INTRODUCTION

This Draft Historic Properties Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (HPMP/EIS) presents and analyzes three alternative future directions for management and use of historic structures and cultural landscapes in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Lakeshore). One of the alternatives has been identified as the National Park Service (NPS) preferred alternative (the proposed action). Potential consequences and environmental impacts of all alternatives have been identified and assessed. Following public review of this document, the alternatives will be revised as necessary and a final HPMP/EIS will be prepared.

The "Notice of Intent" to prepare a General Management Plan (GMP) Amendment and HPMP/EIS was published in the Federal Register on February 24, 1998. The GMP Amendment was deemed necessary at the time to address changes to the 1979 GMP required to provide an updated foundation for decision-making related to the management of historic properties within the Lakeshore. However, the HPMP/EIS planning process has taken longer than anticipated and a GMP Revision is now underway. Planning for the GMP and the HPMP will be coordinated to the maximum extent possible to ensure that the documents are consistent.

The two-year GMP Revision process will identify issues in the Lakeshore and develop alternative strategies for addressing them. The public will be afforded the opportunity to review and comment at various stages in this process.

This HPMP is a conceptual document that establishes and articulates a management philosophy and framework for decision making and problem solving. Since many preservation and adaptive use activities would be implemented by partners, this plan will function as a guide for the NPS and partners. It is anticipated that this plan will provide guidance for 10-20 years. Detailed work plans, business plans, environmental analyses, and agreements will be prepared for specific partner proposals, as much as possible by the partners.

A variety of intangibles could affect the implementation of this plan, including partner participation, NPS funding and staff time, compliance needs, and competing Lakeshore priorities.

The plan has been developed by a core team of NPS professionals from the Lakeshore and the Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska, and private citizens with a variety of historical expertise. There has been extensive public involvement throughout the planning process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE LAKESHORE

The Lakeshore encompasses a 60 mile (96 km) stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, including the coastline of North and South Manitou Islands (see map). The park is located in Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula, at the base of the Leelanau Peninsula, 43 km (25 miles) west of Traverse City (see map).

The Lakeshore was established primarily for its outstanding natural features, including forests, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena. The Lakeshore also contains many cultural features including an 1871 lighthouse, three former Life-Saving Service/Coast Guard Stations and an extensive Rural Historic Farm District.

The Lakeshore is open to visitors all year. In 1998, visitation totaled 1,298,205, with peak visitation in July and August. The mainland portion of the Lakeshore is accessible by car or bus. The islands may be accessed by concession walk-on ferry or private boat.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes are "perched" dunes consisting of a series of extensive piles of wind blown sand atop rock debris deposited by continental glaciers during the Ice Age. Thousands of years of water and wind erosion smoothed out the headlands and filled in bays. Many of the small lakes found within the park boundaries were once part of ancient Lake Michigan. This process of erosion is ideal for the creation of sand dunes. Many dunes have been stabilized through plant succession. There are still many acres of active dunes found along the beaches and the bluffs that produce an ever changing landscape. Swamps and wetlands are found throughout the Lakeshore interspersed with dunes and lakes.

The Lakeshore contains a wide range of vegetation, ranging from beach and dunal plants along the Lake Michigan shoreline, to the forests and meadows found inland. The dunes and beaches host many plants that have adapted to the harsh conditions. Hardy grasses and small plants give way to trees and shrubs as succession occurs. Inland from the beach, forests of red, white, and pitch pines, red and white oaks, or a climax forest of American beech and sugar maple can be found. Open fields and meadows are interspersed with the woods, most as byproducts of the past farming era. These areas are filled with wild grasses and flowers. Wetlands complete the list of diverse vegetation types.

Over 700 plant species have been found in the Lakeshore and the wide variety of natural habitats provide a great diversity of wildlife, as well. More than 45 species of mammals and 250 species of birds are found in the Lakeshore, as well as a number of types of reptiles, amphibians and fish. Some animals, such as to white-tailed deer, are found in most habitats. Other species, such as beaver, mink, and waterfowl, require specific habitats. The Lakeshore also offers favorable habitats for such endangered species as the piping plover and the prairie warbler.

