Park Break Perspectives: Prioritizing cultural and natural resources in complex sites

(March 5, 2010) — The third paper in the GWS's Park Break Perspectives Series considers the challenges park managers face when they must plan for a site whose significance is a mixture of natural and historic attributes.

Cowles Bog in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a National Natural Landmark that also has important historic associations. It is one of the key research sites where the pioneering ecologist Henry Chandler Cowles first worked out complex ecosystem relationships and patterns of plant succession  In "Expanding management: Prioritizing cultural and natural resources in complex sites," Sarah Stehn and Heather White look at the pros and cons of switching the bog's management emphasis from strictly natural resources to a mix of natural and cultural, and compare it with other similar cases.

Park Break Perspectives, a new series of papers that offer fresh looks at perennial and emerging issues through the eyes of up-and-coming scholars. Park Break Perspectives puts the spotlight on research papers and essays written by graduate students participating in the Society's Park Break alternative spring break program.  The papers were developed in consultation with faculty members, park scientists, and other park professionals. 

All Park Break Perspectives papers are published in PDF format and can be downloaded at http://www.georgewright.org/perspectives.