SHFG Friday Colloquium
April 23, 2021 from 1pm to 3pm
Stories from the Field:
Perspectives on Cultural Resource Management and Preservation
Panel Discussion with Jennifer Thornton, Casey DeHaven,
and Benjamin Marnell
This panel proposes to examine the intersections between cultural resource management (CRM), the federal government, and history. CRM deals with the preservation and interpretation of a variety of resources, including historic and prehistoric cultural sites, historic buildings, collections, and archival records. These tangible traces of the past facilitate a direct connection to history, and are crucial sources of historical inquiry and interpretation. Often intricately connected to people’s sense of place, heritage, and identity, cultural resources are not simply “relics” of the past, but living components of today’s society. In addition to shaping historical narratives, they influence our quality of life, our economy, and our politics. The management of cultural resources thus has broad ramifications, impacting diverse publics and communities on multiple levels. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the federal government to CRM. Its legislation establishes the basic framework for CRM practice. Its technical briefs and publications establish best practices, and its regulatory processes help maintain professional standards. In addition, the government is entrusted with the direct stewardship of cultural resources ranging from historic battlefields to presidential tweets. Historians participate in CRM at all levels, and historical research is essential to identifying, evaluating, and interpreting cultural resources. As an inherently interdisciplinary profession, CRM demands that historians develop unique skill sets. They must work in applied settings, tackle controversies, interact with the public, and collaborate with subject matter experts both within and outside of the federal government. In this panel, we discuss the challenges of practicing CRM based on our personal experiences in the field.
Dr. Jennifer Thornton, Teaching Assistant Professor, West Virginia University
"Preserving Our Nation’s Heritage: The Need for Historical Expertise in Cultural Resource Management"
In 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) stating, “the spirit and direction of the Nation are founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage.” This act greatly expanded the obligations of the federal government to preserve cultural sites, and ushered in the modern era of cultural resource management (CRM). In practice, CRM is often a technical, bureaucratic, and legalistic endeavor. The opening lines of NHPA, however, remind us that the significance of historic sites lies in their ability to communicate historical meaning. Today, federal landowning agencies collectively control roughly 640 million acres of land that contain hundreds of thousands of recorded cultural sites. The work of managing these sites falls largely to archaeologists, many of whom lack training in historical research and are unfamiliar with current historiography. Drawing on my previous work as an archaeologist and CRM specialist for the Forest Service, I argue that federal historians should become more involved in CRM. The vast numbers of cultural sites on federal land represent not only our nation’s heritage, but also an expansive archive of material culture – an archive that can allow us to tell more rich, diverse, and nuanced narratives about the past.
Casey DeHaven, Administrator of the Easement Program at the Maryland Historical Trust
"Preservation in Perpetuity: An Overview of Managing Preservation Easements at the State and National Levels"
Preservation easements are legal mechanisms that preserve, typically in perpetuity, properties with historic, architectural, and/or archaeological significance. Easements are tools that can be catered to each individual property, and they can be held by organizations in both the Federal, State, and Local government sector, as well as by non-profits and other qualified preservation organizations. The language written in an easement can reflect the mission and goals of the organization holding the easement, but the overall goals of an easement are similar whether held by a government agency or a non-profit.
As a broad overview, the Maryland Historical Trust manages a portfolio of over 800 easements throughout the state of Maryland. Conversely, for example, the National Trust for Historic Preservation manages a portfolio of just over 135 easement properties in 25 states. Surprisingly, the challenges of managing easement properties on a national, non-profit scale doesn’t differ widely from that of managing easements on a state government level. There are four main criteria to ensuring the successful management of easements: Stewardship, Transactions, Monitoring, and Enforcement. These points will be further elaborated throughout the discussion.
Benjamin Marnell, Graduate Student, West Virginia University
"Broadening the Field: Cultural Resource Management, Government Archives, and Accessibility"
Central to cultural resource management (CRM) is the question: what is “American culture” and who is responsible for maintaining it? Since the 1990s there has been a re-envisioning of CRM to incorporate archivists and records managers working in both the public and private sectors and to see materials such as newspapers, books, diaries, and related documents as cultural resources. This paper examines CRMs’ re-envisioning and argues that government archives and collections, and interdisciplinary cooperation, are integral to the profession and the future of CRM. Since the passage of the Freedom of Information Act in 1967, there has been an ongoing attempt to make available the documentary record of America’s government and its inner workings. However, government records and the documents that are made available are easily affected by the changing political climate, creating unique challenges from a CRM perspective. I examine these issues through two case studies. The first is the recent trend of government agencies to retroactively classify documents, and the second is through my personal experience conducting research for the United States State Department. These case studies demonstrate how government records managers are conducting CRM at its most fundamental level, with profound implications on the future of archival practices and governmental transparency.
BIOS
Dr. Jennifer Thornton is interested in preserving the buildings and places that speak to the diverse history of the United States. In addition to her training in history, she has a background in ethnography, archaeology, and cultural resource management. As a researcher for the consulting firm LSA Associates, she documented and evaluated diverse historic properties throughout Southern California, including Jewish agricultural sites, the cultural landscape of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Reservation, and industrial facilities in Los Angeles for SurveyLA. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with the descendants of Welsh colonists in Patagonia and has carried out archaeological survey and excavations throughout Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. She worked as a cultural resource manager for the Cibola and Gila National Forests from 2004-2008, where she authored technical reports, wrote press releases, engaged in education and outreach programs, and oversaw volunteer projects. Her ethnographic and archaeological research has been published in Contemporary Wales and Latin American Antiquity. Currently, Dr. Thornton is a member of the History Department at West Virginia University, where she teaches courses on cultural resource management, historical preservation, and public history.
Casey DeHaven is the Administrator of the Easement Program at the Maryland Historical Trust (the State Historic Preservation Office), where she manages MHT's vast portfolio of historic easement properties, including conducting inspections and site visits, facilitating reviews for proposed changes, and regularly communicating with property owners and representatives while offering technical assistance on preservation techniques and best practices. Before coming to the Maryland Historical Trust, Casey worked as a Manager of the Easement Program with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC, where she managed a portfolio of historic easement properties nation-wide. Prior to her work with the National Trust, Casey worked with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and Dovetail Cultural Resource Group.
Casey is a native of Winchester, Virginia and holds a B.A. in History and Historic Preservation from Shepherd University and a M.A. in Public History, with a certification in Cultural Resource Management from West Virginia University.
Benjamin Marnell is a master’s student in the West Virginia University Public History Program and is also working toward receiving a Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Certificate. He received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in History and minoring in Secondary Education. He held an internship at the West Overton Museum in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, where he developed curriculum under the Pennsylvania Standards of Education. Currently, Benjamin works as a graduate assistant at the Monongalia County Clerk's Office in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he engages in archival tasks. Benjamin has also received a Virtual Student Foreign Service Internship as a research assistant to the United States State Department Office of the Historian. His task is to conduct research on the Reagan administration and the policies enacted regarding Suriname, Jamaica, and Cuba between the years 1981 and 1985. Benjamin’s research interests include U.S. foreign policy, government archives, accessibility, and the role of CRM. He is also pursuing a thesis on British imperial history in the 19th and 20th centuries focusing on British planter societies in the Caribbean and Africa.
