To provide observations and information on the emerging fields of landscape scale conservation, heritage preservation, and sustainable community development.
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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.
The actions of the National Park Service came under heightened scrutiny during the recent government shutdown. Reflections on lessons learned and options for the future.
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.
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.
In the summer of 1988, massive fires swept across Yellowstone National Park. At the time, alarmist news coverage questioned whether the landscape would ever recover. Now, 25 years later, scientists have learned a great deal about the significance and the complexity of fire’s potential impact on an ecosystem. Thoughts on the challenges of interpreting landscape-scale stories that go beyond soundbites as well as the importance of learning from history and change over time.
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.
The actions of the National Park Service came under heightened scrutiny during the recent government shutdown. Reflections on lessons learned and options for the future.
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.
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.
In the summer of 1988, massive fires swept across Yellowstone National Park. At the time, alarmist news coverage questioned whether the landscape would ever recover. Now, 25 years later, scientists have learned a great deal about the significance and the complexity of fire’s potential impact on an ecosystem. Thoughts on the challenges of interpreting landscape-scale stories that go beyond soundbites as well as the importance of learning from history and change over time.