Historical Parks

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Historical Parks
By Nicole Scatena
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Controversies regarding historical parks
determining whether or not the benefits outweigh
the concerns regarding various factors including
ecological, economical, and historical
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HISTORICAL PARKS

• General identification and goals of historical
  parks
• Information presenting both benefits and concerns
  of historic based national parks
• Recommendations to satisfy needs of both
  historians and environmentalists

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Historical areas are

• Prehistoric or historic (both)
• At least 50 years old
• Listed or eligible for listing in the National
  Register of Historic Places (Jacobitz)
• Representations of symbolic and emotional meaning
• Sites- ex. Battlefields, historic trails, farms,
  campgrounds
• Structures- ex. Dams, bridges, canals, forts,
  stockades, gardens, roads, ponds
• Objects- ex. nautical vessels, statues

(Dilsaver 1994)
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GENERAL GOALS

• Follows the objectives of the previous National
  Park Service Organic Act of 1916 and the current
  Mission Statement with the addition of goals
  focusing on historical aspects.
• Historic Sites Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 666)
• - national policy to preserve for public use
  historic sites, buildings, and objects of
  national significance for the inspiration and
  benefit of the people of the United States
  (Dilsaver 132).
• - no mention of environmental preservation
• Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 915)
  amended in 2000
• - does not speak of any environmental
  preservation
• historical preservation describes protection,
  rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction
  of sites, buildings, etc.. (Dilsaver 303).
• Administrative Policies For Historic Areas, 1968
• Ecological Revolution
• Begins emphasizing the quality of the environment
  and issues regarding the protection of the
  ecology while contributing to the historic
  integrity.

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BENEFITS

• Ecological
• -preserving natural diversity (Begon 1996)
• Economical
• -source of income for the community (tourism
  town)
• - Funding for the parks operations
• Historical
• -preserving important and historical artifacts
  
• -pass down history for future generations
• Social
• -provide visitors with education, tranquility,
  and authenticity (Lamme 1989)
• -potential to become better citizens

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CONCERNS

• Ecological
• 1.) Disturbance
• Any relatively discrete event in time that
  removes organisms or otherwise disrupts the
  community by influencing the availability of
  space for food resources, or by changing the
  physical environment (Begon 1996).
• Ecological systems are continually changing, no
  year is considered the same as another
• Communities are the way they are because of
  possessing certain stabilizing properties

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CONCERNS

• 2.) Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is the variety of different species,
  and the ecosystems they are a part of (Begon
  1996)
• Critical habitat for various plants and animals
• Potential of open lands (wildlife vs. visitor
  use)
• Effects on.
• -water quality
• -water temperature
• -soil erosion
• -wetlands
• Economical
• - protection of landscapes is costly (both
  with funding and limitations on personal choice)
• Social
• -providing an area for environmentalists/nature
  lovers to enjoy

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Find a balance between resource conservation and
  program objectives
• Compromise availability of tourism (roads vs.
  walking paths and isolated vs. accessible
  locations)
• Replace cemented areas with permeable surfaces
• Utilize crop lands/ alter lands to accommodate
  wildlife
• Decrease in physical alterations/Increase outside
  education with handouts and monuments containing
  pictures and maps
• Continue surveys to better understand the demands
  of the general public, not just one specific group

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Final Thoughts

• It is clear that historical parks are necessary
  for the preservation of monumental and symbolic
  events
• How much and when it is necessary to limit
  ecological destruction basically depends on the
  particular interest of the General Management
  Plan of a specific park, because both
  environmental and historical concerns are
  emphasized, but in most cases the one tends to
  outweigh the other.
• Further look into the emphasis on profits
  produced by tourism.

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Works Cited

•     Bolin, Luis A. The National Parks of the
  United States. New York Knopf, 1962.
•     Dilsaver, Lary M. America's National Park
  System The Critical Documents.
• Lanham, Maryland Rowman and
  Littlefield, 1994.
• Camp Chase GazetteWhere the Civil War Comes
  Alive.Camp Chase PublishingMarietta, Ohio,
  2004.ltwww.campchase.com/ GettyburgPhotos.htmgt.
• Lamme, Ary J III. Americas Historic
  landscapes Community Power and
• the Preservation of Four National
  Historic Sites. The University of
• Tennessee Press 1989.
• Bergon, M, J.L. Harper, and C.R. Townsend.
  Ecology Individuals, Populations,
• and Communities. Blackwell Science
  Inc Cambridge, MA 1996.
•  

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Works Cited

• Parris, Thomas M. Historic Preservation.
  Environment, October 2004 v46 i8 p3
  (1).http//0web2.infotrac.galegroup.com.allecat2.a
  llegheny.edu/itw/infomark/177/477/66712959w2/purl
  rc1_EAIM_0_A123629136dyn22!xrn_5_0_A123629136?sw
  _aepalleg_main.
• Watts, Bryan D. Management of Park Fields to
  Enhance the Natural Resource Value and
  Biodiversity of Colonial National Historic Park.
  Center for Conservation Biology. William and Mary
  College.
• Final General Management Plan and
  Environmental Impact Statement. Gettysburg
  National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
  June 1999.
• Jacobitz, Steve and Christina Slattery.
  Taking the High Road Two States Share Different
  Approaches to Protecting Cultural and Historical
  Resources Along Americas Highways. Public Roads.
  Sept-Oct 2004 v68 i2 p2 (8).
• http//0 web2.infotrac.galegroup.com.alle
  cat2.allegheny.edu/itw/infomark/176/477/66712959w2
  /purlrc1_EAIM_0_A126852820dyn22!xrn_8_0_A126852
  820?sw_aepalleg_main.

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