The Land Trust for Tennessee’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Coordinator Luke Iverson, joined by Rachael Bergmann, presented a program to the TCWPA Board of Directors about the Trust’s use of GIS mapping to identify opportunities for conservation across Tennessee, including Civil War sites.
The Land Trust’s program helped launch a renewed effort to evaluate data TCWPA’s planning team has collected over the past several years, documenting the characteristics of more than 150 battlefields in Tennessee. Following the meeting, board member Mike Countess conducted a review of the work completed to date and developed “next steps.” He will help lead efforts in 2020 to gather additional data, examine alternative “tools” for preservation and interpretation for each battlefield, and develop a model for identifying opportunities and priorities.
The goal of the plan is to provide a guide to preservation and interpretation at each site, a process to periodically update the status of each site, and a strategic direction for the collective role of sites in preserving and interpreting the story of the Civil War in Tennessee.