Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park - Kennesaw State ...

Partnerships
Kennesaw Mountain NBP has two
main supporting partners: Kennesaw
Mountain Historical Association has
existed for more than 50 years and
operates the battlefi eld’s book store,
helps to staff the visitor center’s front
desk, and assists in other interpretive
endeavors. The Kennesaw Mountain
Trail Corps was established in recent
years to help the battlefi eld recruit
volunteers to improve the park’s trails,
raise money for trail maintenance,
and help visitors hiking the trails.
Cobb County and the local police
departments are another important
relationship of the Battlefi eld.
Public Perception
As suburban Atlanta has enveloped
Kennesaw Mountain NBP in recent
decades, many regional residents
perceive the battlefi eld as a recreational
green space for walking, jogging, and
biking.
Internal Issues and Infl uences
Lack of Staff
The declining number of park staff
members and the increased burden on
the existing staff makes it diffi cult to
complete required administrative and
preservation duties and the supporting
reports in a timely fashion. The lack of
interpretive staff makes it impossible
to present a suffi cient number of
both formal and informal interpretive
presentations.
Overuse of Trails
Evaluation
The heavy use of the park’s authorized
trails contributes to erosion and the
creation of unsafe conditions on
those trails. The large number of
“social” trails (or “unauthorized”
trails) makes it diffi cult to provide
meaningful directions for visitor use
of the authorized trail network. It
also increases the diffi culty of routing
emergency assistance to the proper
location when necessary.
Recreational Visitors are “localized”
The tendency of recreational visitors
to stay in only one of the battlefi eld’s
primary three areas makes it diffi cult
for them to get a comprehensive
understanding of the battle’s overall
story.
Lack of an adequate Sign System
The lack of a comprehensive signage
plan makes it diffi cult for non-local
visitors to fi nd the battlefi eld, and then
to gain an understanding of battlefi eld
events once they are in the park.
Lack of Division/Brigade markers
and Lack of identifi cation of
Historic Houses
The lack of unit markers and the lack
of identifi cation of historic home sites
throughout the battlefi eld impede the
visitors’ ability to understand what this
area looked like in June 1864.
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefi eld Park Long-Range Interpretive Plan I
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