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Preservation Brief 36: Protecting Cultural Landscapes: Planning, Treatment and Manage... Page 4 of 11
<br />Where historical data is missing, period plans should reflect any gaps in the CUR narrative text and these limitations
<br />consideredin future treatment decisions.
<br />Inventorying and Documenting Existing Conditions
<br />Both physical evidence in the landscape and historic documentation guide the historic preservation plan and treatments. To
<br />document existing conditions, Intensive field Investigation and reconnaissance should be conducted at the same time that
<br />documentary researchis being gathered. Information should be exchanged among preservation professionals, historians,
<br />technicians, local residents, managers and visitors.
<br />To assist in the survey process, National Register Bulletins have been published by the
<br />National Park Service to aid In identifying, nominating and evaluating designed and rural
<br />historic landscapes. Additionally, Bulletins are available for specific landscape types such
<br />as battlefields, mining sites, and cemeteries.
<br />Although there are several ways to inventory and document a landscape,the goal is to
<br />create a baseline from a detailed record of the landscape and Its features as they exist
<br />at the present (considering seasonal variations). Each landscape inventory should
<br />address Issues of boundary delineation, documentation methodologies and techniques,
<br />the limitations of the Inventory, and the scope of Inventory efforts.
<br />These are most often Influenced by the timetable,
<br />budget, project scope, and the purpose of the
<br />inventory and, depending on the physical qualities
<br />of the property, its scale, detail, and the inter-
<br />Understanding the geographic oonte,d
<br />should be part of Me inventory process.
<br />This aerial photograph at Rancho Los
<br />Alamitos, Long Beach, CA, was taken In
<br />1936. (See, 1xiow.) Photo: Rancho Los
<br />Alamltps FovndaUon.
<br />relationship between natural and cultural resources.
<br />For example, inventory objectives to develop a treatment plan may differ considerably
<br />compared to those needed to develop an ongoing maintenance plan. Once the criteria
<br />for a landscape Inventory are developed and tested, the methodology should be
<br />explained.
<br />This present -day vlew of Rancho Los preparing Existing Condition Plans
<br />Alamitos Shows present -day
<br />encroachments and adjacent developments Inventory and documentation may be recorded in plans, sections, photographs, aerial
<br />that will affect the Nmre treatment of photographs, axonometric perspectives, narratives, video-or any combination of
<br />visual and spatial relatlonshlps. Photo:
<br />Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation. techniques. Existing conditions should generally be documented to scale, drawn by hand
<br />or generated by computer. The scale of the drawings is often determined by the size
<br />and complexity of the landscape. Some landscapes may require documentation at more
<br />than one scale. For example, a large estate may be documented at a small scale to depict its spatial and visual
<br />relationships, while the discrete area around an estate mansionmay require a larger scale to illustrate Individual plant
<br />materials, pavement patterns and other details. The same may apply to an entire rural historic district and a fenced
<br />vegetable garden contained within.
<br />When landscapes are documented in photographs, registration points can be set to indicate the precise location and
<br />orientation of features. Registration points should correspond to significant forms, features and spatial relationships within
<br />the landscape and Its surrounds. The points may also correspond to historic views to illustrate the change in the landscape
<br />todate. These locations may also be used as a management tool todocument the landscape's evolution, and to ensure that
<br />its character - defining features are preserved over time through informed maintenance operations and later treatment and
<br />management decisions.
<br />All features that contribute to the landscape's historic character should be recorded. These include the physical features
<br />described above (e.g. topography, circulation), and the visual and spatial relationships that are character defining. The
<br />Identification of existing plants, should be specific, including genus, species, common name, age (if known) and size. The
<br />woody, and if appropriate, herbaceous plant material should be accurately located on the existing conditions map. To
<br />ensure full representation of successional herbaceous plants, care should be taken to document the landscape In different
<br />seasons, if possible.
<br />Treating living plant materials as a curatorial collection has also been undertaken at some cultural landscapes. This process,
<br />either done manually or by computer, can track the condition and maintenance operations on individual plants. Some sites,
<br />suchas the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, in Brookline, Massachusetts have developed a field investigation
<br />numbering system to track all woody plants. Due to concern for the preservation of genetic diversity and the need to
<br />replace significant plant materials, a number of properties are beginning to propagate historically important rare plants that
<br />are no longer commercially available, unique, or possess significant historic associations. Such herbarium collections
<br />become a part of a site's natural history collection.
<br />hftn-//www.nn.c.Qov /ms/ how -to- nreserve/ briefs /36- cultural- landscanes.htm 2/28/2014
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