Humans have lived in this region for at least 10,000 years. The native people lived in close association with the land. European influence brought the fur trade and later the lumber industry. Eventually, farming became common throughout the area. Evidence of all these activities can still be found within the lakeshore.

PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PLAN

The NPS has systematically reviewed and studied Lakeshore structures and associated cultural landscapes over fifty years old, to identify their historic significance. These efforts have resulted in the nomination of numerous structures to the National Register of Historic Places. Previous Lakeshore plans have focused upon the maritime resources of the Manitou Islands and the mainland. Over the past few years the Lakeshore agricultural and recreational resources have been targeted for study. It is this group of resources that is under special consideration in this HPMP.

Although the NPS has a congressional mandate to preserve the historic structures and cultural landscapes in the parks, there are insufficient federal resources available to preserve all structures. For some structures any effort comes too late. Many are in poor condition or in ruins and are considered to be safety hazards. For the more than 100 Lakeshore structures that are not already identified in Lakeshore planning documents the NPS intends to identify preservation strategies and to develop priorities for stabilization.

To expand the impact of the preservation effort, historic preservation organizations, volunteers, individual contributors and others will be invited and encouraged to participate with the NPS in joint preservation efforts. Limited federal resources will only preserve a few additional structures. Partnership assistance would help delay and hopefully prevent the eventual loss of significant numbers of properties over fifty years old.

Goals of the Plan

The goals of this Historic Properties Management Plan are:

1. To include all structures and cultural landscapes that have been designated or recommended for historic designation and have not been covered in previous Lakeshore plans.

2. To prioritize structures and cultural landscapes for preservation efforts based on their relative historic significance.

3. To develop a wide range of preservation strategies and tools.

4. To facilitate the use of private resources to assist with the preservation of Lakeshore historic properties.

Constraints

Several factors limit the range of alternatives that can be realistically considered. These constraints are the result of legislation, NPS policy, resource concerns, safety, and funding limitations of the NPS.

NPS budget and backlog: As noted above, the NPS has already made a substantial commitment to historic preservation at Sleeping Bear Dunes. The South Manitou Island Lighthouse, three U. S. Life-Saving Service Stations, three coastal villages, two island farmsteads, a school house, log barn and cabin totaling 71 major and 16 minor historic structures are maintained by the NPS. With a finite park budget and historic preservation resources, funds for the preservation of these structures are not limitless. Over the past several years, NPS visitor services have been reduced and maintenance of structures of all types has been deferred. Consequently, the Lakeshore has a multi-million dollar backlog of maintenance needs.

This is a Service-wide problem. A recent NPS study reported to the President that the National Park System has some 25,000 historic structures at 369 parks. Information on 17,436 structures has been entered into a historic structures database. Twelve percent of the structures are in poor condition and 41% are in fair condition. The estimated cost of repair and maintenance for the System's historic structures is over one billion dollars.

"Based on identified maintenance, rehabilitation, and development needs, the NPS does not have and never has had enough funds or staff to care for all resources in its custody. Contributing to the fundamental problem are unrealistic expectations reflected in and furthered by park planning documents, an overwhelming deferred maintenance workload, and a lack of multidisciplinary focus to set and achieve realistic goals in cooperative efforts recognizing the value of all aspects of park operations.

Funds and staff are unlikely to increase and may be reduced. The NPS must therefore reevaluate critically its processes for setting priorities for resource preservation. Unless it makes explicit rational decisions about what it can and can not preserve and maintain, it will continue to lose resources by chance rather than by choice." (National Park Service, 1997).

Realistically, it is unlikely that the NPS could maintain more than one mainland farmstead, consisting of a house, a barn, and a few outbuildings for the interpretation of agriculture. Other means would need to be found to preserve the other farms' structures.

