The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is a U.S. state or territorial governmental function described by the United States federal government in 1966 under Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). [1] As described in that law, the purposes of a SHPO include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing nominations for properties to be included in the National Register of Historic Places, reviewing undertakings for the impact on the properties as well as supporting federal organizations, state and local governments, and private sector. [2] [3] The Federal law cannot force a state to create a SHPO, but to obtain several benefits under the law, a state needs to do so (or designate one of its existing agencies for these tasks). As each state is responsible for setting up their own SHPO, each SHPO may vary in rules and regulations. To link these differences with the SHPOs, the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) [4] was created as a "point of contact" according to the National Historic Preservation Act. [5]
In 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was put into effect. As part of the Congressional Act, Section 101 implemented the designation of the State Historic Preservation Program. State Liaison Officers, which later became known as State Historic Preservation Officers, were established to manage historic preservation grants for the National Park Service (NPS). In the 1970s, these SHPOs experienced a growth in power as they became more organized, efficient and professional, and clarified their relationships with NPS.
They also formed a National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers to represent them on a National level, particularly in Washington. The SHPO continued to gain an increasingly specific role, taking on the position of the advising consultant for the Section 106 review process. In 1980 with the amendment to the NHPA, the SHPO's exact duties were finally identified, defining its role, which remains today. [6]
The responsibilities of the State Historic Preservation Office, according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, include running the State Historic Preservation Program and, as stated in the Act:
Definitions "Comprehensive Statewide Historic preservation plan" – The official plan assumed by local governments throughout the state, that guides decision making over proposed public and private actions affecting community development. [8] View an example here.
"Secretary" refers to the Secretary of the Interior in the Department of the Interior.
"Historic Preservation Program" – A program designed to support and promote historic preservation interests and priorities. There are National, Federal and State Preservation Programs, each tailored to suit the needs at each particular level. [9]
"Certified local government"- For a city or town's local government to become certified, it has to meet particular standards so that it can participate in certain NHPA programs. [10]
SHPOs exist not only in 50 states, but also in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia; making 59 SHPOs total. [11] Each State Historic Preservation Office is responsible for effective planning to address preservation matters. [12] For example, agricultural structures such as barns are significant to New Hampshire's "values of heritage, hard work, productivity and stewardship" and the state has devoted special programs to help preserve these values. [13]
In Florida, Art Deco buildings in South Beach are considered significant to the state. [14] As a result of these differences, states have expanded and/or specialized their SHPO purposes and created private organizations. Alaska's Coastal Management Program is a private organization, created by the state to regulate agencies to acknowledge environmental and cultural resources within the Alaskan Coast and protect them. [15]
Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) assume "some or all of the functions of State Historic Preservation Officers on Tribal lands." [16]
The National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) is a non-profit organization for State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO). It serves as a way of contacting the SHPOs as well as a way for the SHPOs to communicate with each other. [17] The mission of the NCSHPO is to act as a national representative for the SHPOs, especially when it comes to representing their interests in Washington. [18]
The NCSHPO meets once a year and participants include not only SHPOs, but members of Preservation Action and the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, National Trust for Historic Preservation Advisors and federal agencies. Participants are updated on important legislative issues and then visit Capitol Hill with the information, to meet with their Representatives and Senators to establish favorable positions on these issues. [19]
Generally the President of the NCSHPO is a previous member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) while the Board of Directors, which governs NCSHPO, is elected by the member states and meets more frequently than once a year. It acts as a representative for them with federal agencies and national preservation organizations. It is important to have a close relationship with these federal agencies and national organizations, and NCSHPO maintains these by partnering closely with organizations such as: The ACHP, The National Park Service, The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Action. [20]
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value".
In the broadest sense, cultural resource management (CRM) is the vocation and practice of managing heritage assets, and other cultural resources such as contemporary art. It incorporates Cultural Heritage Management which is concerned with traditional and historic culture. It also delves into the material culture of archaeology. Cultural resource management encompasses current culture, including progressive and innovative culture, such as urban culture, rather than simply preserving and presenting traditional forms of culture.
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational properties, with various title designations. The United States Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through the National Park Service Organic Act. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C., within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior.
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.
The National Historic Preservation Act is legislation intended to preserve historic and archaeological sites in the United States of America. The act created the National Register of Historic Places, the list of National Historic Landmarks, and the State Historic Preservation Offices.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), an independent United States federal agency, is charged with the mission to promote the preservation of the nation's diverse historic resources. The ACHP advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy and also provides a public forum for stakeholders and the public to influence federal agency decisions regarding federal projects and programs that affect historic properties. The ACHP promotes the importance of historic preservation to foster an understanding of the nation's heritage and the contribution that historic preservation can make to contemporary communities, along with their economic and social well-being.
In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governments, organizations, or individuals in the areas of education, health, public safety, public welfare, and public works, among others.
