Antietam National Battlefield Land Use Management Plan / Environmental Assessment

Antietam National Battlefield is located in a rural area of south Washington County, Maryland and was established in 1890 to commemorate the bloodiest single-day battle in American history on September 17, 1862. Antietam is considered one of the best-preserved Civil War areas in the National Park System, attracting approximately 350,000 visitors annually. The farms and farmlands in and near the battlefield appear much as they did on the eve of the battle in 1862 and the terrain and landscape directly affected the outcome of the Battle of Antietam.

Antietam National Battlefield is preparing a Landscape Management Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA) that will define will define the framework for the treatment of the battlefield landscape and describe specific guidelines and tasks aimed to maintain and enhance the park's historic character.

The purpose of this Landscape Management Plan is to develop comprehensive, sustainable land use strategies that will preserve significant landscape elements and integrate natural and cultural resource values, including a framework to:

- Sustainably manage agricultural uses and forests;
- Protect critical viewsheds from surrounding development;
- Restore historic viewpoints, currently obstructed by overgrown vegetation;
- Protect witness trees that were standing at the time of the Battle of Antietam;
- Stabilize eroding shorelines and trails;
- Advance watershed stewardship goals;
- Increase resiliency to climate change impacts; and
- Improve opportunities for park visitors to learn about the battle's events and significance.