April 2016

Living Landscape Observer - Nature, Culture, Community
In This Issue
Seoul's Green Veins and Heart
Creation of the Rice Coast: A Global Exchange
Back to the Future for National Parks
Valuing NPS Programs
In the News
About Us
Join Our Mailing List
May 15-19 2016
Prague, Czech Republic

Planet at the Crossroad
September 1-10, 2016
 Honolulu, HI

November 15-18 2016
Houston, TX


Seoul's Green Veins and Heart

"Greening Seoul" is an ambitious effort to create more green space in a rapidly growing mega city of some 10 million residents. It is run by the Green Seoul Bureau in the City's metropolitan government, led by a Vice Mayor, with nature and ecology, landscape and parks divisions.

Creating and managing major parks, some on former landfill or industrial sites is one key tactic. 
Other programs focus on green-roof making on apartment and office blocks, greening school grou nds (540 to date) to act like local parks and linking up parks and green spaces. Air quality and amenity have improved m arkedly. 

 



Living Landscape Observer

Creation of the Rice Coast: A Global Exchange
Plantations line the coast and tidal rivers of Georgia and South Carolina. Today many of these properties are recognized for their historic significance as well as their natural resource value - even in the face of widespread development. What is not well known, however, is how these pieces - the plantations, the wildlife preserves, and the coastal areas fit together to tell a powerful story of global exchange. Read more. 
Back to the Future for National Parks
President Carter signs bill creating Lowell National Historical Park in 1978.
Could a "back-to-the-future" approach to National Park policy aid the agency in setting goals for the 21st century? Might the 1970s, the era that brought us stagflation and disco hold some clues as to what the future might bring for conservation in the United States?  Read more .
Parks Without Borders: Valuing NPS Programs
Environmental economists have focused on the management of physical park units when performing economic valuations. The value NPS creates by operating cooperative programs outside of its park boundaries (including programs aimed at education, conservation, historic preservation, and recreation) through collaboration with local partners is just as relevant - albeit more difficult to define. Still, we cannot omit the value that programs provide just because it is harder to quantify: programming can be the most effective and efficient method of achieving some of the agency's long-term objectives. Read more. 
In the News  

I n a recent speech, Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell looked ahead to  the Next Hundred Years of Conservation, calling particular attention to the need to "think big."  In her words "What we need is smart planning on a landscape-level irrespective of man-made lines on the map." The whole speech is worth reading.

Has Big Conservation Gone Astray? Read a critique of what the author calls a human-centric "new conservation," supported by some of the biggest environmental NGOs in the world. This is part 1 in a 4 part series.

According to the Coalition to Protect America's Parks, the NPS centennial offers a unique opportunity to ensure lasting protection of Southwest Colorado's national parks and monuments. One key factor is the development of a master leasing plan by the Bureau of Land Management to guide proposed oil and gas extraction in the sites' vicinity. Read an Op-Ed on the topic by Coalition member Jane Anderson, published in the Durango Herald on April 16, 2016.

What can we learn from 5,000 Years of Planning?   The traditional approach of project-by-project planning is falling short. It too often misses the big picture - how a region may be affected by the cumulative development of multiple projects.

Court vacates listing of Blair Mountain delisting from historic places registry This article offers just a glimpse into the complexities of listing cultural landscapes in the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more about the underlying significance of Blair Mountain ... view the PBS special  Mine Wars.

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. This approach emphasizes the preservation of a "sense of place" and blends ingredients of land conservation, heritage preservation, and sustainable community development. Learn more about how you can get involved or sign up for the newsletter here.  

Our Mission: To provide observations and information on the emerging fields of landscape scale conservation, heritage preservation and sustainable community development.