The history of the National Register of Historic Places began in 1966 when the United States government passed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which created the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Upon its inception, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) became the lead agency for the Register. The Register has continued to grow through two reorganizations, one in the 1970s and one in 1980s and in 1978 the NRHP was completely transferred away from the National Park Service, it was again transmitted to the NPS in 1981.
The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provides financial support for historic preservation projects throughout the United States. The fund is administered by the National Park Service (NPS), pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). The fund provides state historic preservation agencies with matching funds to implement the act.
Farmland preservation is a joint effort by non-governmental organizations and local governments to set aside and protect examples of a region's farmland for the use, education, and enjoyment of future generations. They are operated mostly at state and local levels by government agencies or private entities such as land trusts and are designed to limit conversion of agricultural land to other uses that otherwise might have been more financially attractive to the land owner. Through different government programs and policy enactments farmers are able to preserve their land for growing crops and raising livestock. Every state provides tax relief through differential (preferential) assessment. Easements are a popular approach and allow the farms to remain operational. Less common approaches include establishing agricultural districts, using zoning to protect agricultural land, purchasing development rights, and transferable development rights. It is often a part of regional planning and national historic preservation. Farmland preservation efforts have been taking place across the United States, such as in Virginia, Minnesota, Maryland, Florida, and Connecticut.
The Alabama Historical Commission is the historic preservation agency for the U.S. state of Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission of safeguarding Alabama's historic buildings and sites. It consists of twenty members appointed by the state governor or who serve in an official position. The members represent a broad cross section of Alabamians including architects, historians, archaeologists, and representatives of state universities. The commission is tasked with acquisition and preservation of historic properties and education of the public about historic sites in Alabama.
Steel Bridge Songfest is an annual, four-day music festival held in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Founded in 2005 by musician Pat MacDonald the event began as part of a grass-roots campaign to restore a historic bridge. The festival features a week-long collaborative songwriting workshop where participants write songs inspired by the bridge. The songs are recorded on-site at the Holiday Music Motel and released as compilation albums. Steel Bridge Songs Vol.10 was released during Steel Bridge Songfest 10th Anniversary (2016)
The Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) is an independent government agency in Washington state which serves several functions, including regulatory functions. The agency inventories and regulates archaeological sites; houses Washington's State Historic Preservation Officer, State Archaeologist, State Architectural Historian and State Physical Anthropologist; maintains the Washington Heritage Register and Heritage Barn Register; provides expertise on environmental impacts to cultural resources; administers historic preservation grants for heritage barns and historic county courthouses; encourages historic preservation through local governments; provides technical assistance for historic rehabilitation and using historic preservation tax credits; and maintains extensive GIS databases to catalog the state's historic and prehistoric cultural resources.
The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office is one of 59 state historic preservation offices established according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that plays a role in implementing federal historic preservation policy in the United States. The purposes of a SHPO include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing nominations for properties to be included in the National Register of Historic Places, reviewing federal and state undertakings for their impact on historic resources, and supporting federal organizations, state and local governments, and private sector in historic preservation matters.
Preservation Action is an American 501(c)4 non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization. Preservation Action was created in 1974 to serve as the national grassroots lobby for historic preservation. The organization seeks to make historic preservation a national priority by advocating to all branches of the federal government for sound preservation policy and programs through a grassroots constituency of hundreds of members from throughout the United States. Preservation Action provides information and training, and encourages direct contact with elected representatives, with National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week being the highlight of advocacy and outreach efforts each year.
Milford Wayne Donaldson is a preservation architect. He served as the Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). Donaldson was originally appointed to the position in 2010, and President Barack Obama reappointed him in August 2013 for another four-year term. He left the role on July 22, 2019. Formerly the State Historic Preservation Officer of California, Donaldson has been practicing preservation architecture as a profession for more than 40 years.
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is the State Historic Preservation Office for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency maintains the Virginia Landmarks Register. It also holds historic property easements, administers the state's historic tax credit program and approves official highway historical markers for the state. Its headquarters are leased from and shared with the Virginia Historical Society.
The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (DHR) is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Benjamin Wilson is director of DHR and the State Historic Preservation Officer, while Sarah Stewart is commissioner of DHR's parent agency, the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). The main office of DHR is located in Concord.
A Tribal Historic Preservation Officer or THPO is an officer in U.S. federally recognized Native American tribes "to direct a program approved by the National Park Service and the THPO must have assumed some or all of the functions of State Historic Preservation Officers on Tribal lands." THPOs can be appointed by Indian tribes that are recognized by the federal government to direct and lead programs that were supported by the National Park Service.
Most cultural policy in the United States is enacted at the local and state level, though federal programs also exist to carry out cultural policy. These promote the culture of the United States, including visual art, performing arts, heritage, language, museums, libraries, and sports.
