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MVB Historic Site planning for the future
Park awaits approval of bill that would allow for boundary expansion
By Jamie Larson
KINDERHOOK — Interested community members, planning experts and park management for the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site came together Wednesday night at the St. Luke’s Church on Kinderhook Street in Valatie to discuss the future of the homestead of America’s eight president.
Along with dissecting options for a 20-year General Management Plan (GMP) — the first since the 1970s — the group collectively crossed their fingers in hopes that the House of Representatives will pass a bill next week of great importance and bearing on the park.
The Omnibus bill (S22), which passed the Senate 74 to 21 in mid-January and awaits House and presidential approval, is a large package of 159 conservation-related bills that has been entrenched in the passage process for years. One of those bills would see the boundaries of the MVB site expand from the current 39 acres around the Lindenwald historic home to more than 300, representing nearly all of Van Buren’s original estate. This area is made up of a number of different parcels of land.
One hundred and one acres of the proposed expansion is active farmland owned by Roxbury Farm. This land would continue to be cultivated by Roxbury and at least partially open to the public. This is in keeping with the historic nature of the site, as Van Buren oversaw a farming operation on his property.
The boundary expansion plan has been in the works since the 1970s and Kinderhook Town Historian Ruth Piwonka is glad the expansion is finally getting traction in Congress as part of the Omnibus bill.
“It’s really good to see it move forward more rapidly,” she said.
The focus of Wednesday’s meeting, though, centered on the GMP. The MVB site has been working with the National Parks Service and a consulting firm to create a comprehensive plan for the future of the site.
Site Superintendent Dan Dattilio said the park is finally starting to get some of the respect it deserves.
“I think the MVB site has kind of been left behind,” Dattilio said, “and this is well overdue. There are only 391 national parks and to be a national park you have to be special in a national way.”
Dattilio said the public’s suggestions were “central to the planning process,” which will produce both the GMP as well as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The process is still in its early stages but after more than a year of planning and one previous public meeting, officials have developed three alternative tracks for site development to take.
The first alternative is no action. This plan keeps programs at Lindenwald as they are now. No action is primarily used as a base line — a control to bounce the changes of the other alternatives off of. The second option for consideration focuses on the history of Van Buren and his contributions to the history of the nation. And the final alternative emphasizes restoring the historic landscape of the grounds to what it was like in Van Buren’s time. This would include re-establishing the old gatehouse and orchards, as well as other agricultural features on the property.
Dattilio said both active alternatives would incorporate aspects of the other and that planners really want to involve public opinions and ideas into any final proposal. The planners have developed an official statement of purpose and significance for the Van Buren site, and Dattilio said as long as ideas do not infringe on the guidelines of that statement or the historical purity of the house and grounds, all suggestions are fair game.
The GMP/EIS will be prepared by planners in the National Parks Service Northeast Region and park staff with assistance from advisors and consultants from the LA Group of Saratoga Springs.
Additional information can be found on the park Web site, www.nps.gov/mava, or by calling 518-758-9689.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
By Jamie Larson
KINDERHOOK — Interested community members, planning experts and park management for the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site came together Wednesday night at the St. Luke’s Church on Kinderhook Street in Valatie to discuss the future of the homestead of America’s eight president.
Along with dissecting options for a 20-year General Management Plan (GMP) — the first since the 1970s — the group collectively crossed their fingers in hopes that the House of Representatives will pass a bill next week of great importance and bearing on the park.
The Omnibus bill (S22), which passed the Senate 74 to 21 in mid-January and awaits House and presidential approval, is a large package of 159 conservation-related bills that has been entrenched in the passage process for years. One of those bills would see the boundaries of the MVB site expand from the current 39 acres around the Lindenwald historic home to more than 300, representing nearly all of Van Buren’s original estate. This area is made up of a number of different parcels of land.
One hundred and one acres of the proposed expansion is active farmland owned by Roxbury Farm. This land would continue to be cultivated by Roxbury and at least partially open to the public. This is in keeping with the historic nature of the site, as Van Buren oversaw a farming operation on his property.
The boundary expansion plan has been in the works since the 1970s and Kinderhook Town Historian Ruth Piwonka is glad the expansion is finally getting traction in Congress as part of the Omnibus bill.
“It’s really good to see it move forward more rapidly,” she said.
The focus of Wednesday’s meeting, though, centered on the GMP. The MVB site has been working with the National Parks Service and a consulting firm to create a comprehensive plan for the future of the site.
Site Superintendent Dan Dattilio said the park is finally starting to get some of the respect it deserves.
“I think the MVB site has kind of been left behind,” Dattilio said, “and this is well overdue. There are only 391 national parks and to be a national park you have to be special in a national way.”
Dattilio said the public’s suggestions were “central to the planning process,” which will produce both the GMP as well as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The process is still in its early stages but after more than a year of planning and one previous public meeting, officials have developed three alternative tracks for site development to take.
The first alternative is no action. This plan keeps programs at Lindenwald as they are now. No action is primarily used as a base line — a control to bounce the changes of the other alternatives off of. The second option for consideration focuses on the history of Van Buren and his contributions to the history of the nation. And the final alternative emphasizes restoring the historic landscape of the grounds to what it was like in Van Buren’s time. This would include re-establishing the old gatehouse and orchards, as well as other agricultural features on the property.
Dattilio said both active alternatives would incorporate aspects of the other and that planners really want to involve public opinions and ideas into any final proposal. The planners have developed an official statement of purpose and significance for the Van Buren site, and Dattilio said as long as ideas do not infringe on the guidelines of that statement or the historical purity of the house and grounds, all suggestions are fair game.
The GMP/EIS will be prepared by planners in the National Parks Service Northeast Region and park staff with assistance from advisors and consultants from the LA Group of Saratoga Springs.
Additional information can be found on the park Web site, www.nps.gov/mava, or by calling 518-758-9689.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
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