Heritage Newsletter
July 2014
Monthly news update from the Office of History and Archaeology
State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources
IN THIS ISSUE
Federal funding of historic preservation programs
Alaska Historical Commission to meet July 10
Alaska Cold War Conference, September 4-6, registration open
National Housing and Rehabilitation Association seeks nominations for Timmy Awards
Society for Commercial Archeology seeks nominations for Falling By the Wayside list
National Park Service news
Alaska Historical Society/Museums Alaska to meet in Seward, October 1-4
Public project alerts
Heritage subscription information
Preservation calendar
Federal funding of historic preservation programs
The administration's budget proposal for FY 15 (October 1, 2014-September 30, 2015) is the same as last year for Historic Preservation Fund programs. The numbers are $46.9 million for state programs, $9.0 million for tribal programs, and $500,000 for grants for projects that address underserved communities; for a total of $56.4 million. The amount recommended for Heritage Areas, funded under the Recreation and Preservation Account is reduced, for FY 14 it was $18.3 million and the budget proposal for FY 15 is $9.0 million. The President added an Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative with $6 million for grants to state and tribal historic preservation offices to digitize legacy data.
The House of Representatives approved a Defense Authorization bill in May that would allow the head of an agency managing federal property to object for reasons of national security to the property's nomination to the National Register of Historic Places or to the National Historic Landmark program. The bill also calls for the National Park Service to establish an expedited process for federal agencies to de-list historic properties for reasons of national security. The historic preservation community is advocating to: 1) ensure the provision is not in the Senate's Defense Authorization bill, and 2) have the House provision removed from the final bill by the conference committee.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reviewed and passed a MAP-21 Reauthorization Act (S.2322) to provide long-term funding for transportation programs. Section 1303 of the act weakens Section 4(f) reviews. Section 4(f) mandates that federal transportation agencies take extra measures to avoid destroying historic and archaeological sites. Preservation groups are contacting senators and expressing objection to Section 1303.
Alaska Historical Commission to meet July 10
The state historic preservation review board, the Alaska Historical Commission, will meet Thursday, July 10, 2014, by teleconference. Those in Anchorage will be in the Atwood Building, 550 West 7th Ave., Room 602. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. Agenda items include reviewing requests for development and predevelopment grants from the Historic Preservation Fund, establishing priorities for next year's grants to local communities that are Certified Local Governments for federal historic preservation programs, and discussing the Alaska Historical Commission and Office of History and Archaeology current projects and budgets. Anyone wishing to address the members on matters relating to history, archaeology, historic preservation, or geographic names can speak during the public comment period at 10:15 a.m. Copies of the preliminary meeting agenda with call-in details can be requested by contacting Jo Antonson at 907.269.8714, email jo.antonson@alaska.gov, or going to http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/oha/index.htm.
Alaska Cold War Conference, September 4-6, registration open
The Alaska Cold War Conference and National Nike Veterans Reunion will be held in Anchorage September 4-6, 2014. Sergei Khrushchev, son of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, will speak at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday evening. There will be speakers from the military, intelligence and academic communities speaking on Cold War in Alaska on Friday morning. That afternoon conference attendees will tour Nike Site Point, now Kincaid Park, where several interpretive panels will be unveiled. On Saturday, conference attendees will go to Arctic Valley Lodge for dedication of a commemorative plaque for Nike Site Summit. The UAF Rasmuson Library's Oral History Program staff will be interviewing veterans during the conference. Following the conference, there is an optional tour that will include visits to the former Clear Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station and Fairbanks Nike sites. For more information and to register for the conference go to http://www.nikesitesummit.net or contact the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, 907.929.9870 / akpreservation@gmail.com.
