Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Attention college students and recent grads: apply to join the ACHP and Smithsonian Institution this fall in a Cultural Heritage Fellowship! The application deadline is Sunday, June 16, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

The 2019 fellowship theme is Music Heritage of the District of Columbia. Those with an interest in learning more about the preservation of historic sites, intangible heritage, and artifacts within and around the nation’s capital as they relate to the preservation of music are encouraged to apply. The Smithsonian Institution could very well be the world’s largest museum of music, with more than 16,000 musical instruments, 100,000 pages of sheet music, 80,000 recorded music tracks, and approximately 400 musical activities per year.

Valerie Hauser, director of the ACHP’s Office of Native American Affairs, is in New York City this week attending the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Eighteenth Session, serving as the U.S. State Department’s subject-matter expert. The theme of the two-week session from April 22- May 3 is “Traditional Knowledge: Generation, Transmission and Protection.”

Read Director Hauser's statement to the session. Or, watch the video.

On April 19, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Tribal Consultation: Additional Federal Actions Needed for Infrastructure Projects (GAO-19-22).” The report examines key factors Indian tribes and select federal agencies identified that hinder effective consultation on impacts to natural and cultural resources on infrastructure projects and makes recommendations for improvements. Click here to view the report.

In recognition of National Volunteer Month and Landscape Architecture Month, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is celebrating the many historic gardens around the nation that could not operate without their dedicated volunteers.

The ACHP declared Dunn Gardens in Seattle, Washington, a Preserve America Steward in 2016 for the core group of volunteers who help maintain and interpret the historic gardens, designed by the noted Olmsted Brothers landscaping firm for Arthur Dunn in 1915. The Olmsted Brothers’ design retained and enhanced many of the site’s natural features. Following Dunn’s death in 1945, the property was divided among family members.

The ACHP met for spring business April 4 in Washington, D.C. Members discussed a variety of wide-ranging topics and laid the foundation for the full-time chairman’s arrival.