Attachment_3_-_GETT_Foundation_Document.pdf

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Foundation Document Gettysburg National Military Park Pennsylvania August 2016

Attachment 3 - GETT Foundation Document

BR

BR

Gettysburg Hospital

Lutheran Theological Seminary

Gettysburg College

Square

GETTYSBURG

Observation Tower

Visitor Center

Copse of Trees

Brian Barn

Codori Farm

Rose Farm

The Peach Orchard

The Angle

Amphitheater

Devil’s Den

South Cavalry Field

Observation Tower

McPherson Barn

The Railroad Cut

Youth Group Campground

(reservation only)

McMillan Woods

Information (summer only)

Soldiers’ National Monument

Meade’s

HQ

Observation Tower

Chambersburg Road

Biglerville Road

M um m asburg Road

O ld

H ar ris bu rg

Ro ad

York R oad

Cavalry Field Road

Unite d S tates C ava lry A ve

Lo w

D ut ch

R oa d

Gregg Avenue

Fairfield R oad

Hanover Road

Baltimore Pike Pumping S tation Road

Re d

R oc k R oa d

Waterworks Rd orse Tavern Road

Black

Tan eyto w n

R o ad

Warren A venue

Ro ad

Em m its bu rg

South C on fe de ra te

W est C o n fed erate A ve

Bu fo rd

A ve nu e

Re yn ol ds ve nu e

W es t C o n fe d er at ow ard Avenue

MeredithAvenue

W as h in g to n S t

Knoxlyn Road

Lincoln Ave

D ou bl ed ay A ve

C o lle g ve H ar ris bu rg

S tr ee t

Jones Battalion Avenue

St ra tt o n S t

B al ti m o re

St re et

York Street

East Middle StreetWest Middle St

St ei nw eh r A ve nu e

Hunt

Pleasonton Ave

H an co ck

A ve

Granite School House Lane

Wheatfield

Sed g w ick

A ven u e

Cr aw fo rd

A ve

Road

Wright Avenue

Millerstown Rd

Coster Avenue

C ar lis le

S t

Buford Avenue

B la ck sm it h

S ho p R oa d

Confederat e C av al ry A ve nu e

East Confederate A venu e

To Pennsylvania Turnpike and Harrisburg

To , , and Washington, D.C.70

81To and Chambersburg

To York, , and Lancaster

To Baltimore

To visit Eisenhower National Historic Site, obtain tickets and board shuttle bus at Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.

Entrance to East Cavalry Battlefield Site is approximately 4 miles/6 kilometers from Visitor Center.

W ill o u g hb y un ill ou gh by R un

M arsh

C reek

Littles Run

Pl um u n

Pl m hite un

St ev en s

Ru

Rock Creek

EISENHOWER

NATIONAL

HISTORIC SITE

EAST CAVALRY

BATTLEFIELD SITE

GETTYSBURG NATIONAL

MILITARY PARK

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A

Gettysburg Train Station

Racehorse Alley Parking Deck

David Wills House

Eternal Light Peace

Memorial

Oak Ridge

North Carolina Memorial

Virginia Memorial

Pitzer Woods

Warfield Ridge

The Wheatfield

The Peach Orchard

Plum Run

Pennsylvania Memorial

High Wat er Mark

East Cemetery Hill

Spangler’s Spring

Barlow Knoll

Soldiers’ National Cemetery

Little Round Top

McPherson Ridge

Auto Tour Start

1 A Tour stops A complete tour of the park consists of the Self-guiding Auto Tour —16 numbered tour stops, the Barlow Knoll Loop, and the Historic Downtown Gettysburg stops—and East Cavalry Battlefield Site.

Self-guiding Auto Tour

One-way traffic

Historic Downtown Gettysburg

Trail 0 0.5

0 0.5 1 Mile

1 Kilometer

North

Gettysburg National Military Park

Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1

Introduction 2

Part 1: Core Components 3

Brief Description of the Park 3 Park Purpose 4 Park Significance 5 Fundamental Resources and Values 6 Other Important Resources and Values 9 Related Resources 10 Interpretive Themes 12

Part 2: Dynamic Components 13

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 13 Special Mandates 13

Administrative Commitments 13

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 14 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 14

Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values 38

Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 45

Planning and Data Needs 46

Part 3: Contributors 52

Gettysburg National Military Park 52 Partners 52 NPS Northeast Region 52 Other NPS Staff 52

Appendixes 53

Appendix A: Enabling Legislation and Legislative Acts for Gettysburg National Military Park 53

Appendix B: Inventory of Administrative Commitments 67 Appendix C: Past and Ongoing Park Planning and

Data Collection Efforts 68

Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are:

· Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community.

· Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service.

· Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another.

· Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it.

· Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone.

The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service.

The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations.

The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values.

Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed.

A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity.

While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Gettysburg National Military Park can be accessed online at:

http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/.

http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/

Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts.

Brief Description of the Park Gettysburg National Military Park is the site of the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.

In the summer of 1863, General Robert E. Lee led his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia north into Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George Gordon Meade, met the Confederate invasion near the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg, and what began as a chance encounter quickly turned into a desperate, ferocious battle. Fought during the first three days of July 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was a crucial turning point in the Civil War. The Union victory, often referred to as the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion,” resulted not only in Lee’s retreat to Virginia, but contributed to ending the hopes of the Confederate States of America for independence.

Gettysburg was the Civil War’s bloodiest battle and brought devastation to the residents of Gettysburg. The battlefield was also the inspiration for President Abraham Lincoln’s immortal Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. Although the official cemetery name is the Gettysburg National Cemetery, since its establishment it has been known as Soldiers’ National Cemetery, and throughout this document, this name will be used.

In 1864, a group of concerned citizens established the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association to preserve portions of the battlefield as a memorial to the Union Army that fought here. The association transferred their land holdings to the federal government in 1895, and the U.S.

Congress designated Gettysburg a national military park—the third such park in the nation under the management of the U.S. War Department. A federally appointed commission of Civil War veterans oversaw the park’s development as a memorial to both armies by identifying and marking the lines of battle. Administration of Gettysburg National Military Park was officially transferred from the War Department to the Department of the Interior, National Park Service in 1933.

In addition to the battlefield, Gettysburg National Military Park includes the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and numerous memorials and markers placed in commemoration of the battle by Civil War veterans. The park today includes 6,032 acres of land, more than 1,300 monuments, 400 cannons, 31 miles of historic avenues, and 147 historic buildings. The majority of parklands are agricultural / pastoral in nature, with woodlots and woodlands accounting for a total of 1,258 acres, 160 acres of orchards, and 80 to 100 miles of fencing and walls.

In 2008, Gettysburg National Military Park, in partnership with the Gettysburg Foundation, opened the current park museum and visitor center. The 22,000-square-foot Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War houses one of the largest collections of American Civil War artifacts and archives in the world. The Battle of Gettysburg cyclorama painting is also on display at the park visitor center. Through this collaborative public-private partnership, visitors are provided with a venue for reflecting on and understanding the causes and consequences of the Civil War.

Gettysburg National Military Park attracts just over 1 million visitors per year and is open year-round. Visitors primarily experience the battlefield by driving the scenic auto tour routes on more than 40 miles of roads, and enjoying beautiful vistas overlooking the battlefield landscape and nearby town of Gettysburg. Visitors can also immerse themselves in the battlefield on numerous hiking trails, bicycle riding on park roads, and horseback riding on designated trails.

Several ways to tour the battlefield and connect to its historic significance are offered, including ranger-guided programs, a licensed battlefield guide service, self-guiding auto tour, bus tour, and audio tours. The park connects visitors to a battlefield landscape that reflects the events of those historic three days in July 1863.

Park Purpose The purpose statement identifies the specific reason(s) for establishment of a particular park. The purpose statement for Gettysburg National Military Park was drafted through a careful analysis of its enabling legislation and the legislative history that influenced its development. Efforts to preserve and protect the battlefield began shortly after the Gettysburg National Military Park was formally established, when the enabling legislation adopted by Congress was signed into law on February 11, 1895 (see appendix A for enabling legislation and subsequent amendments). The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the park.

The purpose of GettysburG NatioNal Military Park is to preserve, protect, and interpret for this and future generations the resources associated with the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, the Soldiers’

National Cemetery, and their commemorations.

Park Significance Significance statements express why a park’s resources and values are important enough to merit designation as a unit of the national park system. These statements are linked to the purpose of Gettysburg National Military Park, and are supported by data, research, and consensus. Statements of significance describe the distinctive nature of the park and why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. They focus on the most important resources and values that will assist in park planning and management.

