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Battlefields as green space
Hanover's Cold Harbor made list of 10 most endangered
Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008 - 07:00 AM Updated: 02:06 PM
By PHIL RIGGAN
inRich.com
The name "Cold Harbor" is said to originate from a pre-Civil War tavern that was a haven for travelers seeking food and shelter from the cold.
The area still acts as a haven -- nearly 150 years after the War Between the States -- but mostly for plants, animals and people looking for peace and quiet in nature.
The Richmond National Battlefield Park protects more than 2,000 acres of land in its 11 units spread throughout Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. Other than a few small parking lots, tour roads and visitors centers, most of that land is essentially green space -- protected nature preserve.
Civil War parks "act a green space where trees and plants can grow in an area where development pressures are high," said Kristen Allen, natural resource management specialist for the park.
More than 280 acres of that sacred Civil War soil are found at the Cold Harbor Battlefield in Hanover County.
In its annual report, "History Under Siege," the Civil War Preservation Trust listed Cold Harbor in the top 10 most endangered battlefields, stating that "pressure in the Richmond area is so great that only about 300 acres of what was once at least a 7,500-acre battlefield are currently preserved."
Robert Krick, historian for the Richmond National Battlefield Park said "the purpose of the list is to increase national awareness. The upper portion of the battlefield [to Bethesda Church] is gone. The area is getting squeezed [by development].
"Cold Harbor is considered the classic example in Virginia of trench warfare," Krick said. The prolonged battle there May 31 to June 12, 1864, saw combined casualties for Confederate and Union troops reach more than 16,000.
Krick enhanced the park's historical value with this quote from "Trench Warfare Under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign," by Earl J. Hess: "Although small in comparison to the total volume of works constructed here, the Cold Harbor Unit protects the most singular set of Civil War fieldworks we have."
PUBLIC AWARENESS
The Civil War Preservation Trust works closely with the local governments and park services to help improve public awareness.
"Sometimes people forget where the battlefields are located, and why they are important," said Mary Koik, spokesperson for the Trust.
"We hope communities weigh the significance of the battlefields when making decisions on development," she said, adding "we spend most of our money preserving land."
On the subject of nature preservation, Koik said that viewing "the parks as open space, green space, helps everyone -- you want to preserve something. More bang for your buck."
BATTLEFIELD AS NATURE PRESERVE
Allen helped answer some general questions she often fields from park visitors about the way the parks are maintained:
"Why don't they cut the grass or clean up the dead trees?"
RNBP lacks the personnel to maintain all of its land at the same level. Lawn areas that are around main visitor areas are maintained like one would maintain their yard, she said.
However, larger historic fields serving are typically maintained as either agricultural fields or tall native grass meadows, which provides several benefits:
• Looks more like a fallow farm field that might have existed during the 1860s than a manicured lawn;
• Requires less fuel, oil, and avoids creating air pollution associated with using tractors;
• Requires no lime or fertilizer;
• Provides much needed habitat for ground nesting birds, small mammals and reptiles.
In addition, forested areas are divided into "managed forest" and "natural zones," she said.
Managed forest occurs on some of the park's earthworks to help prevent erosion and protect the embankments. In natural zones, dead trees are usually left standing and downed wood is usually left on the ground, providing an important habitat for cavity nesting birds and mammals, as well as reptiles and insects.
"How do you maintain the battlefield as it was laid out for the Civil War?"
Park historians, including Krick, spend time researching historic photos, maps and accounts to determine exactly what the landscape looked like at the time of the Civil war, Allen said.
Once they agree on a battlefield layout, they next develop a cultural landscape report that incorporates all historical elements with the current landscape conditions, physical history of the site, and makes recommendations for how to rehabilitate the historic landscape.
"In general this seems to strive for making the landscape look just as it did during the 1860s unless there is some issue with feasibility or biological resources," Allen said. Her example: a riparian area may have been cleared of forest vegetation during the Civil War, but that practice is now known to be environmentally unsound.
"How you maintain the Civil War earthworks?"
"Rain and wind are the two elements that cause erosion to areas of bare soil," Allen said, "especially when those areas are sloped as earthworks."
The park primarily tries to minimize bare soil and practice several management regimes for earthworks:
• Full forest cover. These are generally well protected from erosion by their thick leaf litter and thick vegetation which intercepts rain as it falls toward the ground. Only maintenance at those sites is the occasional removal of "hazard trees."
• Open forest where the underbrush is trimmed once per year and the tree canopy is allowed to remain to provide protective leaf litter.
• Covered with tall native grasses. Since these grasses are deeply rooted and grow tall, they provide good protection and require little maintenance compared to other grasses. In addition, and they allow visitors to easily view the earthworks and provide a landscape similar to that of the 1860s.
"What about the plowed land on the battlefields?"
"Our farmers understand that we are fairly restrictive on our agricultural leases because we don't want to damage our streams and soils," Allen said.
Farmers are limited in the pesticides they can use and the park avoids agricultural leases within 150-200 feet of water courses on park land, she said. Most farmers grow hay, soybean, winter wheat and corn on the battlefields.
