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ACHP Member News | January 2020Calendar FEBRUARY
5-Robert Stanton speaking at Marvin Breckinridge Patterson Lecture workshop, University of Maryland 5 p.m.
MARCH Click here for Section 106 training Strategic Plan The new ACHP Strategic Plan was adopted on December 5. The plan has been formatted with introductory material and is now available online. This includes an illustration that graphically represents the agency’s five strategic goals. There soon will be a formal public roll-out of the plan. As discussed on the recent committee conference calls, staff has initiated development of performance goals for each Strategic Objective in the plan to help guide work planning. These will be shared for review in the next few weeks. ACHP Budget 
The FY 2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act that was signed into law on December 20 included many favorable provisions regarding historic preservation. The ACHP received an appropriation of $7.378 million, $378,000 above the Administration’s request and $488,000 over the FY 2019 funding level. The Historic Preservation Fund will be funded at $118.66 million, a record high for the fund and $16 million more than FY 2019. A summary of historic preservation-related provisions in the Act highlights the new funding levels for a variety of programs and also summarizes the Act’s provisions addressing several key issues. These include the proposed changes to the National Register regulations, management of the area surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and reorganization of the Bureau of Land Management. Digital Information Task Force 
The Digital Information Task Force is reviewing a draft final report summarizing the issues its members identified in considering how the availability of digital and geospatial information about historic properties can be improved to inform federal project planning. It also provides recommended follow-up actions the ACHP staff and membership can take in response. The action recommendations are an edited and focused version of the draft actions ACHP members reviewed and discussed at the Federal Agency Programs Committee and ACHP business meeting in November. The Task Force has been meeting since fall 2018 and has been aided by contributions from an Advisory Group of professionals with policy or operational experience in cultural resources digital information management. Leveraging Federal Buildings Working Group 
The Leveraging Federal Buildings Working Group was established by Chairman Jorjani in the fall of 2019 to assist the ACHP in developing recommendations for overcoming obstacles to increased leasing of federal historic buildings to the private sector, and to provide guidance on agency reuse and consolidation in federal historic buildings. The group had its first meeting on November 21, which was attended by senior staff of the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, the General Services Administration (GSA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Postal Service, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As members expressed an interest in learning about agency models, the January 23 meeting is being hosted by GSA; their leasing and preservation subject matter experts plan to present information on GSA’s ‘outleasing’ and preservation programs. In upcoming meetings, the group plans to delve into agency decision-making processes for retaining and leasing historic buildings. To that end, ACHP staff sent federal working group members a survey to collect basic information on legal, policy, operational, and physical (e.g. security) limitations and opportunities associated with ‘outleasing.’ Survey responses are due to the ACHP on February 7, and a summary of the responses will be developed by ACHP staff for subsequent member discussion. Program Alternatives Seven nationwide program alternatives are currently in the development process, including a Program Comment and two nationwide Programmatic Agreements for the U.S. Forest Service, a nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Navy, and Program Comments for the Army, Bureau of Reclamation, and Federal Communications Commission, respectively. The Office of Federal Agency Programs has recently established a OneDrive (file share) site to house drafts and other documents related to each. This new online repository has been created in response to member feedback about communication during the development of program alternatives and promises to reduce the number of email attachments while better organizing information for reference. This month, Office of Federal Agency Programs staff will share the link to the folder with members and begin providing updates when new materials are posted and when member comments are solicited. Additional updates on the status of each program alternative development effort will be provided during the Federal Agency Programs Committee teleconference and the March business meeting. Touching History 
