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Brenda Barrett, Editor | Eleanor Mahoney, Associate Editor | Deanna Beacham, Outreach Assistant

November/December 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 6

Looking Down the Road: Trends in Landscape Conservation

As we face a new year, what trends will impact landscape conservation? From a global perspective, addressing climate change has to be at the top of the list. The recent COP 27 in Egypt made only modest headway, but there was an agreement to support a “loss and damage fund” for vulnerable countries. Australia, a continent battered by extreme weather, has new leadership with a mandate to take action. The urgency of a 30 x 30 land and seascape conservation strategy is more apparent that ever. 


Another important trend is growing recognition of the central role of Indigenous, traditional, and underrepresented communities in landscape conservation. Again, Australia has modeled co-management approaches such as the plan for Uluru-Kata Tjuta.  


In the United States, validating the significance of these communities and their heritage has been challenging. An example from the state of Virginia, however, offers insights into how to protect and interpret more inclusive histories, including those of African American cemeteries. How will all these factors play out in 2023?

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.

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Look Back and Learn


Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage through


In March 2020, just before the pandemic closed down the world, the Smithsonian sponsored a symposium to tackle two perspectives on the climate crisis’s impact on cultural heritage – the threat to the resources and the value of these resources as a source of resilience for communities to address climate change.


The gathering brought together a global lineup of inspiring speakers to empower cultural heritage authorities, managers, and advocates to pursue more ambitious engagement and collaborative approaches.This discussion is more relevant than ever and is worth revisiting.

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Photot Credt: J.Lennon

Australia faces

"A Fierce Urgency of Now"


Goaded by continuing floods after the disastrous bushfires over summer 2020, Australians finally voted for climate change and a new federal government on May 21, 2022. The political landscape changed radically with promises of immediate action on climate change and the environment after nine years of government neglect. Before the election, the conservative government delayed release of the highly anticipated State of the Environment Report. The study is a five-yearly assessment of the health or condition of Australia’s environment and heritage. The findings released by the new government would be more alarming if they had not been expected.

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View of National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, August 28, 1963

Photo by Warren K. Leffler, LOC, LC-U9- 10360-5

Register Now for Webinar: Documenting Landscapes of Protest

Please join us on January 12, 2023, from 2:00pm to 2:45pm ET for a presentation and discussion with Dr. Roneva Keel. Dr. Keel recently completed a study for the National Park Service (NPS) documenting the past and present of protest on the National Mall and other nearby parks. Her study explores how First Amendment activities in the National Capital Region have transformed the way citizens engage with the federal government. It also examines the role the National Park Service, as a steward of these lands, has played in shaping democracy in the 20th and 21st centuries. 


Dr. Keel is a historian of the twentieth-century United States, with a focus on labor and immigration. She received her PhD in history from the University of Washington in 2020. From 2021 to 2022, she held a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies, which partnered with the cultural resources division of the National Capital Region, to produce her study.

Register Now

Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District, looking from the Hebrew Cemetery toward the African Burying Ground. Image Credit: Dan Mouer

Historic Recognition of African American Cemeteries in Virginia


Historic African American cemeteries are receiving long-overdue attention for their significance. Unfortunately, a common misconception persists that cemeteries are not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Virginia has demonstrated that numerous types of historic cemeteries can be listed. These include sites that are significant for their landscape design and funerary markers to those with unmarked graves that tell a story of historic neglect and erasure.

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Spirit Mountain.

Photo credit: National Park Service

News and Notes

Designation of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in southern Nevada, preserves a landscape that is visually stunning, biologically diverse, and sacred to twelve tribes, including Yuman-speaking tribes who pay reverence to Spirit Mountain. And at 450,000 acres, the monument moves the United States closer to achieving global goals of conserving 30% land and waterways

Fellowship Opportunity

Apply Now!

NPS Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship Program now accepting applications for 15 positions


The National Park Service, in partnership with the National Park Foundation and American Conservation Experience, is now accepting applications for this innovative fellowship program. 15 NPS parks and programs will be hosting humanities scholars for 2-years beginning in fall 2023. Apply by January 30, 2023.


Upcoming Events & Webinars

National Council on Public History Annual Conference, April 12 - 15, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia


ICOMOS 2023 Triennial General Assembly, September 30- Oct 9 2023, in Sydney, Australia. Call for abstracts is open.



NATURE, CULTURE,COMMUNITY www.livinglandscapeobserver.net
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