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The National Park Service Programmatic
Agreement
Introduction
The National Park Service (NPS) has
initiated the effort to develop a new nationwide Programmatic
Agreement (PA) to address historic property management and compliance
with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and
36 CFR 800.
The existing PA under which the National
Park Service operates was signed in 1995 and, therefore, pre-dates
more recent revisions to the implementing regulations of the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation. As such, the NPS has identified
development of a new agreement as a priority to ensure full consideration
of the requirements and procedures of the revised regulations.
Development of a new agreement at this
time also allows the National Park Service to reflect on the successes
and challenges of operation under the existing agreement for the
past ten years and create a new document that conforms with the
requirements of the regulations, meets the operational and planning
needs of the National Park Service, and takes into account the
concerns of Indian Tribes, State Historic Preservation Officers,
and others with an interest in the cultural resources of the National
Park Service.
The development effort will be undertaken
in partnership with others, led by a multi-organizational task
force, comprised of anticipated signatories to a new agreement.
Signatories include the National Park Service, National Conference
of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), and the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation. In addition, the NPS intends
to identify appropriate tribal signatories whose jurisdictions
and interests overlap with NPS park lands.
Update
on the Revision of the Programmatic Agreement
The task force held an initial planning
meeting in August 2005 to solicit input on the strategy for development
of the agreement and public outreach. In addition to the task
force, invited participants to this meeting included the National
Trust for Historic Preservation, the United South and Eastern
Tribes, and the National Congress of American Indians. Invited,
but unable to participate, were the National Association of Tribal
Historic Preservation Officers and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest
Indians.
As a result of the meeting, a consultation
strategy is being developed, which will include an informational
mailing to tribes and potential interested parties, including
an invitation to participate in the development process. Based
upon the response received to the mailing, the task force will
develop a schedule for consultation meetings with Tribes and interested
parties; these meetings will strive to take advantage of existing
meetings, such as regional Tribal meetings and the annual NCSHPO
meeting.
For
More Information
Questions on this effort should be addressed
to Caroline Hall, Preservation Compliance Coordinator at the National
Park Service at caroline_hall@nps.gov
or 202-354-2056.
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