Wilderness Designation: The Lakeshore's 1979 General Management Plan and 1981 Revised Wilderness Recommendation recommended five areas for wilderness designation. Public Law 97-361 of 1982 requires that the Lakeshore manage this area as wilderness. The creation of areas of non-wilderness within wilderness zones is not permitted. However, the preservation of minor historic structures and sites within wilderness is permitted by NPS policy.

Farming Practices: The Lakeshore is greatly concerned about the effects of harmful farming practices on the natural resources of the Lakeshore. Pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and feed lots have direct negative impacts on wildlife and water quality. The light sandy soils of the lakeshore are especially susceptible to the wind erosion that follows plowing. Standard mowing practices kill or injure nesting grassland birds and grazing disrupts grassland ecosystems. The Lakeshore seeks to limit or eliminate these practices to protect the natural communities within the boundary.

Visitor Access to Farm Landscapes: Lakeshore visitors must have access to park lands for appropriate recreational uses. Visitors need to have access to open fields for hiking, wildlife observation, hunting and other recreational and educational uses. Proposals that prevent visitor use of large sections of the Lakeshore are not acceptable. Extensive areas of fenced land for field crops or grazing are therefore not desirable.

Appropriate Use: Many potential adaptive uses for these historic properties may be economically feasible but are not appropriate for a National Lakeshore setting. Only activities that are compatible with the purpose of the Lakeshore are permitted. The Superintendent has the responsibility and the authority to reject uses that are inappropriate. Uses that would significantly impact natural or cultural resources, or visitor use and enjoyment, would not be permitted. The proposal evaluation process ("sieve"), will be used to evaluate proposals for three key elements: conformance with law, regulation, and policy; environmental impact; and economic viability.

Safety: The safety of the visiting public is of utmost concern. Dangers associated with hazardous sites and toxic materials need to be eliminated. The safety concerns associated with proposed activities and vacant structures need to be carefully evaluated and addressed.

Residential Use: Most of the historic structures in the Lakeshore were acquired from individual families. After eliminating this residential use, per legislation, it would not be appropriate to lease the structures for residences or summer homes.

Limited Operational Use: While much of the preservation work completed at Sleeping Bear Dunes has been accomplished by adapting structures for operational uses, the Lakeshore has only limited need for additional space. As
part of this planning process, the Lakeshore will project the need for office, storage, visitor use and employee housing for the next 20 years.

Historic Preservation Seen in Context (Only One of Many Lakeshore Functions): Preservation of historic structures is just one of many responsibilities mandated by Congress in the operation of the Lakeshore. The Lakeshore is also required to protect the natural resources (including threatened and endangered species), eradicate exotic species, monitor air and water quality, and manage wildlife. Providing recreational facilities such as campgrounds, hiking trails, scenic drives and picnic areas is another important effort. Visitor protection and law enforcement duties are major areas of responsibility as are educational services for schools and visitors. Visitor information and interpretive exhibits are important services. Environmental cleanup of toxic and hazardous materials found at former house sites and dumps is a costly but essential task to protect the environment and to comply with state and federal law.

Preservation Tools

There are several tools available to assist in the preservation of Lakeshore historic properties. These include federal laws and NPS policies and programs.

Adaptive Use By the NPS: Identifying an adaptive use for a historic structure is an often-used method of preservation for rehabilitation and maintenance of the structure. Many Lakeshore needs for facilities have been met by using historic structures.

Private Inholders: Several of the nearly one hundred private inholdings are historic structures, which means that these structures may be preserved with private money. Included in this group are the D. H. Day farm, the Manning farm and six farms in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District.

Concessions: Another common method for the preservation of NPS structures is to use them for concession services, but concessions must provide a needed service that is appropriate to the Lakeshore.

Open Field Management Plan: Several of the old farm fields are identified for maintenance as part of the Lakeshore's 1990 Open Field Management Plan. This plan recognizes the benefits of retaining some of the open fields. Open fields benefit several wildlife species and provide visitors enhanced opportunities to view wildlife. Open fields are also used to exhibit terrain features significant of geologic importance. Some of the fields are also components of historic districts and provide the proper historic setting for display of the structures. Some revision of the plan might be necessary to include additional historically significant fields and to delete those that are less important. It is not necessary that an agricultural use be found for a historic field in order for it to be maintained as an open field.

