San Juan Island Administrative History

CHAPTER 5:
Resource Management

Historic Landscapes

Much consideration and planning has gone into the historic landscapes at San Juan Island N.H.P. American Camp and English Camp present very different landscapes to the visitor, with varying degrees of success. Historic landscape issues at the park cover a wide range of issues, from maintenance of the formal garden at English Camp to development and maintenance of all roads and trails. In short, the historic landscape is intended to convey a sense of the historical period and events to the visitor.

English Camp Formal Garden

Since the early 1970s, work restoring the formal garden at English Camp has been maintained almost solely through volunteer efforts. In March 1982, Landscape Architect Carol Meadowcroft produced a report titled Reconstruction of Historic Formal Garden at English Camp. Meadowcroft's report considers the historical time frame of English Camp in relation to the history of English formal gardening around the world. Meadowcroft researched existing documentation of the garden, planted under Captain Delacombe, and reviewed the only known historical photograph of the garden. Combining what is known about the garden from the historical record with historical trends in English gardening, Meadowcroft developed a restoration plan and maintenance program for the garden.

Meadowcroft defined the formal garden as a part of the "Gardenesque" period of English gardening. This style entailed the use of geometric patterns within a natural setting. The formal garden at English Camp had replaced an earlier vegetable garden and was established during the formal construction of officers' quarters on the hillside. The Gardenesque style is also reflected in the pathways through the garden and up the hillside, forming a transition between parade ground and residential area. [10]

The only historic photograph to show the formal garden.

Volunteers at work in the garden.

For the 1976 American Bicentennial, the garden was reestablished in a 70-foot circular design matching the only historical photograph of the garden. The park utilized evergreen shrubs and flowering plants. Until Meadowcroft's report, no research had been done on what type of flowering plants and shrubbery were available to the marines during the late 1860s. Meadowcroft researched archives on Vancouver Island as well as the U.S. National Archives, but did not find much. However, research of newspaper advertisements of the day in the Daily British Colonist out of Victoria provides an indication of what plants were being sold in the area. From this research, Meadowcroft developed a list of plant materials to be utilized in the garden. Consideration was given to substituting perennials as a time and cost-saving measure for the park.

The report provides a planting plan for the garden as well as future maintenance and plant rotation recommendations. Utilizing Gardenesque methods, Meadowcroft divided the circular garden into beds, with individual types of flowering plants massed in each bed. The historic photograph indicates that the flowering plants were planted in semicircular rows. Taller plants are programmed in the interior beds with lower growing plants in outer beds. Beds are lined with common boxwood and the central planting bordered by caladiums.

Meadowcroft recommended the park consider the seasons and blooming times of the flowers chosen for the garden to maximize length of time the beds show color, and try to program the best mix of colors during peak visitation times. In addition to providing the park a listing of annuals and perennials for use in the garden, the appendices also list where research was completed and where future research needed to be done. Meadowcroft's research is the primary reference tool for current volunteer efforts to maintain the garden.

Historic Landscapes of San Juan Island N.H.P.

In 1984, James K. Agee, a forest biologist with University of Washington Cooperative Park Studies Unit in Seattle, completed the report entitled Historic Landscapes of San Juan Island N.H.P. under an agreement with the park. In Agee's report, he examines the historic landscapes at both camps under four time periods: prehistoric, historic, post-historic, and park period. The research and planning in his report was completed as part of a regional interdisciplinary study team considering resource management issues at the park, the subject of a later discussion in this chapter.

Agee offers information regarding species types prevalent at both camp sites during the four time periods as well as the impact of historic land use patterns. Through historic photographs and field research, Agee determined what constituted the historic landscapes the park would try to reestablish and preserve.

