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Federal Legislation

On June 17 the Senate approved 73-25 the Great American Outdoors Act - a bill that would provide $6.5 billion dollars to fund maintenance backlog at national parks and on other public lands, as well as fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million per year. The bill has bipartisan support and may be taken up by the House before July 4. HPF Fiscal Year 2021 funding, along with other historic preservation issues, are still pending. Congress continues to work through the regular appropriations process. It is very possible that before Fiscal Year 2020 ends on September 30th, 2020, lawmakers will have to pass a continuing resolution that continues to fund the government at Fiscal Year 2020 levels until they can complete Fiscal Year 2021 legislation.

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Office of History and Archaeology and Alaska Historical Commission news

COVID 19 Adjustments
OHA employees continue to work remotely. This means that correspondence, phone calls, and the processing of invoices/payments may be delayed.

While the Office of History and Archaeology staff are working remotely, we recommend people contact staff by email. If you have a general inquiry, a project for review, or state cultural resources investigation permit application please use one of the following email addresses:

General inquiry, geographic names, Alaska Historical Commission, etc: dnr.oha@alaska.gov
Review/compliance, Section 106, project review: oha.revcomp@alaska.gov
State Cultural Resource Investigation Permits: oha.permits@alaska.gov

Section 106 COVID 19 guidance from the Alaska State Historic Preservation Officer is available at the following link: http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/oha/shpo/shpocovid19.pdf
The Alaska SHPO has invoked tolling effective March 19, 2020 regarding the timelines outlined in 36 CFR 800. With tolling, the 30-day regulatory clock that would allow agencies to proceed with their undertaking following non-response after 30 days does not apply. SHPO will be allowed to comment beyond the 30 days.

Staff News Jean Ayers, Grants Administrator, retired April 30. Jean worked closely with the many historic preservation program grantees during her tenure as grants administrator for the state’s historic preservation program. We wish her well.

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National Park Service

Updates about the overall NPS response to COVID-19, including safety information, are posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

The fifth edition of the Federal Historic Preservation Laws publication, an anthology of Federal laws and portions of laws related to the preservation of the United States’ cultural heritage, is now available online as a PDF. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservation/upload/NPS-FHPL-book-revised-final-online-3.pdf

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Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

The ACHP has extended to July 31, 2020, the normal 30-day period in which the special procedures in 36 C.F.R. 800.12 can be used for implementation of COVID-19-related emergency undertakings. This authorization applies to all federal agencies. The section 800.12 emergency procedures can only be used for undertakings that will be implemented in response to a disaster or emergency or that respond to other immediate threats to life or property. The expedited procedures in section 800.12 do not apply to non-emergency response or recovery undertakings. It is also important to note that the tolling (pausing) of Section 106 reviews by a State or Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Indian tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization does not apply to consultation under these emergency procedures.

The deadline to comment on the VA’s updated list of “underutilized properties,” is July 1st . The ACHP is responsible for hosting a publicly accessible web page that features information on the VA Program Comment (https://www.achp.gov/VA/VAProgramComment) and, each year upon receipt of the list and narrative from VA, posting the composite list of properties and narrative on that web page and emailing notifications about its availability.

As part of its response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposed emergency procedures in accordance with 36 CFR Section 800.12(a) of the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). These procedures would allow FEMA to respond expeditiously to the needs of states and tribes in supporting COVID-19 response activities. The ACHP approved these procedures May 13. They are posted in the Council’s COVID-19 website https://www.achp.gov/coronavirus

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is now recruiting for the position of Program Analyst/General Services Administration Liaison (GG-13) within the ACHP’s Office of Federal Agency Programs (OFAP), Washington, DC. While the initial appointment will be for a term of 12 months, the ACHP has more than a decade long partnership with GSA and expects the position to continue well beyond 12 months.

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National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust has canceled the in-person Miami PastForward conference, and will be replacing it with an online gathering, with plans to return to Miami for its 2022 conference.

The National Trust, which anticipates significant reductions in revenue over the next several years, is undergoing significant organization changes to be instituted July 1, its new fiscal year.

Annual Grants: The National Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting applications for its annual grants program. The funding ranges from $2,500 to $5,000 and supports preservation planning and educational projects. Application deadline is October 1. Applications are available eight weeks before the deadline. The National Trust reports that past grant projects have included engineering and architectural consulting services; tours that are accessible via smart devises; and market studies to assist in prioritizing preservation objectives. For more information visit http://forum.savingplaces.org/build/funding/grant-seekers/preservation-funds or contact Grants@savingplaces.org.

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Public Projects Alert

Section 106 large project consultation in progress:

USDA Forest Service Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Facility Improvements

USDA Forest Service Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Programmatic Agreement amendment.

Review and compliance agreement development for large projects in progress:

Pebble Project

Programmatic agreement

Formerly Used Defense Sites Program

Programmatic agreement

U. S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak

Programmatic Agreement and ICRMP

For information on how to participate in the process, or on how to review and comment on the above projects, contact Sarah Meitl, 907.269.8720 / sarah.meitl@alaska.gov.

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Heritage Subscription Information

Heritage is produced by the Office of History and Archaeology, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, Alaska Department of Natural Resources.  Please send your comments, suggestions, and information by e-mail to judy.bittner@alaska.gov, mail to 550 West 7th Ave., Suite 1310, Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3565, or telephone 907.269.8700.

All issues are posted to our web site at dnr.alaska.gov/parks/oha and distributed to subscribers by e-mail.  A paper copy can be sent to individuals and organizations that specifically request it.

To be added to the subscription list, please send an e-mail to dnr.oha@alaska.gov with “Heritage, subscribe” in the subject line.

If you do not wish to continue to receive Heritage, please send an e-mail to dnr.oha@alaska.gov with “Heritage, unsubscribe” in the subject line.

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Preservation Calendar

2020

AUGUST

• August 3-9 National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, Forum 2020: Preservation Coast to Coast, www.napcommissions.org, (director@napcommissions.org) In Person meeting CANCELLED. ONLINE TRAINING offered. Registration will open June 29 the for virtual conference.

SEPTEMBER

• September 23-26 American Association for State and Local History annual meeting: What Kind of Ancestor Will You Be?, Las Vegas, NV (AASLH, 615.320.3203 / info@aaslh.org)

OCTOBER

• October 14-17, 2020 Alaska Historical Society annual meeting and conference at Sitka, Alaska.
  
  

• October 28-30 National Trust for Historic Preservation, PastForward, the National Preservation Conference, Miami, FL (NTHP, 202.588.6000 / info@savingplaces.org)