Scholars and officials generally define cultural landscapes as “combined works of nature and man. ” The National Park Service (NPS), established in 1916, is the United States’ governing organization on the preservation and protection of cultural landscapes, and manages all U.S. National Parks. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is another major association that also provides protection to cultural landscapes on a global scale. While several U.S. National Parks are identified as “Natural Sites” on the World Heritage List, these sites are eligible for re-designation as “Cultural Landscapes”. The purpose of this thesis is to explore and compare the definitions and criteria for nomination of cultural landscapes according to UNESCO and the NPS. I will evaluate five U.S. National Parks, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier Bay, Yosemite and Hawaii Volcanoes, in terms of the specific characteristics, preservation, visitation, and infrastructure of the potential cultural landscapes. General Management Plans pertaining to each park will be analyzed, and the current preservation strategies designed by the NPS and implemented by each park will be discussed. In addition I will consider the benefits of World Heritage Listing. This thesis will conclude with a set of recommendations focusing on steps these parks can take to further protect their cultural landscapes under UNESCO.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Art History
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.