WASHINGTON D.C. -- The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) today presented President Joe Biden with the sixth triennial report, In a Spirit of Stewardship: A Report on Federal Historic Property Management.
The ACHP produced the report under Section 3(c) of Executive Order 13287, “Preserve America,” which requires agencies with real property management responsibilities to report every three years on progress in the identification, protection, and use of historic properties in federal ownership.
“The ACHP looks forward to the new Administration’s leadership and interest in historic preservation,” ACHP Vice Chairman Rick Gonzalez, AIA, said. “This responsibility can provide an opportunity to thoughtfully manage federal historic resources, understand their correlation to addressing resiliency, and enhance the usefulness of these assets now and in the future.”
The report summarizes the state of the federal government’s inventory of historic properties. It examines timely issues that are critical to the management of these holdings and how they relate to important issues facing the nation, such as infrastructure, jobs, and resiliency. The report includes the ACHP’s recommendations to address current concerns in federal preservation practice and further improve federal stewardship of these important properties.
The ACHP supports federal agency efforts to preserve the diverse historic properties in their care while carrying out their missions. The feasibility of successful preservation achievements is enhanced when partnerships involve the private sector. In response to a recommendation in the last Section 3 Report to the President, the ACHP formed a Leveraging Federal Historic Buildings Working Group in 2019 to explore how public-private leasing partnerships for federal historic buildings can be encouraged to save taxpayer dollars while spurring preservation and reinvestment relative to new construction on or leasing privately owned property.
Executive Order 13287 is a key component of the Preserve America program and is premised on the sound principle that preserving our heritage and using heritage assets to meet contemporary needs is a wise investment in our future. The increased use of public-private partnerships to assist federal agencies in property management, education, and heritage tourism efforts is a major component of the Executive Order.
Section 3 of EO 13287 establishes an accountability system to gauge agency implementation of the mandates of the National Historic Preservation Act and the EO. Accurate information on the state of federally owned historic properties is essential to achieving the goals of the EO and to promoting community economic development through local partnerships. Read more information.