The following significance statements have been identified for Gettysburg National Military Park. (Please note that the sequence of the statements does not reflect the level of significance.)

· Upon the fields and rolling hills and in the streets of town, more soldiers fell at the Battle of Gettysburg than in any other battle fought in North America before or since.

The culmination of the Gettysburg Campaign, this three-day battle fought on July 1–3, 1863, thwarted the political and military aims of the Confederacy and its second invasion of the North during the American Civil War.

· In dedicating the Soldiers’ National Cemetery on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, which gave meaning to the sacrifices of the dead at the Battle of Gettysburg and inspired the living to continue the “unfinished work” of the war to affirm “a new birth of freedom” for the nation.

· The Battle of Gettysburg was quickly recognized as a defining event in the nation’s history, which led to early and ongoing efforts to preserve the battlefield landscape, including its topography and terrain.

· Commemorating the events of the Battle of Gettysburg, a National Military Park was established, resulting in a landscape of monuments, memorials, and markers that record the history and emotions of Civil War veterans and others who wanted to leave this legacy for future generations.

· The momentous nature of what occurred at the Battle of Gettysburg, along with the high level of preservation and accurate marking of the battlefield landscape, continues to draw people to Gettysburg National Military Park, a place of national consciousness where individuals can consider the far-reaching implications of the battle, the Gettysburg Address, and the American Civil War.

· The massive 377-foot cyclorama painting, the Battle of Gettysburg, depicting Pickett’s Charge, the final Confederate attack, is the largest oil-on-canvas painting in North America and is among the last 19th-century cyclorama paintings in existence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_Army

Fundamental Resources and Values Fundamental resources and values (FRVs) are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. Fundamental resources and values are closely related to a park’s legislative purpose and are more specific than significance statements.

Fundamental resources and values help focus planning and management efforts on what is truly significant about the park. One of the most important responsibilities of NPS managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are essential (fundamental) to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. If fundamental resources and values are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The following fundamental resources and values have been identified for Gettysburg National Military Park:

· Battlefield Landscape. The park’s legislation requires that the “natural and artificial defenses, as they were at the time of battle” and the “important topographic features of the battlefield” be preserved. The topographic and landscape features found on the 1863 Gettysburg battlefield significantly influenced the battle and its outcomes. Features of the agrarian landscape were employed militarily mostly for defensive purposes, while hills and wooded areas impacted military maneuvers and troop movements.

Historic railroads, roads, and farm lanes offered both armies avenues of approach, and ridges provided observation points and strategic decisive positions. Key component landscapes include Seminary Ridge, Culp’s Hill, Little Round Top/Devil’s Den, Cemetery Ridge, and the area associated with Pickett’s Charge. Other notable landscape features are McPherson and Oak Ridges, Oak Hill, the Peach Orchard, East and South Cavalry Fields, Valley of Death, Houck’s Ridge, the Wheatfield, and the Copse of Trees. Collectively, the features that make up the battlefield landscape are essential to understanding the three-day battle that occurred at Gettysburg.

· Commemorative Landscape. From 1863 to 1927, veterans and survivors of the battle preserved the grounds of Gettysburg and created commemorative features that still define the park today. Most monuments and other commemorative features were constructed between 1880 and 1927. During the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association era (1863–1895), monuments to Union volunteer regiments were mainly built. The 1895 law establishing Gettysburg National Military Park authorized the federal government to preserve the “important topographic features of the battlefield” and to preserve and mark the battle positions. The law gave the Gettysburg National Park Commission, which was composed of Civil War veterans of the Battle of Gettysburg, the tools to protect the historic and natural resources that composed the battle setting and to create commemorative features, such as the avenues, tablets, observation towers, and more. Construction of a private electric trolley threatened the integrity of the battlefield landscape at Gettysburg in the 1890s, and a landmark Supreme Court decision enabled the federal government to protect historic sites through condemnation. The National Park Service allowed additional memorials to be placed on the battlefield including southern state memorials, monuments to the 11th Mississippi, 26th North Carolina, Crawford, Gibbon, Longstreet, Delaware and Maryland State, 43rd North Carolina, and others. In 1999, the National Park Service placed a moratorium on new monuments at Gettysburg National Military Park.

· Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Soon after the battle, a committee was formed to create a common burial ground at Gettysburg to properly honor the Union dead. Gettysburg attorney David Wills headed this effort. Landscape architect William Saunders designed a semicircle of gravesites on Cemetery Hill near the center of the Union line. Reburials of Union soldiers from temporary battlefield graves to Soldiers’ National Cemetery began in late October 1863, just three and a half months after the battle. The cemetery became the scene of President Abraham Lincoln’s iconic Gettysburg Address during the November 19, 1863, dedication ceremony, and in a few short years, it became the final resting places for more than 3,500 Union soldiers. In the 1890s, burials were placed outside the semicircle within the original 17-acre plot. The cemetery annex was a 20th-century addition to accommodate the dead from the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

Today, more than 6,000 veterans, and their dependents lay at rest in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. The cemetery officially closed in 1972.

· Museum Collections. The museum collections consist of more than 300,000 three-dimensional objects related to the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, and the post-war commemoration of the battle, as well as the George Rosensteel Collection, one of the nation’s largest collections of Civil War relics.

Park archives, including more than 700,000 items, are considered to be among the most significant document collections in the National Park Service. The archives encompass four major collection elements: original Civil War manuscripts, including diaries and letters associated with private individuals; select unit records; and maps, plans, drawings, and photographs that document the development and management of the park and the cemetery.

· Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama Painting. Created by French artist Paul Philippoteaux in 1883–1884, the Battle of Gettysburg is a 377-foot by 42-foot cyclorama painting that depicts the chaos of Pickett’s Charge and the battle landscape during the climax of the Battle of Gettysburg. The National Park Service purchased the 360-degree, painting-in-the-round in the late 1940s after decades of display in private venues. In 2008, a five-year painting conservation project was completed, including a new, three-dimensional diorama that enhances the immersive experience. The cyclorama painting is the centerpiece of the park’s current museum and visitor center.

· Historic Structures. Gettysburg National Military Park includes over 40 farmstead properties with structures that were present during the 1863 battle. Nineteenth-century agricultural buildings range from farmhouses and barns to smaller outbuildings, including summer kitchens, wagon sheds, smokehouses, woodsheds, corn cribs, chicken coops, and privies. Many of the surviving buildings were used during the battle and served as headquarters, fortifications, and field hospitals on July 1–3, 1863, and later returned to their original uses. Historic structures also include more than 1,300 monuments, markers, and tablets; steel observation towers at Culp’s Hill, Warfield Ridge, and Oak Ridge; the avenue system and its culverts and bridges; stone walls and fences on the battlefield; and more recent additions to the park, such as the Gettysburg Railroad Station, the David Wills House, and other structures.

· Hallowed Ground. Because of the sacrifices and deaths that occurred on the grounds protected by Gettysburg National Military Park, all parklands have often been described as hallowed ground. A sense of solemnity is a fundamental value of the park. This is perhaps best reflected in President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, given during the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, when he stated that “we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” Gettysburg National Military Park provides an opportunity to reflect on President Lincoln’s words and the sacrifices of the fallen and to contemplate the implications of the Civil War on the nation. Maintaining this sense of solemnity is an important goal in any future management decisions for the park.

· Legacy of the Gettysburg Address. On November 19, 1863, at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery dedication held near the grounds of the cemetery, President Abraham Lincoln was asked to give “a few appropriate remarks.” Lincoln proceeded to give a two-minute speech, succinctly honoring the sacrifices of those who died during the Battle of Gettysburg and calling for listeners to continue fighting for the preservation of the nation so that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” The 10-sentence address is now recognized as one of the greatest speeches ever given. Five manuscript copies of the address are known to exist, held by the Library of Congress and other institutions. Although no original manuscript of the address resides at Gettysburg, the speech is an essential theme in the museum and the park’s interpretive and educational programs.

· Archeological Resources Associated with the Battle of Gettysburg. Archeological resources associated with the Battle of Gettysburg contribute to the significance of the park and provide valuable information about the historic events that occurred on the battlefield. The archeological resources potentially contain significant data related to Civil War history and could answer remaining Civil War research questions through investigation and documentation. Unearthed artifacts offer physical evidence of the battle, mid-19th-century material culture, and the impact of the battle and its commemoration on the landscape. Excavated archeological material and data are currently stored in the park’s museum collections and archives.

