July 2015

Living Landscape Observer - Nature, Culture, Community
In This Issue
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August 12, 2015
Join in this monthly series of mini-webinars highlighting a specific tool that a park or program might use to further large landscape conservation efforts. The next session is August 12, 2015.

Due October 1, 2015 
Goucher College (MD)
is sponsoring a National Forum on the Future of Historic Preservation to be held on March 19-20, 2016. Click the link above to download the CFP.


Essex National Heritage Area

Bakers Island Lighthouse. Credit: Essex National Heritage Area
The 550-square-mile Essex National Heritage Area on the eastern Massachusetts coast is a cultural landscape that commemorates 400 years of maritime history and tradition, reflecting the region's seafaring past. The heritage area has enabled Salem Maritime National Historic Site, which is 9 acres in size, to play a far more prominent role in the region by harnessing the power of volunteers and professionals to take on preservation challenges and interpretation opportunities. 

  

  

Living Landscape Observer
Future Holds Uncertainty for the LWCF
Authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (LWCF) will expire on September 30, 2015 unless Congress takes action to extend the Act's authority. Arguably the most significant piece of conservation legislation passed in the decades after World War II, the LWCF has funded all manner of projects across the country. Find out more about the politics currently threatening the future of this groundbreaking bill. Read more
New Monuments, Old Debates
On July 10, 2015, President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate three new National Monuments - Berryessa Snow Mountain in California, Waco Mammoth in Texas, and Basin and Range in Nevada. With these new designations, the President will have used the Antiquities Act to establish or expand 19 national monuments. First used by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the Antiquities Act remains one of the most important - and most controversial - tools by which the Executive Branch can take immediate action on pressing conservation and preservation priorities. Read more
The National Historic Preservation Act at 50
2016 will mark the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act, and a host of organizations and advocates are taking the opportunity to not only celebrate, but also to reflect on historic preservation's past, present and future. Find out more about what is going on and how you might be able to get involved.
Find Your Chesapeake
The National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office recently launched a new partnership website www.FindYourChesapeake.com. "Find Your Chesapeake" is geared to locals and visitors alike and aims to connect people to more than 350 special places around the Chesapeake region. There are also helpful suggestions for trip planning at multiple locations. Check it out here
In the News  

San Antonio Missions becomes World Heritage Site

Five new sites around the world, including the San Antonio Missions in Texas, were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in early July. Learn more via PBS and the National Parks Traveler.

 

 

Ambassador Crystal Nix-Hines, Judge Nelson Wolff and San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor address UNESCO
Ambassador Crystal Nix-Hines, Judge Nelson Wolff and San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor address UNESCO

 

 

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.