Management

 

Park Purpose

Public Law 102-350, signed by the president on August 26, 1992, included the following objectives for the park.

• To interpret the history and evolution of conservation stewardship in America;
• To recognize and interpret the birthplace and contributions of George Perkins Marsh, pioneering environmentalist, author of Man and Nature, statesman, lawyer, and linguist;
• To recognize and interpret the contributions of Frederick Billings, pioneer in reforestation and scientific farm management, lawyer, philanthropist, and railroad builder, who extended the principles of land management introduced by Marsh;
• To preserve the Marsh-Billings Mansion, which is a National Historic Landmark, and it’s surrounding lands; and
• To recognize the significant contributions of Julia Billings, Mary Billings French, Mary French Rockefeller, and Laurance Spelman Rockefeller in perpetuating the Marsh-Billings heritage.

 

Park Significance

The General Management Plan (GMP) prepared in 1998, the park “is an important place in conservation stewardship history. It has significance due to its associations with prominent individuals [Marsh, Billings, and Rockefeller] in American conservation and due to more than a century of careful stewardship that has left a remarkable record of continuity evident in the landscape, in the park’s buildings, and in museum collections.”

The park “is the only unit within the national park system to include managed forest land and farmland that were historically part of a single estate and continue to be actively managed.”

As evidence of significance, the mansion and its environs are a National Historic Landmark, and portions of the residential complex and farmland are listed on the National Register Woodstock as the Village Historic District. Recognizing that “the total significance of the park’s historical associations, buildings, landscapes, and environs is greater than the sum of the individual significance of its parts,” the entire park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

Mission Statement

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, in cooperation with its many partners, will strengthen the human commitment to stewardship by...

• Telling the evolving story of conservation;
• Exploring innovative approaches to place-based stewardship education;
• Practicing sustainable management of its historic forest;
• Preserving the natural and cultural resources entrusted to its care; and by
• Encouraging the reflection, dialogue, and lifelong learning that will connect the story of conservation to the personal lives of its many audiences.

 

Forest Management Plan

The Mount Tom Forest is a key component of the cultural landscape of the 555-acre Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and plays an important role in the Park’s interpretation and demonstration of stewardship. The Forest Management Plan provides a strategy for managing the Mount Tom Forest that will:

• Perpetuate the tradition of sustainable forest management on the property

• Incorporate a long-term perspective on the changing composition and character of the Forest

• Value the Forest as both a natural and cultural resource

• Emphasize the relationship of the Park’s forest management to broader

• community well-being and sustainability

• Strengthen civic engagement and stewardship

 

Superintendent's Compendium

Laws & Policies