October 2014
Living Landscape Observer - Nature, Culture, Community
In This Issue
Featured Landscape: Y2Y
Large Landscape Milestones
Anne of Green Gables
Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission
Advocacy Scholars
In the News
About Us
Join Our Mailing List
 November 11-14, 2014 
Savannah, GA

May 13 - 15, 2015 
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA
Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y)
Y2Y Mountain landscape.  Credit: Harvey Locke
Over twenty years ago, it was the movements of a single wolf that set in motion an extraordinary vision - conserving the vast ecosystem stretching from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon.

Today, this effort, which includes over 100 partnerships, is known as the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). It is a joint Canada-U.S. organization that seeks to preserve and maintain the wildlife, native plants, wilderness and natural processes of a politically and ecologically complex mountain landscape.     
 

  
Living Landscape Observer
National Conference Marks 2 Anniversaries
At the recent National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation in Washington D.C., attendees took time to celebrate the anniversaries of two ground-breaking large landscape programs - National Heritage Areas and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. Learn more. 
The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables
Reading fiction is often one of the most powerful ways to explore a place. Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors journey to the Canadian Maritime Province of Prince Edward Island to experience the setting of the classic children's novel Anne of Green Gables. First published in 1908, the book has sold more than 50 million copies and has been translated into 47 languages. Learn more about how the evocative landscapes of the text are managed today.
A Commission's Connections to LWCF
These days, if you hear that a new or particularly controversial public policy idea is headed to a commission for further research and discussion, it's hard to predict whether or when any action will be taken on the issues under review. Fifty-two years ago, however, a federal commission charged with examining the question of how best to provide outdoor recreation in the United States was, in fact,  able to play a significant role in influencing the course of legislative action. Learn more about the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC) and its role in the creation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Read more. 
Advocacy Scholars - Extended!
Do you know an undergraduate or graduate student interested in historic preservation, planning, history, public policy, law, architecture or a related field? If so, encourage them to apply to the Preservation Action Advocacy Scholars program (by December 1, 2014) which offers a limited number of competitive scholarships to students interested in attending National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week (March 2-4, 2015) in Washington, D.C. This year, Preservation Action has joined the NHA@30 celebration by proposing the National Heritage Areas program as a topic for the required advocacy scholar's essay. Learn more.  
In the News

 

A recent New York Times op-ed on how to "mend the conservation divide" between "new" and "old" conservationists in the context of climate change.  

 

Earlier this year, Ireland issued a draft National Landscape Strategy to fulfill the European Landscape Convention. 

 

Pennsylvania recently announced more than $2 million in grants for its State Heritage Areas program. 

 

President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate 46,177 acres of national forest land in the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California as a national monument.

 

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.  

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