James Madison's Montpelier We The People Fall 2017 WTP_fall 2017_FINAL-rgb | Page 12

WE THE PEOPLE
“We have these twin guideposts of
environmental stewardship and engaging
the public, and our job is to find the
middle path so that any decision we make
is something we would be proud of 100 or 200
years from today,” says
Imhoff.
As she contemplates the future, she sees a
Montpelier that will work to “establish more
Virginia warm grasses and wild flowers, and
continue to build stable habitat for all the
flora and fauna.” More than simply a museum,
Imhoff strives to ensure that
Montpelier is “the place you
“[O]ne of the things that might be
can walk and run and bird
most important about our work is the watch and experience nature.
You can learn about Madison
land conservation and stewardship
and history but we have a
that we’re doing at Montpelier.”
variety of stories and one of
—Kat Imhoff, Montpelier President & CEO
them is the natural story.”
As she has been her entire
career, Imhoff is confidently
setting an example, with
other similar sites following
suit, using Montpelier as an
example of the importance
of conserving and utilizing
the power of place. “Some of these larger
Virginia cultural institutions with
land holdings, as part of their ethic
and their assessment of what the future
will bring, are beginning to think about
land conservation, not just the preservation
of their historic structures, because the
context the structures occupy is becoming
more and more significant to the way we
understand them.”
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Imhoff remains committed
to the accurate and honest interpretation of
history, and has led the charge in transforming
what was once a typical “house museum” into
a dynamic and modern cultural institution
through innovative and brave interpretation and
programming. But she can’t hold back a chuckle
as she explains that “one of the things that might
be most important about our work is the land
conservation and stewardship that we’re doing
at Montpelier.”