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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