Volunteer Program: The Lakeshore has an active Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) program. Thousands of hours are donated each year to assist with visitor services, maintenance and research. The VIP program is organized to provide the legal mechanism to employ volunteer workers ranging in age from those in youth programs to senior citizens. Volunteers can assist in the preservation and operation of historic properties.

Partnerships: Park managers are encouraged to seek out prospective partners who share goals in common with the park and establish partnerships for the care and management of resources. Partnerships may be limited to a special event or project or may be a long-term commitment to a wide range of goals. The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes provide volunteers and raise funds to support the Lakeshore with many varied projects. Partnerships might be specific to a particular structure, type of structure, geographic area or type of visitor use. The NPS recognizes partnerships as an essential component of operations, including the preservation of historic resources.

Historic Leasing Program: In Preserving Historic Structures in the National Park System: A Report to the President, the NPS not only documented the tremendous backlog of maintenance work, but also reconfirmed its commitment to preserving the cultural resources in its care. To accomplish this, three techniques were emphasized: philanthropic support, partnerships, and historic leasing. Historic structures can be leased for uses appropriate in the specific park. In the past, historic leasing has had very limited success. The NPS proposes legislative and administrative changes that would improve the historic leasing program while providing full protection of the natural resources. The NPS regards the leasing of historic structures as a key technique for the preservation of park structures. Structures could be leased for up to thirty years or more.

Tax Credits: Persons who restore historic structures for a commercial venture, such as a concession, can receive a 25% investment tax credit for the full cost of the project. This credit is available for historic structures leased from the government.

Entrance Fees: The Lakeshore is in the third year of a Congressionally-mandated five-year Fee Demonstration Program to evaluate the effectiveness and public acceptance of entrance fees at National Parks and other federal recreation areas. Eighty percent of the money collected at the Lakeshore is retained here for maintenance of recreational facilities, educational programs and protection of natural and cultural resources. If the program is made permanent, some additional money for historic preservation would become available.

It is important to note that historic structures cannot be evaluated without addressing the cultural landscape with which they are associated. The significance of structures derives from the integrity of the landscape in which they exist. The interrelationship between structures in a complex and their landscape provides the viewer with clues as to how the components are interconnected. To evaluate one without the others provides for an inconsistent and often inaccurate view of the historic nature of the whole.

A cultural landscape may be defined as a network of interactions between people, places, and resources. Landscapes may be characterized as having three basic dimensions: 1) formal, or the physical characteristics and properties of the natural ecosystem upon which they are constructed; 2) relational, or the interactive (behavioral, social, symbolic) links that connect people with land and resources at various scales, and 3) historical, or the sequences of links that result from the social construction of the environment through time. It is important to note that cultural landscapes do not exist outside historical and relational links.

Cultural landscapes are complex resources that range from large rural tracts covering several thousand acres to formal gardens of less than an acre. Natural features such as landforms, soils, and vegetation are not only part of the cultural landscape, they provide the framework within which it evolves. In the broadest sense, a cultural landscape is a reflection of human adaptation and use of natural resources and is often expressed in the way land is organized and divided, patterns of settlement, land use, systems of circulation, and the types of structures that are built. The character of a cultural landscape is defined by physical materials, such as roads, structures, walls, and vegetation, and by use reflecting cultural values and traditions.

Identifying the significant characteristics and features in a landscape and understanding them in relation to each other and to significant historic events, trends, and persons allows us to read the landscape as a cultural resource. In many cases, these features are dynamic and change over time. In many cases, too, historical significance may be ascribed to more than one period in a landscape's physical and cultural evolution.

Cultural landscape management involves identifying the type and degree of change that can occur while maintaining the historic character of the landscape. The identification and management of an appropriate level of change in a cultural landscape is closely related to its significance. In a landscape significant for its association with a specific style, individual, trend, or event, change may diminish its integrity and needs to be carefully monitored and controlled. In a landscape significant for the pattern of use that has evolved, physical change may be essential to the continuation of the use. In the latter case, the focus should be on perpetuating the use while maintaining the general character and feeling of the historic period(s), rather than on preserving a specific appearance.

