Washington Park Vegetation Renewal & Management Report

1V. HISTORIC VEGETATION PRESERVATION GUIDELINES

Basic preservation principles that apply to all historic fabric, apply also to vegetation. Current detailed guidelines for vegetation preservation and appropriate treatment are discussed below and incorporated into the recommendations of this report. Because the park is a National Register level cultural resource, as the work of recognized masters and as an excellent example of a type, historic documentation and appropriate treatment of the vegetation, as well as other elements within the park, should form the basis for future actions. Historic plant materials are valuable cultural resources. Recently published relevant treatment guidance is organized in a draft document that is currently distributed for review and comment. it is published by the National Parks Service, Preservation Assistance Division and is titled “Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Landscape.” Selected text of these guidelines has been induded as an appendix. In this large document general information is followed by precise guidance on vegetation which is located under each treatment heading in the following sections: Preservation (page 29), Protection (page 14), Rehabilitation (page 45), Restoration (page 69), Reconstruction (page 89). In each section both recommended and not recommended approaches are noted. Basic principles for the preservation treatment of historic vegetation can be summarized as follows:

prior to beginning work on a landscape and are the underpinning for preservation based decisions;

and compares historic period and existing conditions as a basis for determining a treatment approach;

baseline, which would mean for this project that historic vegetation should be held in high regard and be retained for the maximum amount of time;

the most basis preservation treatment, often used as an emergency or temporary measure prior to other treatments;

condition, to replace lost elements or to remove later, non-historic additions, with selection of an approach based on the goals of the project and other relevant factors. Replacement in-kind is most direct and authentic approach to the loss of historic vegetation.

This project addresses the management and renewal of the vegetation of Washington Park in two areas, the King Fountain and Croquet Lawn. These two areas contain the types of vegetation found throughout Washington Park. Therefore, the approaches developed here can be applied to other areas in the future. The project goals are:

value of the park as a continuation of its public use over time and into the future. This pairing of historic value and current and future use directs the decisions toward a rehabilitation framework that incorporates use considerations;