Other Important Resources and Values Gettysburg National Military Park contains other resources and values that are not fundamental to the purpose of the park and may be unrelated to its significance, but are important to consider in planning processes. These are referred to as “other important resources and values” (OIRV). These resources and values have been selected because they are important in the operation and management of the park and warrant special consideration in park planning.

The following other important resources and values have been identified for Gettysburg National Military Park:

· Natural Communities. Gettysburg National Military Park’s almost 6,000 acres of land includes a wide variety of natural habitats, which offer inspiring scenery and the opportunity to view ecosystems and wildlife. The park’s gentle rolling hills, fields, and forests are a mosaic of mature and maturing woodlands and woodlots, agricultural fields, pasturelands, and intermittent streams and wetlands, which provide habitat for numerous bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, and insect species, as well as over 500 species of vascular plants. These varied ecosystems provide important habitat for game birds, common Appalachian large animals, including fox, white-tailed deer, six bat species, and state threatened and endangered plants and wildlife. The park is designated a Pennsylvania Important Mammal Area and Important Bird Area for its populations of least shrew and nesting habitat for a variety of grassland nesting birds.

· Nonbattle-Related Archeological Resources. Paleo-Indians are thought to have passed through the Gettysburg area during seasonal hunting and gathering trips as early as 13,000 BC, and agriculture and farming have been practiced in the area since the Late Woodland era (approximately AD 900). Archeological resources found within the park that are not related to the Battle of Gettysburg and the post-battle commemorative era offer additional information about American Indians who traveled through south central Pennsylvania, early agricultural, and 18th-century European settlement and farming in the region.

· Appropriate Recreation. Gettysburg National Military Park surrounds the Borough of Gettysburg and provides open space for the community. Historic avenues, walking trails, and horse trails in the park provide outstanding opportunities for appropriate recreational activities. These and other methods of visitor use provide alternate ways for individuals to experience and appreciate the land within the park. Recreational activity must be done in a way in which commemoration and solemnity of the battlefield and Soldiers’ National Cemetery are respected. The Superintendent’s Compendium provides guidance on appropriate recreational activities at the park.

Related Resources Related resources are typically not owned by the National Park Service. They may be part of the broader context or setting in which park resources exist; represent a thematic connection that would enhance the experience of visitors; or have close associations with park fundamental resources and the purpose of the park. There are resources related to Gettysburg National Military Park that are owned by the National Park Service and are located outside the park boundary. The non-NPS related resources represent a connection with the park that often reflects an area of mutual benefit or interest, and collaboration, between the park and owner/stakeholder.

Gettysburg National Military Park has the following related resources associated with the battle of Gettysburg, the American Civil War, and its legacy on the surrounding community. Some of these resources are located outside the park’s boundary.

· Dwight D. Eisenhower Resources. Dwight D. Eisenhower first came to Gettysburg in spring 1915 to study the battlefield as part of his West Point coursework. Three years later, the young captain returned to Gettysburg to assume command of Camp Colt, the U.S. Army Tank Corps Training Center located on the fields of Pickett’s Charge. It was at Camp Colt that Eisenhower assumed his first military command and helped combat a devastating 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic that killed 150 men. Taken with the pastoral setting and history of the area, the Eisenhower family purchased a farm adjacent to Gettysburg National Military Park in 1950. During his presidency, Eisenhower conducted personal tours of the battlefield for visiting dignitaries. After their time in the White House, General and Mrs. Eisenhower retired to their Gettysburg farm, which is now managed by the National Park Service as the Eisenhower National Historic Site.

· Underground Railroad / Abolitionist Resources. During the first half of the 19th century, south central Pennsylvania was home to Quaker and free African American communities, where antislavery activities took place. These communities and others were active in the Underground Railroad. McAllister’s Mill is a documented Underground Railroad site within the park, located along Rock Creek, but not yet protected by federal ownership. The Lutheran Theological Seminary, the namesake of Seminary Ridge, acted as a training ground for theological leaders and advocated for the end of slavery. Gettysburg was also home to a number of outspoken abolitionist leaders, including Lutheran Theological Seminary founder Samuel Simon Schmucker and U.S. Representative Thaddeus Stevens. Associated resources found outside the park’s boundaries include individual houses connected to Underground Railroad activities; Schmucker Hall (Old Dorm), Krauth House, and Schmucker House on the Lutheran Theological Seminary campus; and the St. Paul AME Zion Church, founded in 1840 and the oldest African American congregation in Gettysburg.