According to federal law and the NPS Management Policies, all cultural landscapes are to be managed as cultural resources, regardless of the type or level of significance. Cultural landscape management focuses on preserving a landscape's physical attributes, biotic systems, and use when that use contributes to its historical significance. Research, planning, and stewardship are the framework for the program. Research defines the features, values, and associations that make a landscape historically significant; planning outlines the issues and alternatives for long-term preservation; and stewardship involves such activities as condition assessment, maintenance, and training.

Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires the NPS to identify and nominate to the National Register all resources under its jurisdiction that appear eligible, including cultural landscapes. Cultural landscapes are listed in the National Register when their significant cultural values have been documented and evaluated within appropriate thematic contexts and physical investigation determines that they retain integrity. Cultural landscapes are classified in the National Register as sites or districts or may be included as contributing elements of larger districts.

Because many parks were evaluated and documented for the National Register before cultural landscapes were recognized as significant resources, the National Register is an incomplete indicator of the presence of landscape resources. Therefore, per Section 106 compliance in the Historic Preservation Act, particular attention must be given to identifying and evaluating landscapes and their significant characteristics, features, and uses so that the effects of proposed undertakings on them can be adequately considered.

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and the Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes provide guidance to cultural landscape owners, managers, landscape architects, preservation planners, architects, contractors, and project reviewers prior to and during the planning and implementation of project work. The Secretary of the Interior Standards establish professional standards and providing advice on the preservation of cultural resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register.

The Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes define four treatments, and how to apply them to cultural landscapes in a way that meets the Standards. Of the four, Preservation standards require retention of the greatest amount of historic fabric, including the landscape's historic form, features, and details as they have evolved over time. Rehabilitation standards acknowledge the need to alter or add to a cultural landscape to meet continuing or new uses while retaining the landscape's historic character. Restoration standards allow for the depiction of a landscape at a particular time in its history by preserving materials from the period of significance and removing material from other periods. Reconstruction standards establish a framework for recreating a vanished or non-surviving landscape with new materials, primarily for interpretive purposes.

Virtually all cultural landscapes evolve from and are dependent on natural resources. In many ways, the dynamic qualities inherent in natural systems are what differentiate cultural landscapes from other cultural resources. Plant and animal communities associated with human settlement and use are considered biotic cultural resources and can reflect social, functional, economic, ornamental, or traditional uses of the land. Within a cultural landscape, biotic cultural resources are recognized either as a system or as individual specimen features that contribute to the landscape's significance. Consultation with cultural and natural resource professionals is necessary to determine appropriate protection and management strategies for biotic cultural resources.

IDENTIFIED CULTURAL LANDSCAPES AND STRUCTURES

Six cultural landscapes have been identified in the Lakeshore, using the concept described above (see maps in Appendix 5). They include:

-Boekeloo
-Tweedle/Treat
-Ken-Tuck-U-Inn
-North Manitou Village
-Bufka/Kropp/Eitzen
-Port Oneida

Detailed descriptions of each cultural landscape are found in the cultural resources section of Chapter 3 - "Affected Environment" and in Appendix 3, "Cultural Landscape Packages."

In addition, there are four historic structures or complexes of historic structures that need to be evaluated for possible listing on the National Register. The cultural landscapes associated with them are not historically significant and will not be evaluated:

-Esch Farmhouse
-Shalda Log Cabin
-Theodore and Alvina Beck Farmhouse, Shed, Honeymoon Cottage, and Barn Ruins
-Henry and Maggie Haas Farmhouse and Shed Ruin

Detailed descriptions of each are found in the cultural resources section of Chapter 3 - "Affected Environment" and in Appendix 4.