The ACHP, National Park Service (NPS), and the National Trust for Historic Preservation will again be partnering on Touching History: Preservation in Practice in 2020. Thanks to the financial support of NPS, the program will be expanding to include three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Morgan State University, Tuskegee University, Hampton University), and the number of students involved will grow to 20. The name of the program will also be changing before the 2020 season begins. NPS has expressed a desire to expand the program in the future. Planning is underway between the three partners. The ACHP will be supported by the ACHP Foundation as in past years. ACHP Expert Member Robert G. Stanton has been instrumental in moving the program forward and will continue to be involved. New elements will include a brief application process to ensure that the students selected are committed to making the most of the program. The 2020 program will also be shorter than in previous years. Further changes will take place after the 2020 program is completed. Summer Internship Program Update 
The ACHP is recruiting three summer interns to learn about its work and assist in advancing priority projects. The job announcement has been circulated to all graduate, undergraduate, and certificate programs in historic preservation and related fields. It has also been posted on relevant web listings of internship opportunities and shared with key individuals for promotion. To broaden outreach, video interviews with two former interns about their internship experiences and how it impacted their careers have been added to the ACHP’s YouTube channel. Applications are due by February 12. Internships at the ACHP have become very sought after, and many former interns are working in important positions in the preservation field. In fact, two of the ACHP’s current staff members were recently ACHP interns. This helps support implementation of the ACHP’s Engaging Youth Strategic Plan, adopted in March 2016. ACHP members are encouraged to share this opportunity with anyone who may be interested or well-positioned to help us find high quality candidates. Please direct any ideas or questions to Judy Rodenstein, the Internship Program Coordinator. America 250 
As discussed at the November 2019 ACHP meeting, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission afforded the ACHP an opportunity to offer comments and recommendations for consideration by the Commission as it finalized its report to the President. The ACHP’s letter was sent to the Commission on November 20. The Commission’s report recently was publically released. The report embodies many concepts supported by the ACHP, including involving all people across the entire country in the America 250 commemoration and using historic sites as an integral part of the initiative. The ACHP’s work on the Touching History program and partnership with Salish Kootenai College were cited specifically as exemplary in building organizational capacity. Staff will be following up with the Commission regarding potential participation on the Parks, Preservation, and Public Spaces Task Force referenced in the report. Awards Update 
The 2019 award cycle for the ACHP/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation ended with a visit by awardees and staff with HUD Secretary Benjamin Carson on November 7. Plans for the 2020 cycle will soon be finalized with calls for nominations beginning in February. The next ACHP Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation will be given in conjunction with the business meeting in March. In the meantime, the Office of Communications, Education, and Outreach (OCEO) is exploring the idea of expanding the awards program in 2020 with new partners and new historic preservation themes. Plans are underway to re-instating the joint award with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It will be given at the PastForward conference in Miami. Please contact Susan Glimcher with any ideas for new awards. Update on Affordable Housing and Historic Trades 
On December 12, Executive Director John Fowler and Office of Preservation Initiatives (OPI) Director Dru Null attended an affordable housing roundtable hosted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, D.C. The meeting took place following HUD's issuance of a Request for Information (RFI) on eliminating barriers to affordable housing. Mr. Fowler took the opportunity to discuss the important role that the Historic Tax Credit can play in reusing historic properties as affordable housing. The ACHP provided a response to the RFI on January 18. It focused principally on the RFI’s questions regarding federal legislative and regulatory barriers to affordable housing, making the case that neither Section 106 nor the Historic Tax Credit are barriers. The response also discussed some of the approaches that state and local communities could take to encourage reuse of historic buildings for affordable housing. These include changes to state and local codes to permit development of accessory dwelling units on single-family lots and reuse of second-story spaces in small historic commercial properties. On January 10, Chairman Aimee Jorjani and Ms. Null participated in a meeting with Ryan Hambleton, Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and Nick Redding, Executive Director of Preservation Maryland. The National Park Service and Preservation Maryland are partnering on the Campaign for Historic Trades, an initiative to increase opportunities for training workers in preservation-related trades. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss possibilities regarding cooperative agreements in the context of The Corps Network, a consortium of the nation’s Service and Conservation Corps. Early Coordination Handbook 