At English Camp, Agee identified two major landscape elements: Garry oak and woodland, coniferous forest. The forests at English Camp were burned during the 1700s and had successfully regenerated. The forests also were subjected to some burning and cutting by native peoples inhabiting the site, and later by the Royal Marines. However, the most alteration came during the post-historic period, when the Crook family and others began agricultural production and timber harvesting on Young Hill during the period 1880-1920s. [11]

By the time of park creation, successful forest regeneration had already begun. Agee states that in 1983, the major areas of timber cutting and agricultural usage (roughly 34 acres) had approximately 12,000 stems per acre. Agee determined that the historic setting at English Camp was not that far removed from present landscapes. The report recommended thinning over the next 20 to 30 years, which would accelerate the growth of the remaining tree population. Red cedar, Douglas fir, alder, and grand fir would also need to be planted in open areas. Management was presented with a choice of time periods to represent through the wooded landscape: limited settlement of the early 1860s or full-scale construction completed by 1872. They opted for the earlier time period.

Agee's report found American Camp considerably altered from its historic state, so much so that it was difficult to ascertain conclusively the nature of the prehistoric landscape. To try and determine what plant types may have existed at the site prior to European settlement, Agee examined soil types. Soils ranged from glacier till and sandy loam, which support grasses and a few trees, to soils that support forest stands. Consideration was also given to climate and weather exposure. These, coupled with historical descriptions of the site, led Agee to determine five areas of typical landscape types: dry grass, woodland, open Douglas fir type, mixed pine type, and western hemlock.

From this research, the report suggests regeneration of mixed pine forest areas and provides information on obtaining seedlings and methods of planting. Agee suggests further planning be done to determine which planting methods and maintenance schedule to utilize.

To summarize, Agee's report offers programming goals for the park's historic landscapes. At English Camp, programming should erase the evidence of agricultural operations. At American Camp, visitors should be able to see the densely forested area chosen by Colonel Casey for the third campsite.

Consideration For Management of Grassland Vegetation at San Juan Island N.H.P.

Jim Romo, an Oregon State University research associate in the Department of Rangeland Resources, produced the above-noted report in July 1985. The report was designed to help management determine its objectives in managing the grasslands at American Camp, specifically exotic plant species.

The report offers information on what plants are weeds at American Camp. It offers specific recommendations on controlling Tansy Ragwort and Canadian thistle, the two most troublesome weeds at the site. The report also offers some experimental control options. The report makes it clear that many factors have been at work on the prairie of American Camp to cause the introduction of exotics. Romo states the park needs to treat the source of the problem, not the result, if it is to succeed in maintaining the prairie's historic nature. Park staff continue to wrestle with the appropriate way to handle exotic species at American Camp, and recently have begun to consider the feasibility of implementing controlled burning to regenerate native plant growth. Currently, however, old-fashioned weed pulling is the method most often employed to combat exotic species.

Historic Landscape Study

This study was completed by Pacific Northwest Region historical landscape architect Cathy Gilbert between 1985 and 1987. The report starts by clearly stating it is a technical document designed to collect, present, and evaluate documentary and field survey evidence, and propose appropriate management options for historic landscapes at the park. The document was not intended as a decision document, which requires public meetings, an environmental impact assessment, and consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

For each camp, the report provides a historical and archaeological overview and a summary of current landscape conditions. In addition, surveys revealed new structural remnant findings on officers' hill at English Camp, and research results presented.

The report responds to a very important question: what should the visitor to San Juan Island N.H.P. experience at each of these camps? In response to that question, a series of design recommendations for future planning and a number of design alternatives for American Camp (4) and English Camp (3) are offered. The goals of the design recommendations were defined as the stabilization and preservation of resources, removal of non-historic components, and enhancement of historic features that are ill-defined or can be verified through archaeology. The design recommendations were presented in five management areas: buildings and foundations; access and circulation; plant materials; special features, site details and materials; and maintenance and management concepts. Each of these five areas were considered for each camp.

Using the design recommendations, Gilbert developed design alternatives for each camp, each providing a different level of design treatment for each historic setting and varying degrees of opportunity for interpretation and visitor experiences.