HISTORIC PROPERTIES CURRENTLY BEING PRESERVED BY THE NPS

Through other planning documents, the NPS has already made a major commitment to preserve historically significant structures located within the Lakeshore. Most of these structures are associated with the maritime history of the Great Lakes. The Lakeshore has accomplished many of its preservation projects in spite of limited funding. Whenever
possible, the Lakeshore adapts historic structures to meet its operational needs. In the past, much preservation work has been accomplished by using historic structures for ranger stations, interpretative facilities, maintenance support and employee housing.

Glen Haven Area: A development concept plan (DCP) has been prepared for the village, which identifies preservation treatment and uses for the historic structures. A Historic Structures Report has been completed for the Sleeping Bear Inn. Plans call for this structure to be included in a historic structures leasing program. The Cannery in Glen Haven has been preserved and is used to exhibit the Lakeshore's historic boat collection. The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and other volunteers provide the staff to operate the museum and to restore the boats. Using money from the new Recreation Fee Demonstration Program, the Lakeshore has begun to adaptively restore the Glen Haven General Store. The upstairs will be used for the Leelanau District Ranger Office and the downstairs store section will be a combination exhibit and information center. The blacksmith shop received major structural repair more than a decade ago. Replacing the floor and the forge is a high priority so that the building can be returned to its working appearance and interpreted to visitors. Several structures in Glen Haven have been painted and had roofs replaced or repaired.

The U. S. Life-Saving Service Station at Sleeping Bear Point has been restored and museum exhibits installed. Daily operation of the museum was halted a few years ago because of limitations in the Lakeshore's budget. For the last three years, volunteers from the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes have provided the staff to open the museum on a regular schedule.

South Manitou Village and North Manitou Island Life-Saving Service Station: The U.S. Life-Saving Service stations on both islands have been restored for use as ranger stations. Most of the structures in the village on South Manitou Island have been rehabilitated for use as seasonal quarters.

The South Manitou Lighthouse has become an unofficial symbol of the Lakeshore. The exterior of the structure has been preserved. A Historic Structures Report has been prepared. The report documents the structure's history and condition. It also makes recommendations about restoring the interior and the advisability of putting exhibits in the connected lighthouse keeper's dwelling.

Some agricultural properties have been identified for preservation. On South Manitou Island, the George Conrad Hutzler and the August Beck farms are being preserved and the open fields maintained. The George Johann Hutzler log barn is also being preserved within the wilderness area. The island schoolhouse has been stabilized.

The NPS proposes that all the Lakeshore's maritime historic sites be a part of a large maritime landscape historic district connected by the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve. This would include the lighthouse, the U.S. Life-Saving Service stations, Glen Haven and South Manitou Village. This is one of the most extensive historic maritime resources in the country and the proposed maritime landscape historic district is considered to be nationally significant.

D.H. Day Campground: The log cabin at the D.H. Day Campground has been preserved and is used as an education center with support provided by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and grants from other organizations.

The "Structure Utilization" pie chart (see graphic on next page) identifies the major groups of structures in the Lakeshore and those that are included in this plan. On the left half of the circle are all the structures that are less than 50 years old (the minimum requirement for listing on the National Register). Some of these non-historic structures are being adaptively used and maintained by the Lakeshore for operational needs such as the ranger office at the D.H. Day campground or the new restrooms at the Platte River campground. Whenever possible the Lakeshore will use historic structures for these operational purposes and some current operations may be transferred to historic structures. Some non-historic structures are privately owned and will remain but those owned by the federal government have been, or will be, removed.

The right hand side of the chart identifies all structures over 50 years old and that have been evaluated for historical significance by historic preservation professionals. Sixty-four structures have been identified for preservation by previous plans such as the 1979 GMP or the Glen Haven DCP. Some structures depicted on the right side of the circle are private and will remain so. Evaluation has determined that many structures are "not historic" and have been, or will be, removed. The final group, historic structures that have not been addressed in a management plan, are the structures that this HPMP will consider. The plan will also consider cultural landscape features when they are present.

Last Updated: 07DEC1999
Http://www.nps.gov/slbe/hp_ch1.htm
Author: T.M.Baker