www.preservationmaryland.org
BY DANA COHEN
Study will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the historic structures presently under MPS management
Maryland 2023 - Preservation Maryland today announced the kick-off of a system-wide historic resource survey of Maryland Park Service (Maryland Department of Natural Resources) lands. The Maryland Park Service (MPS) is responsible for the management of many historic resources located on public lands throughout the state. Since the 1950s, the agency has acquired between 1,000-2,000 historic structures.
The 2022 Great Maryland Outdoors Act directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to conduct a system-wide survey of its historical and cultural resources with a focus on racial and linguistic inclusivity. In fulfillment of this directive, Preservation Maryland is partnering with the Maryland Park Service to complete a historic structures survey that will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the number, location, characteristics, and condition of historic structures presently under MPS management to help make more informed decisions regarding the management of its historic structures.
"Preservation Maryland looks forward to our continued partnership with the Maryland Park Service as we work on the documentation of significant historical and cultural resources within public state park lands. In 2022 our advocacy efforts largely focused on the passage of the Great Maryland Outdoors Act; we are pleased to see those efforts translate into real action that will help manage and preserve historic resources in Maryland parks."
-- Nicholas Redding, President & CEO, Preservation Maryland
“We’re pleased to work with Preservation Maryland on the important task of ensuring the stories we share with the public about our parks and public lands reflect their true history,” said Angela Crenshaw, Director of the Maryland Park Service. “A number of our parks were plantations, part of the Civil War, or have significant Native American History. We must tell the full history of these places so we can learn from it, understand it, and grapple with how our past has formed the world we live in today.”
After an RFP was issued, cultural and natural resources management firm, Chronicle Heritage, was selected to conduct the survey.
