Vegetation Management Plan for Fort Negley Civil War Site Since April of 2016, Metro Parks staff has been actively implementing landscape and stewardship improvements at the historic Civil War fort that were originally recommended in the 1996 Master Plan, and reiterated in the 2007 update to the plan. The 1996 Fort Negley Master Plan was produced by Hickerson Fowlkes Architects with Hawkins Partners, Inc., and Zada Law as consulting archeologist. The plan was reviewed and updated in the 2007 supplement. Also, the 2013 Historic Structures Report created by John Milner Associates reflects the same management and stewardship concerns. These plans still define and direct the preservation, management and restoration of the fort and surrounding resources. The site has a long history of neglect that has contributed to the deterioration of the fort structure, the degradation of the surrounding landscape, and the growth of safety and security concerns. The 1996 Master Plan documented the deteriorating conditions of the fort and the very low quality conditions of the surrounding vegetation, and warned of the negative impacts of not implementing a vegetation control plan. The conditions were described in 1996 as an understory infested with invasive Japanese Privet and Asian Bush Honeysuckle, and an overstory consisting of Hackberry. The damage to historic structures and adjacent archaeological sites caused by the presence of woody vegetation in close proximity, and the heavy infestation of invasive plant species surrounding the fort were described in detail in the 1996 report, and the conditions have deteriorated since. The Master Plan recommends removal of all woody vegetation within 30 feet of fort structures, the complete removal of all invasive vegetation, and the selective removal and pruning of trees on the surrounding hillside. Trees and other woody plants near fort structures result in physical and hydrological pressures that accelerate the deterioration and failure of historic fort structures. The uncontrolled spread of invasive plants and low quality monoculture forest trees resulted in very poor conditions characterized by a lack of biological diversity, very little functioning natural habitat, and an unnaturally dense landscape that attracted considerable illegal activity. The current work on the vegetation management plan involves approximately 11 acres of the historic fort site and is will achieve the following stewardship goals: 
To return the fort and surrounding historic remnants to a landscape condition that is more accurate for the historic context of the Civil War site
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To slow the deterioration and failure of the fort structures and surrounding historic features caused by the uncontrolled growth and spread of vegetation
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To visually expose the historic fort structure, providing better and safer public access to the important heritage site
Prior to the current work, the site was inspected by natural resource managers to determine the ecological health and relative value of the wooded area. The entire area was again found to be heavily infested with exotic invasive plants, lacking diversity of tree species, lacking a viable understory, and
heavily disturbed by illegal dumping and camping sites. The small number of tree specimens that were deemed to have ecological or cultural significance were marked for preservation. This restoration work also includes targeted grazing and manual removal of invasive plants in and around the historic fort structures. The 1996 Master Plan recommended pruning as a way to achieve the safety and visibility objectives, with tree removal as a last resort. It became obvious during the work that because of the very advanced infestation of invasive plants, the poor quality of the standing trees, and the presence of numerous illegal dump sites, pruning to achieve satisfactory results was not a realistic option. The work as it has been done will make it easier to establish cool-season turf grasses to stabilize the site as recommended in the Master Plan. A turf grass seed mix and straw will be applied to the site immediately following the clearing work to control the loss of any topsoil. Parks is also moving forward with a significant stonework restoration project on the site. Restoration and stabilization of the original historic entrance to the fort, the Sallie Port, is scheduled to begin this year. The Master Plan also recommends that Parks should work with a Technical Advisory Committee and the Metro Historical Commission when implementing the vegetation management plan. Parks management worked closely with members of the TAC as well as the Friends of Fort Negley throughout this process, but failed to coordinate directly and formally with MHC. Taking advantage of the limited window of opportunity to mobilize both a tree crew and a grounds crew on site, Parks may have overlooked some protocols to get this done. Parks will coordinate directly with MHC on this work going forward. Ultimately, it should be emphasized that this site is unique among park properties. It has great importance as a historic site because of its significance to Civil War, WPA and African American heritage. The site has historically had very little ecological significance, and has never been intended to be managed as a natural area. It requires a different approach to stewardship, one that is line with the management of other comparable heritage sites. Parks’ goal is to follow the recommendations of the Master Plan and manage the fort in a way similar to other important sites like those managed by the National Park Service.