Beyond the Waters' Edge: Complexity and Conservation Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage by Public Agencies in North Carolina

Abstract

This study used a mixed methods case study approach to investigate the nature and behavior of the system in North Carolina within which managers in its public agency for Archives and History have implemented public policy to conserve the state's underwater cultural heritage since the early 1960s. The study provides a history of conservation management of underwater cultural heritage in North Carolina, methodologies, and a conceptual framework to help conservation managers identify and understand contexts within which they are working as either traditional or complex management systems. By organization theory, understanding context is recognized as crucial for effective management. When physical remains of the past are discovered in state waters it may be obvious to a professional conservator what actions are needed. Deciding what actions are taken, however, lies with public agency managers - beyond the waters' edge. Factors investigated for this study were players' (public, political, professional) interests, conservation actions, and time. Data was analyzed from the perspectives of three public policy systems models. Archives and History's management system generally was found to be traditional, but six case study sites were identified as complex adaptive systems.