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Preservation Brief 36: Protecting Cultural Landscapes: Planning, Treatment and Manage... Page 3 of 11
<br />accessibility provisions for people with disabilities, or the treatment of Industrial properties that are rehabilitated for new
<br />uses.
<br />Preservation Planning for Cultural Landscapes
<br />Careful planning prior to undertaking work can help prevent irrevocable damage to a cultural landscape. Professional
<br />techniques for Identifying, documenting, evaluating and preserving cultural landscapes have advanced during the past 25
<br />years and are continually being refined. Preservation planning generally Involves the following steps: historical research;
<br />Inventory and documentation of existing conditions; site analysis and evaluation of Integrity and significance; development
<br />of a cultural landscape preservation approach and treatment plan; development of a cultural landscape management plan
<br />and management philosophy; the development of a strategy for ongoing maintenance; and preparation of a record of
<br />treatment and future research recommendations.
<br />The steps In this process are not Independent of each other, nor are they always sequential. In fact, Information gathered
<br />in one step may lead to a re- examination or refinement of previous steps. For example, field inventory and historical
<br />research are likely to occur simultaneously, and may reveal unnoticed cultural resources that should be protected.
<br />The treatment and management of cultural landscape should also be considered in concert with the management of an
<br />entire historic property. As a result, many other studies may be relevant. They Include management plans, interpretive
<br />plans, exhibit design, historic structures reports, and other.
<br />These steps can result In several products Including a Cultural Landscape Report (also known as a Historic Landscape
<br />Report), statements for management, interpretive guide, maintenance guideand maintenance records.
<br />Cultural Landscape Reports
<br />A Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) Is the primary report that documents the history, significance and treatment of a
<br />cultural landscape. A CLR evaluates the history and integrity of the landscape including any changes to Its geographical
<br />context, features, materials,and use.
<br />CLRs are often prepared when a change (e.g. a new visitor's center or parking area to a landscape) is proposed. In such
<br />instances, a CLR can be a useful tool to protect the landscape's character - defining features from undue wear, alteration or
<br />loss. A CLR can provide managers, curators and others with information needed to make management decisions.
<br />A CLR will often yield new Information about a landscape's historic significance and integrity, even for those already listed
<br />on theNational Register. Where appropriate, National Register files should be amended to reflect the new findings.
<br />Historical Research
<br />Research Is essential before undertaking any treatment. Findings will help identify a landscape's historic periods) of
<br />ownership, occupancy and development, and bring greater understanding of the associations and characteristics that make
<br />the landscape or history significant. Research findings provide a foundation to make educated decisions for work, and can
<br />also facilitate ongoing maintenance and management operations, interpretation and eventual compliance requirements.
<br />A variety of primary and secondary sources may be consulted. Primary archival sources can include historic plans, surveys,
<br />plats, tax maps, atlases, U. S. Geological Survey maps, soil profiles, aerial photographs, photographs, stereoscopic views,
<br />glass lantern slides, postcards, engravings, paintings, newspapers, journals, construction drawings, specifications, plant
<br />lists, nursery catalogs, household records, account books and personal correspondence. Secondary sources Include
<br />monographs, published histories, theses, National Register forms, survey data, local preservation plans, state contexts and
<br />scholarly articles.
<br />Contemporary documentary resources should also be consulted. This may include recent studies, plans, surveys, aerial and
<br />Infrared photographs, Soil Conservation Service soil maps, inventories, Investigations and interviews. Oral histories of
<br />residents, managers,and maintenance personnel with a long tenure or historical association can be valuable sources of
<br />information about changes to a landscape over many years. For properties listed in the National Register, nomination forms
<br />should be consulted.
<br />Preparing Period Plans
<br />In the case of designed landscapes, even though a historic design plan exists, it does not necessarily mean that it was
<br />realized fully, or even in part. Based on a review of the archival resources outlined above, and the extant landscape today,
<br />an as -built period plan may be delineated. For all successive tenures of ownership, occupancy and landscape change, period
<br />plans should be generated. Period plans can document to the greatest extent possible the historic appearance during a
<br />particular period of ownership, occupancy, or development. Period plans should be based on primary archival sources and
<br />should avoid conjecture. Features that are based on secondary or less accurate sources should be graphically differentiated.
<br />Ideally, all referenced archival sources should be annotated and footnoted directly on period plans.
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