, applying “a whole systems, large landscape approach” as part of a project by the Regional Plan Association. Learn more about the origins and outcomes of this model.

Read More »

NPS Names First Superintendent for Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument

Established by Presidential Proclamation on March 25, 2013, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument commemorates the life of the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, a fearless woman who enabled many enslaved people to emancipate themselves and escape to freedom in the North. The site now has its first permanent Superintendent, Cherie Butler, a a 21-year veteran of the National Park Service.

Read More »

The Italian-New York Connections on Parks and Protected Areas

As an advocate of parks, protected areas and historic preservation in New York State and beyond, my interest has been less with the traditional public estate parks (local, state and national) and more with area wide parks, greenways, landscapes and heritage areas like the six million acre Adirondack Park, the 3 million acre Hudson River Greenway and state and national heritage areas. I expected to find historic landscapes in Italy that were being managed as parks, but thanks to the emerging effect of the European Union (“EU”) I found more park interest and activity than I expected.

Read More »
Credit Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Pennsylvania Agricultural History Project Wins National Award

The Vernacular Architecture Forum recently awarded the Pennsylvania Agricultural History Project its Paul E. Buchanan Award in recognition of the project’s contribution to the study of the nation’s built environment. The Agricultural History Project includes narrative histories describing the evolution of different farming systems around the state, historic census data, a field guide to historic farm buildings and landscapes, bibliographic resources and more.

Read More »

Adirondack Park: Landscape No Longer Contested

Has the time come for the Adirondack Park to be “inspirational, educational, recreational, ecological and economically sustainable?” If so, what has changed in local and state politics to allow for such a transformation. Paul Bray explains how a contested landscape is now becoming collaborative.

Read More »