November 2010 Executive Summary I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Topics Selected for Analysis
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November 2010 Executive Summary i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY topics selected for analysis. Purpose and Need for the Plan Chapter two presents management alternatives including a required “no action” alternative. The The main function of a General Management “no action” alternative serves as a baseline Plan/Environmental Impact statement (GMP/ against which the action alternatives may EIS) is to provide a clear defi nition of the park’s be compared. Three action alternatives are purpose and management direction that will described. The environmentally preferred guide and coordinate all subsequent planning alternative and the NPS preferred alternative are and management. The general management identifi ed and the rationale for selection of the plan takes the long view - 15 to 20 years into the NPS preferred alternative is presented. A zoning future. The National Park Service (NPS) seeks framework for the park is also described and to have all parks operate under approved GMPs. applied to each alternative. This ensures that park managers carry out, as effectively and effi ciently as possible, the mission Chapter three contains descriptions of the of the National Park Service. affected environment of the park. The affected environment comprises that which will be As part of the GMP/EIS process, an NPS considered in the environmental impact chapter. planning team gathered information from the public, neighbors, partners, public agencies Chapter four analyzes the impact of each and other interested parties about the future alternative on the affected environment. It of Appomattox Courthouse National Historical also makes a determination of whether there Park (NHP). The team held public meetings and will be cumulative impacts resulting from the published newsletters to share information about alternatives. the planning process and invite feedback on various plan components. Based on discussions Chapter fi ve describes the consultation and with interested parties, with local and state coordination process associated with the plan agencies, and within the National Park Service, including public involvement and required elements of the plan were signifi cantly revised consultation with the Virginia State Historic during this process. Based on an extensive Preservation Offi cer, any tribal interests, and the analysis of the resources in the park and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The chapter also comments received, the team shaped three describes any continuing consultation that will be action alternatives, which are contained in this necessary to implement sections of the plan. draft document. A “no action” alternative required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Appendices containing a determination on is presented, as well as three action alternatives. impairment in accordance with the Organic Act One of the action alternatives, Alternative 2, has as well as relevant background information or been identifi ed as the NPS preferred alternative information referenced in the plan complete the and as the environmentally preferred alternative. document. The approval of this plan does not guarantee that the funding and staffi ng needed to implement it will be forthcoming. Funding and staffi ng Park Purpose and Signifi cance decisions are based on available appropriations and staffi ng priorities of the Northeast Region of The park’s purpose and signifi cance statements, the NPS. Full implementation of the plan could be which are based on the park’s authorizing many years in the future. legislation, Congressional testimony and legislative history, form a portion of the foundation of the general management plan. The purpose statement explains why the park was established Document Overview as a unit of the national park system, while the signifi cance statement defi nes the park’s place Chapter one presents the introduction to the within a broader national context. The purposes park and the GMP/EIS process. It reviews goals of Appomattox Courthouse National Historical and issues to be addressed by the GMP/EIS Park are: and provides a foundation for planning including park purpose, signifi cance, themes, fundamental • To commemorate the surrender of General and important resources and values, and impact Robert E. Lee to Lieutenant General ii Executive Summary Ulysses S. Grant and the effective to understand the different conceptions and termination of the Civil War brought about by meanings that the end of the Civil War has the Appomattox Campaign from March 29- taken on through time. April 12, 1865 and to honor those engaged in this great confl ict. Park Interpretive Themes • To preserve and protect those park resources, including landscape features, Interpretive themes are the most important ideas historic structures, archeological sites, or concepts to be communicated to the public cemeteries and monuments, archives about a unit of the national park system. They and collections that are related to the are based on park purpose and signifi cance Appomattox Campaign, the surrender and statements, and connect park resources to its legacy. relevant ideas, meanings, and values. Themes set the framework for interpretive activities • To provide opportunities for the public and are the anchors that organize the visitor to learn about the Civil War; the people experience throughout the park. affected, the Appomattox Campaign and its The thematic framework for the park includes culmination in the surrender at Appomattox a statement of the overarching idea and Court House; and the beginning of peace three themes that fl ow from that idea. Topics, and national re-unifi cation. statements and content paragraphs are expressed for each theme. The content Appomattox Court House National Historical Park paragraphs describe the context for each theme. is nationally signifi cant as: The planning team also developed example stories that would fi ll out an interpretive program • the site of the surrender of the Army of after acceptance of the fi nal plan. Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Overarching Idea Grant, commander of the Union forces, April 9-12, 1865, effectively marking the end of The ending of the Civil War witnessed the failure the Civil War. The village of Appomattox of the South to become a separate nation and Court House and the surrounding landscape confi rmed the United States as a single political have exceptional integrity and are intrinsic entity--outcomes backed by constitutional to understanding the surrender and changes that have re-defi ned the nature of subsequent events. In combination with American law and society. It was experienced park archives and artifacts, they form an by many as the end of slavery. The people of outstanding assemblage that contributes Appomattox experienced the promise, fears, and markedly to the public’s awareness of how expectations brought about by the economic, these events helped to shape the military, social and political upheaval, as did others political and social outcomes of the Civil nationwide. The struggles and negotiations War; among different groups arising from this upheaval have been continually re-evaluated as society’s • the site of the Battle of Appomattox Court values and views on the war have evolved. House on April 9, 1865, which led directly to the surrender. Park lands display the Theme #1: From Petersburg to Appomattox: largely unaltered terrain of the battle and The Final Days & Surrender key topographic features that infl uenced its outcome, and contain the remains of the On April 9, 1865, Generals Grant and Lee set domestic and agricultural sites associated the tone for the men who had followed them into with the engagement; and battle, choosing reconciliation over vengeance • the site where re-unifi cation of the nation and mutual citizenship over regional differences, commenced with the terms of the surrender thereby signaling the effective end of the Civil and the magnanimous actions of Union War. The peaceful conclusion--unlike most civil and Confederate soldiers at Appomattox wars--was not a given, as injuries and hatreds on Court House. The rural setting evokes a both sides could have led to a bloody aftermath timeless sense of place for the consideration in the wake of the nation’s most destructive war. of these events. The park's landscape and structures, commemorative features, Theme #2: The Legacy of Appomattox archeological resources, archives and artifacts provide an opportunity for the public Appomattox came to symbolize the promise of Executive Summary iii national reunifi cation, a fi rst step on the long and form their own intellectual and emotional road to dealing with sectional divisions. However, connections to the meanings in park resources this ideal was not always supported by reality, and associated history, so as to foster as African Americans struggled for equal rights preservation of the site and an understanding ostensibly guaranteed through newly ratifi ed of its relevance today. Visitors safely enjoy Constitutional amendments. White southerners high quality educational experiences that are coped with economic and political dislocations, appropriate to the park’s purpose and are and feelings of submission, humiliation and satisfi ed with the availability, accessibility, resentment. The tensions among confl icting diversity, and quality of park facilities and societal forces are part of the unresolved legacy services. of Appomattox. Goal III - Partnerships and Cooperative Theme #3: Memories and Meanings Actions Appomattox occupies