Guide to Sustainable Earthworks Management

GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE
EARTHWORKS MANAGEMENT

90% Draft

The Guide to Sustainable Earthworks Management (90% Draft) was developed by the National Park Service in partnership with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation as an evaluation, refinement, and expansion of the 1989 Earthworks Landscape Management Manual. Begun in the summer of 1995 with field assessments of earthworks and earthworks management practices in seven parks in the Middle Atlantic and Southeastern parks, the Guide includes specific information on managing earthworks under forest cover and in open conditions. Drawing upon information we have learned since the last exploration, the basis for this new work is a clear management process that considers sustainability to be the foundation for preserving and interpreting these resources.

Downloading the Guide

Copies of the Guide to Sustainable Earthworks Management, 90% Draft, can be viewed as PDFs by clicking the links along the left margin. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the PDF's.

For further information about earthworks and this Guide, you can read the full Introduction to the report or read a brief article about Managing Historic Battlefield Earthworks which first appeared in the "Places" pages in April 1998.

Front Matter		*Front Matter* Table of Contents List of Illustrations Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction
Chapter 1 11x17 Graphic		A History of Earthworks in the United States Fortifications and Military Theory in Europe 1500-1800 The Evolution of American Earthwork Fortification through the War of 1812 Fortification and Military Theory in the United States through the Civil War The Construction of Earthworks Existing Conditions of Earthworks
Chapter 2		Earthworks Landscape Management Principles Protection/ Preservation Sustainability in Earthworks Management Practices Legibility and Aesthetic Acceptability Conclusion/ Synthesis
Chapter 3		Managing Earthworks Under Forest Cover Ecological Processes Forest Cover Conditions Earthworks Under Full Canopy Earthworks Under Partial Canopy Hazard Tree Management Thinning the Overstory in Earthworks Areas
Chapter 4		Managing Earthworks in Open Conditions Grass Community Ecology and Physiology Open Conditions Management Mowing Prescribed Burning Herbicide Treatment
Chapter 5		A Process for Earthworks Management Defining the Management Area Identifying the Resource Establishing Management Objectives Describing Management Strategies Developing Implementation and Maintenance Plans Developing Good Records Monitoring and Evaluating Earthworks Management
Chapter 6		Earthworks Management Sample Strategies Maintaining earthworks under full forest cover Creating viewing opportunities through selective forest thinning Enhancing earthworks legibility through selective forest thinning Maintaining an open understory to allow viewing of earthworks Establishing native herbaceous cover in a semi-shaded environment Developing mixed native grasses on a site with invading woody species Establishing immediate, long-term herbaceous cover Enriching native species Converting exotic turf to native tallgrass cover Enhancing legibility of fortifications through planting and mowing
Chapter 7 Topics 1-2 Topics 3-5 Topics 6-11 and Bibliography		Technical Support Topics Glossary of Earthworks Terminology Field Forms GPS Mapping Methodology Sustainable Plant Species for Earthworks Management Suppliers of Native Seeds and Plants Estabishment and Managing Native Grasses Invasive Plant Species and Control Measures Supplies and Equipment Costs References for Vegetation Management Preservation of Archeological Resources Boardwalks and Viewing Platforms for Earthworks Bibliography
Appendices		Appendices Background Information on the Guide to Sustainable Earthworks Management Review and Evaluation of the Earthworks Landscape Management Manual

Comments

Input from a diverse group of reviewers is essential to helping us make this document as useful as possible for earthworks managers. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to Shaun Eyring, Historic Landscape Architect in the Philadelphia Support Office at shaun_eyring@nps.gov or to Lucy Lawliss, Historic Landscape Architect in the Southeast Support Office - Atlanta at lucy_lawliss@nps.gov.

Updated
9/10/98