· The Gettysburg Foundation. Created by the 2006 merger of the Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation and the Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg, the Gettysburg Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational organization with nearly 20,000 members. The organization’s mission, in partnership with the National Park Service, is to enhance the preservation and understanding of the heritage and lasting significance of Gettysburg and its national parks through public outreach and private financial support. The private-public partnership between the foundation and the National Park Service has become a model for management, with the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center being one of the only privately owned and privately funded visitor centers in the national park system. While the foundation primarily focuses its fundraising, education, and management support activities on the Battle of Gettysburg and its context in the American Civil War, it also supports Eisenhower National Historic Site.

· Connections to Surrounding Communities. The Borough of Gettysburg and surrounding municipalities are connected to Gettysburg National Military Park by shared history and the need for collaboration in the stewardship of the battlefield and its legacy. By working in partnership with citizens, nongovernment organizations, municipal and state governments, and other federal agencies, the park strives to protect viewsheds, maintain appropriate buffering, and engage diverse audiences. Initiatives with the Borough of Gettysburg like the Borough Interpretive Plan (2000) allowed Gettysburg National Military Park to strengthen community connections while building a collaborative future for the park.

Interpretive Themes Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes are derived from, and should reflect, park purpose, significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore and relate to all park significance statements and fundamental and other important resources and values.

Interpretive themes are an organizational tool that reveal and clarify meaning, concepts, contexts, and values represented by park resources. Sound themes are accurate and reflect current scholarship and science. They encourage exploration of the context in which events or natural processes occurred and the effects of those events and processes. Interpretive themes go beyond a mere description of the event or process to foster multiple opportunities to experience and consider the park and its resources. These themes help explain why a park story is relevant to people who may otherwise be unaware of connections they have to an event, time, or place associated with the park.

The following interpretive themes have been identified for Gettysburg National Military Park:

· The Civil War was the result of decades of increasing divisiveness caused primarily by the issue of slavery that pulled the nation apart economically, socially, and politically.

· The Gettysburg Campaign was directly influenced and shaped by the 1863 strategic military / political situation of the nation. The evolution, conduct, and eventual outcome of the campaign and battle were directly related to the geography, topography, and landscape features of the region, as well as to the tactics, leadership, and organization of the respective armies.

· The soldiers who fought at Gettysburg were, for the most part, battle-hardened veterans. Their backgrounds varied as much as their reasons for being there. Their experience in combat and the aftermath of battle were both uniquely individual and universal.

· The Battle of Gettysburg touched the lives of civilians both near and far. Farmers whose land became battlegrounds, citizens in town, those who tended the wounded, buried the dead, or came to locate a friend or loved one were forever changed by their experience here. The tremendous human cost of Gettysburg touched and changed the lives of families, neighbors, and the general population in small towns and large cities of both the North and the South.

· In his Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln focused the nation’s attention on the Union sacrifices, as well as its evolving meanings and consequences, when he stated that it would lead to a “new birth of freedom” for the nation; a charge that still challenges us today.

· The hundreds of monuments, markers, and memorials, many created by the veterans themselves, continue to bear witness to the experiences of individuals associated with the Battle of Gettysburg and are a testament to how the battlefield has become a stage for the reconciliation of a once divided nation, national commemoration of the Civil War, and a place of personal connection for Civil War veterans, their families, and visitors who continue to be drawn to this park.

Part 2: Dynamic Components The dynamic components of a foundation document include special mandates and administrative commitments and an assessment of planning and data needs. These components are dynamic because they will change over time. New special mandates can be established and new administrative commitments made. As conditions and trends of fundamental and other important resources and values change over time, the analysis of planning and data needs will need to be revisited and revised, along with key issues.

Therefore, this part of the foundation document will be updated accordingly.

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments Many management decisions for a park unit are directed or influenced by special mandates and administrative commitments with other federal agencies, state and local governments, utility companies, partnering organizations, and other entities. Special mandates are requirements specific to a park that must be fulfilled. Mandates can be expressed in enabling legislation, in separate legislation following the establishment of the park, or through a judicial process. They may expand on park purpose or introduce elements unrelated to the purpose of the park. Administrative commitments are, in general, agreements that have been reached through formal, documented processes, often through memorandums of agreement.

