The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation had its winter business meeting in San Francisco, California, with three days of engaging with preservationists on the west coast. Council members hosted a listening session at historic Angel Island State Park with more than 20 representatives of the Asian American community to discuss ways to better identify and interpret places important to the nation’s Asian American-Pacific Islander history and bring them into the national historic preservation movement’s consciousness. The Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation was presented to the Discover SF! Summer Youth Program, a product of San Francisco Heritage and the National Park Service’s Pacific West Region, along with the Galing Bata After-School Program and the Filipino American Development Foundation. The program introduces middle school students to the rich history, landscapes, and architecture of San Francisco and exposes them to the field of heritage conservation through interactive field trips, learning activities, and presentations from preservation professionals. Exposing students to sites significant to local Filipino/Filipino American history is a critical part of the program to date. A video explaining the effort is available at http://vimeo.com/110309053.

At the business meeting March 19 at the Presidio of San Francisco, council members heard from Tribal Historic Preservation Officers from the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, Agua Calienta Band of Cahuilla Indians, Smith River Rancheria and United Auburn Indian Community—all of California; discussed youth initiatives; outreach to the Latino community; legislative issues including creating a public policy piece for the Preservation50 project; and the recent publication of the Section 3 Report to the President In a Spirit of Stewardship.