National Housing and Rehabilitation Association seeks nominations for Timmy Awards
The National Housing and Rehabilitation Association is seeking nominations for its 10th Annual J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation. The awards honor historic rehabilitation projects in nine categories, among them commercial projects, use of new market tax credits, sustainability, and adaptive reuse. Award criteria include the overall design, interpretation and respect of historic elements, and market success. J. Timothy Anderson was a Boston architect and preservation advocate who left a huge legacy of historic rehabilitation projects in Boston and Miami. The application deadline is July 25, 2014. The nomination form is at http://housingonline.com/TimmyAward.aspx. For additional information contact Allison Sherman, 202.939.1773 / asherman@dworbell.com
Society for Commercial Archeology seeks nominations for Falling By the Wayside list
An advocate for America's roadside heritage since 1937, the Society for Commercial Archeology is seeking nominations for its annual Falling By the Wayside list. Some of the filling stations, tourist courts, bridges, parks, and diners along America's roads are lovingly restored, but others are endangered. The organization is looking for nominations of roadside resources endangered by new development, lack of funds for maintenance or restoration, or lack of knowledge and appreciation of the local icon. Nominations are due by August 1, 2014. The nomination form is at http://www.sca-roadside.org. For more information contact Ralph Wilcox, 501.324.9880 / ralph@arkansasheritage.org.
The Secretary of the Interior annually makes four awards, one each to a local, tribal, state, and federal employee. The Secretary's award is distinguished from other historic preservation award programs because it was established as a Cabinet-level of recognition through a statutory mandate, focuses on accomplishments of individual employees and not on programs or projects, and includes a monetary award of $1,000. Nominations close September 1, 2014. For more information contact David Banks, david_banks@nps.gov. The Historic American Landscapes Survey program has challenged people to complete a short format history to document the landscapes created during the Great Depression. The histories are due by July 31, 2014. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three entries. For project guidelines contact Chris Stevens, 202.354.2146 / Chris_Stevens@nps.gov.
Alaska Historical Society / Museums Alaska to meet in Seward, October 1-4
The annual meetings and conference for the Alaska Historical Society and Museums Alaska will be held this year at Seward, October 1-4. The Alaska Historical Society's conference theme is "Gateways: Past, Present and Future" and Dr. Paul Hirt, a specialist in the American West, global environmental history and policy, and sustainability studies at Arizona State University will be the keynote speaker. Museum's Alaska theme is "Milestones: Interpreting events that change the course of communities" and Dr. Jan Ramirez, chief curator for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City will be the keynote speaker. The webpage for more information about the conference, events, and tours, and to register is http://www.resbayhistorical.org.
Alaska Department of Natural Resources, State Pipeline Coordinator’s Office / Donlin Gold
Natural Gas Pipeline Project
Application: http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/pco
Deadline: July 14, 2014
Contact: David de Gruyer, 907.269.6403 / spco.records@alaska.gov
Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities / West Susitna Surface Access Reconnaissance Study
Alaska Railroad Corporation / Port MacKenzie Rail Extension Project
Bureau of Land Management / Bering Sea-Western Interior Resource Management Plan
Nominations for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) including areas of historic, cultural and scenic value
Contact: Jorjena Daly, 907.267.1317 / jdaly@blm.gov
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission / Alaska Energy Authority, Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project
U.S. Forest Service / Chugach National Forest Plan
Comments: chugachplanrevision@fs.fed.us
U.S. Forest Service / Tongass National Forest Sustainable Cabin Management Project
Contact: Victoria Houser, 907.826.1614 / vhouser@fs.fed.us
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 via e-mail to jo.antonson@alaska.gov, mail to 550 West 7th Ave., Suite 1310, Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3565, or telephone 907.276.8721.
All issues are posted to our web site at dnr.alaska.gov/parks/ and distributed to subscribers by e-mail. A paper copy can be sent to individuals and organizations that specifically request it.and distributed via e-mail. Paper copies can be sent to individuals and organizations that specifically request them.
