Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller - Vermont's First National Park

In 1992, I worked with Senator Jeffords to successfully pass a bill designating the Marsh-Billings complex in Woodstock as a national park. This 555-acre site is steeped in the tradition of private citizens acting out of their private concern for the land and its resources. George Perkins Marsh changed our perception of human relationship to nature. Marsh was one of the first individuals to successfully argue that resources were finite and he foresaw the devastating effects on the environment we are witnessing today. Frederick Billings, another proprietor of this magnificent site, was also at the forefront of the conservation movement. He used the principles developed by Marsh to restore forests on the property and to help frame Vermont's first long-term forest policy. Billings' granddaughter, Mary, and her husband, conservationist Laurence S. Rockefeller, donated the mansion and woodlands for the park. Marsh-Billings is the only national park in Vermont.

The Marsh-Billings National Historic Park consists of the Marsh-Billings mansion and an additional 113 acres in surrounding Woodstock. I was pleased to secure funding to help the Park Service renovate the historic, on-site Carriage House as their multipurpose office and visitor's facility. Programs at the park will focus on explaining changes in Vermont's landscape, the history of the conservation movement in America, and the conservation roles of Marsh, Billings and the Rockefellers.

The National Park Service and the Woodstock Foundation, a charitable entity established by the Rockefellers, have developed a General Management Plan for the Park that envisions a close working relationship between the Woodstock Foundation and the National Park Service. The Billings Farm and Museum, a project of the Woodstock Foundation, is located within the boundaries of the national park, but remains private property. The Museum interprets farm and agriculture innovations of Frederick Billings and displays Vermont farm life in the 1890's.

The cooperative approach to operation of Marsh-Billings is unique in the National Park System and should serve as model for other, new historic parks that have an established community connection. With the limited resources of the National Park Service, these innovative partnerships will allow more of our national treasures to be protected.

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