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Developing a Preservation Maintenance Plan
and Implementation Strategy
Throughout the preservation planning process, it is
important to ensure that existing landscape features are
retained. Preservation maintenance is the practice of
monitoring and controlling change in the landscape to
ensure that its historic integrity is not altered and features
are not lost. This is particularly important during the
research and long-term treatment planning process. To be
effective, the maintenance program must have a guiding
philosophy, approach or strategy; an understanding of
preservation maintenance techniques; and a system for
documenting changes in the landscape.
The philosophical approach to maintenance should
coincide with the landscape's current stage in the
preservation planning process. A Cultural Landscape
Report and Treatment Plan can take several years to
complete, yet during this time managers and property
owners will likely need to address immediate issues related
to the decline, wear, decay, or damage of landscape
features. Therefore, initial maintenance operations may
focus on the stabilization and protection of all landscape
features to provide temporary, often emergency measures
to prevent deterioration, failure, or loss, without altering
the site's existing character.
After a Treatment Plan is implemented, the approach to
preservation maintenance may be modified to reflect the
objectives defined by this plan. The detailed specifications
prepared in the Treatment Plan relating to the retention,
repair, removal, or replacement of features in the landscape
should guide and inform a comprehensive preservation
maintenance program. This would include schedules for
monitoring and routine maintenance, appropriate preserva-
tion maintenance procedures, as well as ongoing record
keeping of work performed. For vegetation, the preserva-
tion maintenance program would also include thresholds
for growth or change in character, appropriate pruning
methods, propagation and replacement procedures.
To facilitate operations, a property may be divided into
discrete management zones (Figure 41). These zones are
sometimes defined during the Cultural Landscape Report
process and are typically based on historically defined areas.
Alternatively, zones created for maintenance practices and
priorities could be used. Examples of maintenance zones
would include woodlands, lawns, meadow, specimen trees,
and hedges.
Training of maintenance staff in preservation maintenance
skills is essential. Preservation maintenance practices differ
from standard maintenance practices because of the focus on
perpetuating the historic character or use of the landscape
rather than beautification. For example, introducing new
varieties of turf, roses or trees is likely to be inappropriate.
Substantial earth moving (or movement of soil) may be
inappropriate where there are potential archeological
resources. An old hedge or shrub should be rejuvenated, or
Figure 35-37: Central Park has developed an in-house historic propagated, rather than removed and replaced. A mature
preservation crew to undertake small projects. A specialized crew has specimen tree may require cabling and careful monitoring to
been trained to specifically repair and rebuild rustic furnishings. As ensure that it is not a threat to visitor safety. Through
illustrated, the restoration of the Dene rustic shelter was achieved by training programs and with the assistance of preservation
constructing it in the Ramble compound, moving in-place opposite 67th
street and completed. (courtesy Central Park Conservancy) maintenance specialists, each property could develop
maintenance specifications for the care of landscape features.

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