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• May 6-8 - National Preservation Institute: Cultural and Natural Resource Project Consultation: Conflict Resolution and Prevention, Anchorage, AK (Jere Gibber, 703.765.0100 / info@npi.org)
• May 18-20 - National Trust for Historic Preservation: National Main Streets Conference: Works in Progress, Detroit, MI (PreservationNation.org/MSconference)
• May 21-24 - Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation annual meeting: Learning from Saint Paul: A New Paradigm, St. Paul, MN. www.ahlp.org (Ian Firth, ijwfirth@uga.edu)
• May 29-31 - Northwest Archivists annual meeting: Moving Forward: Reaching New Audiences with the Past, Spokane, WA (Natalia Fernandez, 541.737.3653 / natalia.fernandez@oregonstate.edu)
JULY
• July 8 - Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties for 2014, Anchorage (Allegra Hamer, 907.929.9870 / akpreservation@gmail.com)
• July 16-20 - National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Forum 2014, Philadelphia, PA (Cory Kegerise, 215.219.3824 / ckegerise@pa.gov)
• July 21-25 - Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve: Poles, Posts and Canoes: The Preservation, Conservation and Continuation of Native American Monumental Wood Carving symposium and Caring for Totem Poles workshop, http://www.hibulbculturalcenter.org/Events/Symposium/ , Tulalip, WA (J. Claire Dean info@hibulbculturalcenter.org )
• July 25 - National Housing and Rehabilitation Association, 10th Annual J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation nomination deadline, http://housingonline.com/TimmyAward.aspx (Allison Sherman, 202.939.1773 / asherman@dworbell.com)
AUGUST
• August 1 - Society for Commercial Archeology, Falling By the Wayside list nomination deadline (Ralph Wilcox, 501.324.9880 / ralph@arkansasheritage.org)
• August 15 - National Park Service, NAGPRA repatriation grant application deadline, NAGPRA_grants@nps.gov (Tom Cullerton, 202.354.2079 / thomas_cullerton@nps.gov
• August 16 - Friends of Nike Site Summit tour, Anchorage, AK (Friends of Nike Site Summit, 907.929.9870 / http://www.nikesitesummit.net)
SEPTEMBER
• September 4-6 - Nike Veterans Reunion, Anchorage, AK, http://www.nikesitesummit.net (Barbara Propes, 907.465.3520 / barbara.propes@alaska.gov)
• September 14 - Friends of Nike Site Summit tour, Anchorage, AK (Friends of Nike Site Summit, 907.929.9870 / http://www.nikesitesummit.net)
• September 17-20 - American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) annual meeting: Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts, St. Paul, MN (Bethany Hawkins, 625.320.3203 / hawkins@aaslh.org)
• September 26-28 - Preserving the Historic Road conference, Savannah, GA, www.historicroads.org/ (Christopher Marston, 202.354.2162 / christopher_marston@nps.gov)
OCTOBER
• October 1-4 - Alaska Historical Society / Museums Alaska annual meetings and conference, Seward (Jo Antonson, 907.274.1596 / akhist@gci.net)
• October 20-22 - National Preservation Institute: Section 106: An Introduction, Anchorage (Jere Gibber, 703.765.0100 / info@npi.org)
• October 23-24 - National Preservation Institute: Cultural and Natural Resources: An Integrated Management Strategy, Anchorage (Jere Gibber, 703.765.0100 / info@npi.org)
NOVEMBER
• Novmeber 1-22 - American Association for State and Local History, Seminar on Historic Administration: Development History Leaders @ SHA, Indianapolis, IN (Bob Beatty, 635.320.3203 / beatty@aaslh.org)
• November 3-5 - 19th International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies: Urban Archaeology and Processing . . . . Analysing the data, Vienna, Austria (Borner Wolfgang, +43 (0)1 4000 81176 / wolfgang.boerner@stadtarchaeologie.at
• November 10-14 - National Trust for Historic Preservation annual conference, Savannah, GA (202.588.6000 / www.preservationnation.org)
DECEMBER
• December 3-7 - American Anthropological Association: 113th annual meeting, Washington, DC (www.aaanet.org/meetingws/index.cfm)
2015
• May 5-9 Council of Geographic Names Authorities annual meeting, Anchorage, AK (Wayne Furr, twfurr@cogna50usa.org)
