Dear Friends:
The Record of Decision has been signed by Northeast Regional Director Marie Rust, and the new General Management Plan for Gettysburg National Military Park is now complete. Our goals were many and included many new and innovative ideas that will remove intrusions from the field and restore much of the park to it's pre-1900's appearance. The foundation has been set to create a new Visitor Center and Museum that reflects the historical significance of the park and achieves the four National Park Service objectives:
A great number of improvements have been made through negotiations and public meetings, the public's ideas and comments, National Park Service ideas about the best possible project, and issues related to economic feasibility. We are confident that Gettysburg National Military Park is headed in the right direction, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Now that the plans are approved, we need to work closely with National Park Service historians, architects, planners, and naturalists to achieve the desired goal. Gettysburg NMP will work closely with local and state officials to ensure that the best benefits of the park and community are met through mutual understanding and planning. Ultimately, our goal is preserve the park and it's resources and provide our visitors with the total experience of the impact which Gettysburg had upon us as a nation.
As a stakeholder for the park, we continue to value your views and opinions. I encourage you to send your thoughts or ideas to GETT_Superintendent@nps.gov
Sincerely,
John Latschar
Superintendent
Gettysburg National Military Park
The new General Management Plan for Gettysburg National Military Park is a strategic planning document that outlines the future management of the Gettysburg battlefield for the next 15 to 20 years. The plan will set the basic philosophy and broad guidance for management decisions that affect the park's resources and the visitor's experience. Gettysburg's last General Management Plan was adopted in 1982 when there were considerably fewer visitors to the park than there are today. The new plan takes into account the growing number of visitors to the park and the effect they are having on the fragile historic resources of this famous battlefield. The summary of the General Management Plan is available below.
Why do we preserve a battlefield such as Gettysburg? This question may be best answered by War Correspondent Charles Coffin who visited the battlefield of Gettysburg in 1865.
Gettysburg National Military Park Planning Page
National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325