Contact Phil Riggan: 649-6037 or priggan@inrich.com
Online at: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/sports...4-22-0010.html
Hanover's Cold Harbor made list of 10 most endangered
Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008 - 07:00 AM Updated: 02:06 PM
By PHIL RIGGAN
inRich.com
The name "Cold Harbor" is said to originate from a pre-Civil War tavern that was a haven for travelers seeking food and shelter from the cold.
The area still acts as a haven -- nearly 150 years after the War Between the States -- but mostly for plants, animals and people looking for peace and quiet in nature.
The Richmond National Battlefield Park protects more than 2,000 acres of land in its 11 units spread throughout Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. Other than a few small parking lots, tour roads and visitors centers, most of that land is essentially green space -- protected nature preserve.
Civil War parks "act a green space where trees and plants can grow in an area where development pressures are high," said Kristen Allen, natural resource management specialist for the park.
More than 280 acres of that sacred Civil War soil are found at the Cold Harbor Battlefield in Hanover County.
In its annual report, "History Under Siege," the Civil War Preservation Trust listed Cold Harbor in the top 10 most endangered battlefields, stating that "pressure in the Richmond area is so great that only about 300 acres of what was once at least a 7,500-acre battlefield are currently preserved."
Robert Krick, historian for the Richmond National Battlefield Park said "the purpose of the list is to increase national awareness. The upper portion of the battlefield [to Bethesda Church] is gone. The area is getting squeezed [by development].
"Cold Harbor is considered the classic example in Virginia of trench warfare," Krick said. The prolonged battle there May 31 to June 12, 1864, saw combined casualties for Confederate and Union troops reach more than 16,000.
Krick enhanced the park's historical value with this quote from "Trench Warfare Under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign," by Earl J. Hess: "Although small in comparison to the total volume of works constructed here, the Cold Harbor Unit protects the most singular set of Civil War fieldworks we have."
PUBLIC AWARENESS
The Civil War Preservation Trust works closely with the local governments and park services to help improve public awareness.
"Sometimes people forget where the battlefields are located, and why they are important," said Mary Koik, spokesperson for the Trust.
"We hope communities weigh the significance of the battlefields when making decisions on development," she said, adding "we spend most of our money preserving land."
On the subject of nature preservation, Koik said that viewing "the parks as open space, green space, helps everyone -- you want to preserve something. More bang for your buck."
BATTLEFIELD AS NATURE PRESERVE
Allen helped answer some general questions she often fields from park visitors about the way the parks are maintained:
"Why don't they cut the grass or clean up the dead trees?"
RNBP lacks the personnel to maintain all of its land at the same level. Lawn areas that are around main visitor areas are maintained like one would maintain their yard, she said.
However, larger historic fields serving are typically maintained as either agricultural fields or tall native grass meadows, which provides several benefits:
• Looks more like a fallow farm field that might have existed during the 1860s than a manicured lawn;
• Requires less fuel, oil, and avoids creating air pollution associated with using tractors;
• Requires no lime or fertilizer;
• Provides much needed habitat for ground nesting birds, small mammals and reptiles.
In addition, forested areas are divided into "managed forest" and "natural zones," she said.
Managed forest occurs on some of the park's earthworks to help prevent erosion and protect the embankments. In natural zones, dead trees are usually left standing and downed wood is usually left on the ground, providing an important habitat for cavity nesting birds and mammals, as well as reptiles and insects.
"How do you maintain the battlefield as it was laid out for the Civil War?"
Park historians, including Krick, spend time researching historic photos, maps and accounts to determine exactly what the landscape looked like at the time of the Civil war, Allen said.
Once they agree on a battlefield layout, they next develop a cultural landscape report that incorporates all historical elements with the current landscape conditions, physical history of the site, and makes recommendations for how to rehabilitate the historic landscape.
"In general this seems to strive for making the landscape look just as it did during the 1860s unless there is some issue with feasibility or biological resources," Allen said. Her example: a riparian area may have been cleared of forest vegetation during the Civil War, but that practice is now known to be environmentally unsound.
"How you maintain the Civil War earthworks?"
"Rain and wind are the two elements that cause erosion to areas of bare soil," Allen said, "especially when those areas are sloped as earthworks."
The park primarily tries to minimize bare soil and practice several management regimes for earthworks:
• Full forest cover. These are generally well protected from erosion by their thick leaf litter and thick vegetation which intercepts rain as it falls toward the ground. Only maintenance at those sites is the occasional removal of "hazard trees."
• Open forest where the underbrush is trimmed once per year and the tree canopy is allowed to remain to provide protective leaf litter.
• Covered with tall native grasses. Since these grasses are deeply rooted and grow tall, they provide good protection and require little maintenance compared to other grasses. In addition, and they allow visitors to easily view the earthworks and provide a landscape similar to that of the 1860s.
"What about the plowed land on the battlefields?"
"Our farmers understand that we are fairly restrictive on our agricultural leases because we don't want to damage our streams and soils," Allen said.
Farmers are limited in the pesticides they can use and the park avoids agricultural leases within 150-200 feet of water courses on park land, she said. Most farmers grow hay, soybean, winter wheat and corn on the battlefields.
Contact Phil Riggan: 649-6037 or priggan@inrich.com
Online at: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/sports...4-22-0010.html