"A Living Landscape": a Cultural Resources Management Plan for Morgan Territory Regional Preserve

Purpose of Thesis: The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) was established in 1934 by activists concerned over the preservation of natural landscapes and resources. The District currently has stewardship and management responsibilities for over 100,000 acres of land, which include 65 park units, in the San Francisco East Bay. In 1990, Peggy Shannon wrote a cultural resources management plan Master's thesis to address the District's responsibilities towards cultural resources. While EBRPD may have taken Shannon's thesis into consideration, the majority of her recommendations were not implemented. However, the District does currently have cultural resources management policies in place. The effectiveness of these policies in terms of site protection was called into question when a private citizen published specific location details for prehistoric archaeological sites within District landholdings. Public knowledge of and access to these sites may result in negatively impacting these resources. While EBRPD policy does prohibit damaging an archaeological site, there is no clear process in place to protect these sites or to monitor the effects of public access / knowledge. One of the ways to address these issues is in the form of a management plan. This thesis and accompanying management plan was written for Morgan Territory Regional Preserve because while it is not yet highly visited, a lot of public attention has been focused on the prehistoric cultural resources in this park. The purpose of this document is to assist EBRPD in managing the identified and potential cultural resources within Morgan Territory. To facilitate cultural resources management, this thesis and management plan is designed to comply with the goals and management policies of the District's Master Plan. The suggested recommendations address cultural resources management issues pertinent to Morgan Territory.

Methods: Background research was conducted at local archives (e.g., the Northwest Information Center, the Anthropological Studies Center, and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve) to create a background cultural history of Morgan Territory. This cultural history provides a context to the cultural development of the study area and also assists in predicting the types of resources located within the park. Archaeological fieldwork was also carried out during 2009. This fieldwork served two purposes: 1) to further substantiate the types of cultural resources in the park; and 2) to provide the District with baseline data about the condition of these archaeological sites. Federal and state cultural resource legislation and regulations were reviewed in order to determine which laws apply to the management of resources at Morgan Territory. In addition, the District's cultural and natural resources and land management This thesis was created within the framework ofcultura1landscape theory and the politics of heritage management. EBRPD values its landholdings primarily in terms of natural resources. Cultural landscape theory aids with understanding the cultural development of places such as Morgan Territory. This appreciation is valuable to District management because it allows for the prediction oft he types of cultural resources that may be found across a particular landscape. Viewing park Units as a cultural landscape reinforces that such places not only have the potential to contain cultural resources but as a whole. are a cultural resource. A discussion of the politics of heritage management is warranted because the District is a large land owning agency with stewardship responsibilities. Furthermore, the District recognizes that people identifying with these landscapes also have feelings of stewardship and ownership rights as well. The intent of this discussion is to assist the District with developing various mechanisms, such as consultation and community outreach, to manage claims of ownership and/or stewardship rights.

Findings: The District has cultural resources management policies in place and is primarily responsible for complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). EBRPD's cultural resources management policies can be strengthened to more effectively protect and manage cultural resources. This can be achieved in part by reviewing the District's proactive policies towards natural resource and land management and applying similar strategies to cultural resources. Furthermore, a cultural resources management plan created to-address management needs for specific park units, such as Morgan Territory. will fully complement EBRPD's overarching management policies.

Conclusions: Morgan Territory would benefit from the protection and structure a cultural resources management plan offers. The recommendations in the management portion of this thesis address cultural resources management concerns at Morgan Territory including the effects of public access to and knowledge of archaeological sites, stewardship concerns, implementation of a public education interpretive program, and the need for a cultural resources manager. This management plan will assist the District in reaching its own goal of protecting cultural resources within its jurisdiction.