JUNE 2013

Living Landscape Observer - Nature, Culture, Community
In This Issue
Featured Landscape: .A Civil Rights Landscape in Selma, Alabama
Can Parks be Self-Sustaining?
World Heritage and the NPS.
Legislative Scorecard: National Heritage Areas
Washington State Tidelands
In the News
About Us
Join Our Mailing List
 
July 16-19
Pennsylvania Statewide Conference on Heritage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

September 16-19
World Canals Conference in Toulouse, France

September 18-21
AASLH Annual Conference in Birmingham, Alabama
A Civil Rights Landscape in Selma, Alabama 
View of Edmund Pettus Bridge. Photo Abigail Gautreau
Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Photo Abigail Gautreau
Reading the landscape of segregation and civil rights goes beyond identifying neighborhoods as white or black; it means reexamining the way we understand the city as a whole. Segregation was more than law and custom; it was a way of life that embedded itself firmly in the built environment. In this featured landscape, learn more about preservation and planning efforts now underway in Selma, Alabama. 
Living Landscape Observer
The Presidio: Can Parks be Self-Sustaining?

In 2013, the Presidio in San Francisco announced that it had become self-sustaining. Could other parks and protected areas follow this model? What can be learned from the Presidio's experience?  An examination of the history and legislative requirements which led to the Presidio's recent announcement. Read more.  

The World Heritage Convention and the NPS
This piece, written by Peter Stott and originally published in the George Wright Forum journal, makes a strong case for the value of the United State's participation in the World Heritage Convention. It also examines the significance of World Heritage sites in the United States. Read more.
Legislative Scorecard: National Heritage Areas
It's definitely hard to keep up with all the legislative comings and goings of the National Heritage Areas (NHA) program. For those who have been following the efforts of NHAs to be reauthorized and receive a modicum of funding, the past few months have certainly been a roller coaster ride. There are also six regions seeking new National Heritage Area designation. Read more.
Trespassing on Washington State's Tidelands  
A new National Monument in Washington State's San Juan Islands is an important step in making tidelands accessible in a state where the majority of shorelines are private property. Read more.
In the News

The Mount Etna volcano and Italy's Medici Villas were among 19 sites that have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list of places of "outstanding universal value." The World Heritage Committee, meeting last week in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for its 37th annual session, added five natural sites and 14 cultural ones to the list.  

 

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell paddled in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor last month and discussed the region's bid for National Park designation.  

 

In Australia, the Greens will introduce legislation to protect national parks from state government-backed grazing and logging in the Senate on Monday. The party will move to list national parks as areas of national environmental significance, giving them the same protection as threatened species and World Heritage Areas. . 

About Us

The Living Landscape Observer is a new website, blog and monthly e-newsletter that offers commentary and information on the emerging field of large landscape conservation. This approach emphasizes the preservation of a "sense of place" and blends ingredients of land conservation, heritage preservation, and sustainable community development. Learn more about how you can get involved or sign up for the newsletter here.  


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