The Maryland Preservation Plan - 2005 - Maryland Historical Trust

Preparing the Maryland Preservation PlanI. Preparing the MarylandPreservation PlanThe major heritage conservation goals, strategies, and recommendationspresented in this plan are intended to guide heritage conservation in Marylandfor the next five years. This plan updates Preservation Vision 2000: TheMaryland Plan, the current Maryland Comprehensive Preservation Plan.A. Public ParticipationThe Maryland Preservation Plan, 2005 evolved through opendialogue and continuous input by the general public and by partners of theMaryland Historical Trust. In 2000, the Task Force on the Preservation andEnhancement of Maryland Heritage Resources was created and charged with:1) assessing the condition of Maryland heritage resources and current trendsaffecting these resources; 2) evaluating the effectiveness of heritage resourceassistance programs and taxation policies, including private, federal, State, andlocal jurisdiction programs and areas of concern; and 3) making recommendationsthat will allow Maryland's citizens to benefit from the State's abundantheritage resources. Beginning in the fall of that year the Task Force held aseries of six public meetings to help gather public input, which contributed to thefindings released in the Task Force report, Preserving a Quality of Life, andwhich informed this planning document. Various State and local preservationorganizations and history museums were workshop cosponsors, frequentlyproviding assistance with meeting arrangements, workshop announcements, andmedia contacts. In addition to representatives from cosponsoring groups,workshop participants included representatives of both private and publicorganizations and agencies, and interested citizens. MHT supplemented theinformation collected through these meetings with an additional series of publicworkshops held to determine the most pressing heritage conservation issues inthe State and to identify how to address them. In addition, MHT developedand circulated a questionnaire to gather information gauging informants' involvementand interest in heritage resource conservation and furthering MHT'sunderstanding of respondents' concerns about preservation activities in theircommunities. The wealth of information gained from this outreach effort wascrucial in guiding development of the goals and objectives central to TheMaryland Preservation Plan, 2005.Other heritage conservation concerns and suggestions were receivedduring MHT’s annual conferences, at regional and local training seminars, and atvarious planning retreats. Regular visits and telephone conversations betweenMHT staff and subgrantees, local planners, preservation professionals andadvocates also provided insights into statewide preservation needs.Information about State population and growth trends was collected from the2000 U.S. Census reports for Maryland, various planning documents, anddiscussions with planners both within the State and the mid-Atlantic region.The LeGore Stone Arch Bridge inFrederick County is listed in the NationalRegister of Historic Places. TheMaryland State Highway Administration,in cooperation with the MarylandHistorical Trust, prepared a comprehensiveinventory of the many historicbridges which still carry highway trafficin the State. In 2002, the MHT Presspublished The Historic Bridges ofMaryland.3