The Issue

Traditionally, the National Park Service has treated the topographic landscape features at Gettysburg as natural resources, even though these features were often critical to the movement of troops and the outcome of the battle. The park has allowed many of these features to become obscured over time. The emphasis of the park's resource management programs has also changed over time. From 1935 until about 1995, resource managers stressed the agricultural use of parkland and the adoption of the latest agricultural technology. Today, the emphasis is on the preservation, interpretation, and commemoration of the historic landscape of the battle.

In order to identify, understand, and preserve the character-defining features that contribute to the historic landscape, Gettysburg National Military Park has developed a general management plan that incorporates the first part of a cultural landscape report: site history, existing conditions, and analysis and evaluation. This approach proved useful in allowing park staff to identify those features that were most critical to protecting the integrity of the battlefield. It also aided staff in making management decisions and explaining those decisions to the public.