Examples include easements, rights-of-way, arrangements for emergency service responses, etc. Special mandates and administrative commitments can support, in many cases, a network of partnerships that help fulfill the objectives of the park and facilitate working relationships with other organizations. They are an essential component of managing and planning for Gettysburg National Military Park.

Special Mandates

· Public Law (PL) 101-377 Section 5 – Gettysburg Advisory Commission.

Established by section 5 of PL 101-377, August 17, 1990, the Gettysburg Advisory Commission was developed to advise the Secretary of the Interior on the coordination of the management of the Gettysburg National Military Park, and Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District with local governmental jurisdictions. Park staff works collaboratively with the commission on land management and resource stewardship related issues that may impact the Gettysburg community.

· Executive Order 13508 – Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration. On May 12, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that recognizes the Chesapeake Bay as a national treasure and calls on the federal government to lead a renewed effort to restore and protect the nation’s largest estuary and its watershed.

Portions of the Chesapeake Bay watershed fall within the legislated boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park.

· 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) – Chapter 1 – Part 25 National Military Parks: Licensed Guide Service Regulations. With the establishment of the Gettysburg National Military Park and under its management by the War Department, the licensing of official battlefield guides was developed in order to ensure the highest quality experience and accuracy of information presented to the public. This tradition has continued under the National Park Service, and the Code of Federal Regulations outlines the rules and regulations that manage the licensed battlefield guide program at the park.

Administrative Commitments For more information about the existing administrative commitments for Gettysburg National Military Park, please see appendix B.

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs Once the core components of part 1 of the foundation document have been identified, it is important to gather and evaluate existing information about the park’s fundamental and other important resources and values, and develop a full assessment of the park’s planning and data needs. The assessment of planning and data needs section presents planning issues, the planning projects that will address these issues, and the associated information requirements for planning, such as resource inventories and data collection, including GIS data.

There are three sections in the assessment of planning and data needs:

1. analysis of fundamental and other important resources and values

2. identification of key issues and associated planning and data needs

3. identification of planning and data needs (including spatial mapping activities or GIS maps)

The analysis of fundamental and other important resources and values and identification of key issues leads up to and supports the identification of planning and data collection needs.

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values The fundamental resource or value analysis table includes current conditions, potential threats and opportunities, planning and data needs, and selected laws and NPS policies related to management of the identified resource or value.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Battlefield Landscape

Related Significance Statements

• Upon the fields and rolling hills and in the streets of town, more soldiers fell at the Battle of Gettysburg than in any other battle fought in North America before or since. The culmination of the Gettysburg Campaign, this three-day battle fought on July 1–3, 1863, thwarted the political and military aims of the Confederacy and its second invasion of the North during the American Civil War.

• The Battle of Gettysburg was quickly recognized as a defining event in the nation’s history, which led to early and ongoing efforts to preserve the battlefield landscape, including its topography and terrain.

• The momentous nature of what occurred at the Battle of Gettysburg, along with the high level of preservation and accurate marking of the battlefield landscape, continues to draw people to Gettysburg National Military Park, a place of national consciousness where individuals can consider the far-reaching implications of the battle, the Gettysburg Address, and the American Civil War.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• Some parts of the landscape are in fair condition, while the vast majority of the park is in good condition.

• Access to the battlefield is primarily provided by a 24-mile self-guided auto tour. There is a lack of parking spaces at Little Round Top and other popular features along the route.

• Many of the historic features associated with the 1863 battlefield are intact.

• There is a lack of designated walking trails to sites and monuments, which limits accessibility and has led to the creation of social trails.

• The battlefield includes 80 to100 miles of existing fencing and walls.

• Historic viewsheds related to the battle are generally enhanced during winter months.

Vegetation blocks some of the historic views during spring and summer months.

• There is an ongoing cultural landscape report, restoration plan, and environmental assessment of Little Round Top in development.

• On-going cultural landscape research is occurring for the First Day Battlefield Union 1st Corps, and on a commemorative landscape treatment philosophy.

• Eroding causes resource damage in areas of high visitation.

• A comprehensive park asset inventory and re-optimization of park asset management plan were recently conducted.