Following the publication of the handbook in November, OCEO and Office of Native American Affairs (ONAA) staff began disseminating and promoting the handbook and training course. A press release was sent to preservation organizations, industry trade associations, state and local organizations, and media outlets. The handbook, with a reminder about the course, was directly emailed to the preservation community, industry trade associations, state commissions, professional preservation organizations, and congressional representatives. ONAA staff also met with staff from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to begin planning a tribal-industry summit to take place in 2020. Traditional Knowledge Native American Affairs Committee Chairman Reno Keoni Franklin and ONAA staff hosted a teleconference with tribal representatives in early December to discuss the draft information paper. The paper is intended to educate Section 106 participants about the role of traditional knowledge in the Section 106 process. There were more than 20 participants on the call, and it was a very engaged discussion, demonstrating the importance of the topic to Indian Country. Discussion focused on how to explain traditional knowledge to a non-Native audience, and several tribal representatives offered to submit examples from their tribes. Chairman Franklin and ONAA staff are revising the paper based on the discussion and plan to host additional teleconferences, as well as outreach to Native Hawaiians. Social Media 
The ACHP continues to expand its social media presence with the addition of an agency LinkedIn account that is followed by more than 600 people. The account’s activities so far have included posts about the ACHP classroom training schedule, links to ACHP press releases, and the availability of summer internships. The goal of the agency’s LinkedIn page is to expand the ability to speak directly to those in the historic preservation field or those who have an interest in historic preservation, and strengthen connections to the industry. In November, the ACHP commemorated Native American Heritage Month with a social media campaign that included two Facebook Live videos, one with Dean Nicolai of Salish Kootenai College and the other with Melinda Young, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin, who explained the role of a THPO. The two videos were viewed 1,350 times. The campaign also included Instagram giveaways that yielded 54 new followers. Each week, books relating to Native Americans were given away. There were 75 entries, and Instagram followers increased by 54.
In addition, two videos featuring ACHP Expert Member Dorothy Lippert were produced where she spoke about ways to learn more about Indian tribes and the importance of Native Americans getting involved in archaeology. Those two videos had more than 230 views. Section 106 Training for Indian Tribes In conjunction with the Pueblo of Jemez, ONAA hosted a free one-day course on Section 106 in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, on December 10. The course focused on applying the vocabulary and principles of the Section 106 review process with an emphasis on the role and rights of Indian tribes and THPOs. Information relevant to special expertise, consultation, sites of religious and cultural significance, ancestral lands, and the federal-tribal relationship were emphasized throughout the training. The course was attended by 35 people representing 14 separate Indian tribes and Pueblos; all attendees were tribal employees. Participants were receptive and thankful for the training. Common Section 106 concerns identified by attendees included agency management of confidential or sensitive information, inadequate identification efforts, lack of timely and meaningful consultation, and inconsistent Section 106 review processes within a single agency and between separate agencies. A similar training is planned for April for the Indian tribes in Virginia. Tribal Consultation Meeting with BLM Field Staff In conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management-Taos field office, ACHP staffers Ira Matt and Bill Marzella met with staff from multiple BLM field offices on December 11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to discuss tribal consultation. ONAA and OFAP staff led a discussion regarding effective consultation strategies, reasonable and good faith effort considerations regarding sites of religious and cultural significance (including TCPs), early coordination, and tribal governmental structure and decision-making processes. BLM staff from both New Mexico and Oklahoma field offices openly shared issues and sought guidance relating to their limitations to adequately take into account tribal survey requests due to staffing shortages, overcoming tribal confidentiality concerns during site identification and documentation, and balancing adequate Section 106 reviews with increasing political pressure to expedite review timelines while receiving an increase in both oil and gas applications. ACHP staff observed that the Indian tribes and Pueblos shared similar concerns to the BLM regarding Section 106 compliance in the region; both the BLM and the ACHP agreed that increasing communication and possibly developing consultation protocols was a good starting point to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes for the parties involved. |
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