For American Camp, the key elements of the design alternatives centered on defining the historic landscape for better visitor understanding. The alternatives provided a huge range of options for park managers to consider. When the report was completed, the regional cultural resource division in Seattle developed a fifth alternative for American Camp, which was completed in 1990. This became the preferred alternative and called for:

• A new visitor center at the site
• New parking and informal picnic areas
• Existing historic buildings used for interpretive exhibits
• Completion of a historic structures report for the Redoubt
• New trailhead and parking at the Redoubt
• Remove the county road
• Creation of a series of interpretive trails
• Assist San Juan County in defining the military road between American and English Camps
• Reestablish the historic picket fence and boardwalk
• Mark non-extant buildings
• Reestablish portions of forest northwest of the campsite
• Reestablish the American Camp garden
• Monitor rabbit populations
• Bellevue farm: develop a loop trail, reestablish historic fencing, mark non-extant buildings
• San Juan Town: develop trail loop, identify and mark non-extant structures
• American Camp cemetery: sign and mark along interpretive trail
• Spring Camp: sign and mark along interpretive trail

The preferred alternative treatments were designed to provide visitors with an understanding of the size and scope of the historic scene, the county road would no longer be an intrusion, and the Redoubt would be stabilized with a new trailhead and parking. Adjacent sites would be tied to the camp through a trail system and interpretive opportunities would be expanded. To fulfill these recommended treatments, the park would require an expanded staff and a budget increase.

For English Camp, Gilbert's design alternatives centered on defining the role of the Crook House and the stabilization of structural wall remnants along the hillside. Again, the regional cultural resource division examined the options presented and developed a preferred, fourth alternative. Under the new preferred alternative, the focus was placed on identification and enhancement of the historic scene, with the Crook House being converted to seasonal quarters. The preferred alternative called for:

• Modification and improvement of the parking lot
• Rehabilitate and use the Crook House as seasonal quarters, using landscape planting to screen the house from the view of the camp site
• Comprehensive archaeological investigation of hillside remnants
• Stabilization and preservation of the masonry ruin and other historic features
• Selective clearing of the forest on Officers' Hill and on the Northeast slope to reestablish historic vistas and viewsheds, as well as clearing to protect and stabilize remnant features along the hillside
• Identify and mark all non-extant buildings through stone foundation footings and ghosting structures
• Reconstruction of the bird house on Officers' Hill
• Maintenance of the formal garden
• Reestablishment of northeast section of historic fencing to establish the historic site boundary
• Stabilize the cemetery, correcting drainage problems, maintain gravesites, recording the headstone information and possibly replacing if severe deterioration occurs

Gilbert's study presented a wide variety of design options, ranging from no action to full reconstruction. All of the design elements and recommendations in the study were developed with the goal of enhancing the interpretive and environmental context for the site, providing visitors with a greater understanding of the scale and character of the historic landscapes. [12] In summary, the report noted that implementation of the preferred alternatives at either site would require staff and budget increases.

Pilot Planting Project

In 1986, six half-acre quadrants at American Camp were replanted with 100 Douglas fir seedlings per each quadrant. The plantings were an experiment to test methods of replanting around the American Camp area to determine the feasibility of initiating a larger scale replanting program to restore native species and forest that existed during the historic period.

On each quadrant, three different protective screens were tested. Divided into groups of twenty-five, three sets had varying degrees of screen protection while the fourth had no protection. Different levels of herbicides were tested for controlling grass and weeds around the seedlings.

James F. Milestone, Pacific Northwest Regional Office natural resource management trainee, reported on the progress of the trees in September of 1986. Overall, in eight months they lost 116 trees out of 600. The natural decline in rabbits that had occurred during the early 1980s had opened the door for better grass and seedling production. However, it also meant that the Townsend vole did better as well, feeding on the young seedlings. One hundred eleven trees were attacked by voles, but Milestone reported that vole attacks did not equate to mortality.

What did kill the trees was water saturation of roots during winter storms and drought during the summer. Also, those seedlings planted in areas treated with herbicides had a low mortality rate not having to compete with grasses and weeds. In the end, the trees with a hard protective screen planted in a grass-free space had the highest success rate.

Milestone recommended future plantings using a six-foot, grass-free perimeter with hard protective screens to protect seedlings from voles. He also recommended that prior to replanting, planning be given to match seedling type to available soil drainage in order to prevent deaths due to saturation. He provided an outline for future planting efforts. In short, pilot planting efforts lost approximately one-sixth of the starts, but produced the data necessary to continue reestablishment of forested areas around the camp.