Trends

• Visitation to the park is dropping. It spiked during the 150th anniversary in 2013. In the few years before and after 2013, visitation decreased from 1.2 million to just over 1 million visitors.

• Rehabilitation efforts have been improving the landscape.

• A record of treatment report and a preservation maintenance plan are in progress.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Battlefield Landscape

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Lack of adequate parking along key points of the tour contributes to traffic issues and potential visitor safety concerns.

• A high volume of visitation appears to contribute to landscape deterioration in some park areas.

• Unmanaged vegetation growth can block important sightlines.

• Nonnative and invasive plant species could replace native vegetation and negatively impact the battlefield landscape.

• Erosion related to heavy visitor use at Little Round Top and Culp’s Hill is deteriorating landscape features and affecting vegetation.

• Maintenance of open fields not in the agricultural lease program is time consuming and costly.

• Lack of cyclical maintenance on the park’s historic structures can lead to deterioration or demolition due to neglect, especially with the park’s smaller structures.

• Infrastructure and communication corridor development can mar historic viewsheds related to the battle.

• Historic views are sometimes obscured by pollution-caused haze.

• Higher precipitation, increased temperatures, and increased frequency of large storms, all projected due to climate change, could lead to flooding and erosion at the site, shifts in the ranges of tree, bird, and other species northward, reduced densities of species, and increased nonnative species, altering viewsheds. An increase in extreme heat events may shift the timing and number of visitors to the site.

Opportunities

• Maximize relationship with Gettysburg Foundation for staffing and funding.

• Improved prioritization of landscape treatment and maintenance projects can address some of the deterioration and help prevent further damage to landscape features.

• Better wayfinding and directional signage can help visitors navigate the landscape and guide circulation around the battlefield.

• Public education and the public’s role relating to the stewardship of the landscape and resource management will allow visitors to better understand how and why the park undertakes rehabilitation projects.

• Continued restoration efforts can help ensure that the battlefield landscape is preserved and rehabilitated to its 1863 appearance.

• Trails planning will attract new visitors while controlling visitor circulation, addressing access issues, and protecting resources.

• The park can participate in the NPS “Healthy Parks, Healthy People” initiative by creating new trails that would promote a healthy lifestyle.

• Continue volunteer program for landscape preservation/maintenance.

• Social media can reach new visitors and help the park’s efforts to maintain relevancy.

• Working collaboratively with the Gettysburg Foundation and other partners to acquire and interpret additional lands and properties, such as the country club area and Lee’s Headquarters, could provide visitors an increased understanding of the battle and its relationship to the community of Gettysburg.

• Additional tour stops and signage on the existing park shuttle system could help manage and improve visitor flow.

• Addressing parking issues at key points along the tour would improve visitor experiences and help reduce social trails and visitation-related erosion.

• Prescribed fires can be used as a management tool to remove invasive nonnative species and maintain the landscape.

• The park can work to tap into the interest generated by the Battle of Gettysburg’s 150th anniversary to increase visitation and public awareness of the park and its resources.

• Work with local, regional or state agency planners and/or developers to increase awareness about the importance of the park’s historic setting and views.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Battlefield Landscape

Data and/or GIS Needs

• Visitor use study.

• Update the battlefield cultural landscape inventory.

• Archeological overview and assessment.

• Cultural resource condition assessment.

Planning Needs

• Earthworks management plan.

• Cultural landscape report on commemorative landscape and battlefield landscape.

• Farm fields management plan.

• Wayfinding sign management plan.

• Update land protection plan.

• Viewshed resource management plan.

• Long-range interpretive plan.

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV, and NPS Policy-level Guidance

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV

• Antiquities Act of 1906

• Historic Sites Act of 1935

• Archeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974

• Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974, as amended

• Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979

• Superintendent’s Compendium

• National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (54 USC §300101 et seq.)

• Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009

• Executive Order 11593, “Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment”

• Executive Order 13112, “Invasive Species”

• “Protection of Historic Properties” (36 CFR 800)

• “Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Guidelines; Outdoor Developed Areas”

• Secretarial Order 3289, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources”

• Clean Air Act of 1977 (42 USC 7401 et seq.)

NPS Policy-level Guidance (NPS Management Policies 2006 and Director’s Orders)

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1.4) “Park Management”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1.4.6) “Park Resources and Values”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1.6) “Cooperative Conservation Beyond Park Boundaries”

• NPS Management…