Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

By Robert G. Stanton, Expert Member, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and former National Park Service Director

February is African American History Month, an opportunity to pause in our busy schedules to show gratitude for the contributions our ancestors made, through their courage, sacrifice, leadership, and hard work, that advanced the liberties and freedoms we enjoy today. Over the course of this month, we can educate a wider audience about those contributions. African American History Month not only helps African Americans understand their own heritage but gives all Americans a better understanding of the role of African Americans in our nation’s rich and diverse history.

Due to the lapse in federal funding necessitating a partial government shutdown, the 45-day timeline for the ACHP to provide its final comments to the Secretary of the Navy regarding the Section 106 review for the proposed increase in the EA-18G Growler activity on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island was stopped on December 21, 2018. Consequently, the timeline began again on January 26, 2019 when the government was reopened. The new deadline for the ACHP to submit its comments is February 19, 2019.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) today announced a public meeting to receive comments on the effects to historic properties from the increase of aircraft, including the EA-18A Growler, and aircraft operations and development of support facilities at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington.

The public meeting will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. PST on December 19, 2018, Coupeville High School, Performing Arts Center, 501 S Main St, Coupeville, WA 98239.

As the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation commemorates 2018 Native American Heritage Month, ACHP Expert Member Dorothy Lippert of the Repatriation Office of the National Museum of Natural History, spoke with us about Native American involvement in historic preservation.

Why is Native American Heritage Month important?

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) today announced the issuance of a Program Comment that provides the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with an alternative way to comply with its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act regarding its vacant and underutilized properties.

In May 2017, then-VA Secretary David Shulkin emphasized the need for VA to develop “different types of strategic partnerships” for the reduction of its vacant and underutilized properties. In response, the ACHP and VA have worked together to develop this Program Comment that allows VA to undergo an expedited review process as VA seeks to find uses for those properties.