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October 23-24, 2014
November 11-14, 2014
Savannah, Georgia
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Presquile National Wildlife Refuge
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 | | View of the forest from the boardwalk in Presquile NWR. Photo by Deanna Beacham |
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Presquile, located in Virginia along the James River, is both a National Wildlife Refuge and an Indigenous Cultural Landscape - an approach, developed as part of the planning for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, intended to capture the perspective of American Indian nations at the time of their first contact with Europeans. Thanks to Deanna Beacham for her work on this featured landscape.
Also, be sure to take a look at our coverage of the panel "Indigenous Cultural Landscapes: Developing a more Inclusive Approach to Large Landscape Conservation," which took place at the most recent George Wright Conference.
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Living Landscape Observer
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Landscapes of the War on Poverty
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a "War on Poverty." How did the many programs associated with this effort shape the material, social and political landscapes of the United States? What can a National Park, home to the nation's first Job Corps site in 1965, reveal about the legacies, both individual and collective, of the War on Poverty? Guest observer Angela Sirna offers her observations on these complex questions. Read more.
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#NHA30: Presidential Proclamation
According to President Obama, "For decades, the National Heritage Areas Program has enabled our Nation to set aside places that define our shared history and that will help future generations understand what it means to be American." As part of our #NHA30 coverage, find out more about why the President chose to recognize NHAs as part of his National Park Week 2014 comments. Read more.
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Ohio Earthwork Saved by Social Media Effort
Not every story to save a nationally significant cultural landscape from imminent sale and development has a happy ending. Often the auction sign goes up, there is a brief period of bewailing the tragedy, then the inevitable happens, and the dozers move in. But this was not what happened in the campaign to save the Junction Earth Works in Chillicothe, Ohio. The outcome is a lesson in how strong partnership and new media can be combined to save a landscape. Learn more here and watch the video below to see part of the campaign in action.
 | | Save The Junction Earth Works |
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#NHA30: Key Documents
In the 1970's and early 1980's, Public Lands Agencies encountered declining budgets and an increasingly activist and influential public. To better address both realities, new approaches to conservation and preservation emerged, including National Heritage Areas in 1984. Other ideas were also in circulation as well. This report, Alternatives For Land Protection. A Review of Case Studies in Eight National Parks, published by the NPS in partnership with the American Land Forum, provides an overview of efforts aimed at cooperative land management in units of the NPS system.
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In the News
California State Parks Undertakes New Planning Initiative
Learn more about what the effort, which includes a wholesale re-assessment of the system, entails here.
Call for Proposals - National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation October 23-24, 2014 Washington DC
The deadline for submitting proposals is May 31, 2014. The conference organizers are interested in outcome-based sessions and symposia that will result in products such as white papers, summary reports, or recommendations. The program emphasizes lessons learned and best practices in every aspect of Large Landscape Conservation start-up, implementation, management, and assessment.
World Rural Landscapes is an initiative launched by the International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes ICOMOS-IFLA to foster worldwide cooperation in the study, management and protection of rural landscapes. Increasingly these places are faced with abandonment of the land, intensification of agricultural practices, loss of traditional and local knowledge, pressure of urban development, and climate change. In response to the challenges, this initiative seeks to identify common principles that might be utilized to protect the heritage values of rural landscapes. To learn how researchers in Canada and the United States can participate see t his Fact Sheet.
DOI Releases Landscape Scale Mitigation Strategy
On April 10, 2014 Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell released a new Interior Department plan to mitigate the impacts of projects on a landscape scale. The plan would have department agencies consider the impact of energy and other large-scale infrastructure projects on land and water resources. Strategy seeks to provide clarity and consistency to more effectively avoid, minimize and compensate for impacts on public lands.
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About Us
The Living Landscape Observer is a 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.
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