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Department of the Interior

Effective Date: 10/1/02

Series: Organization

Part 145: National Park Service

Chapter 5: Associate Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships

Originating Office: National Park Service

5.1 Associate Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships. This associate director develops servicewide policies and guidance and administers a range of statutorily-established programs for the protection and enhancement of cultural and recreation resources nationwide, both inside and outside the field units. The associate director ensures that the concerns of partners for these program areas are given serious consideration at the policy level. The associate director administers the heritage areas program. This associate director oversees one operational office and three national program centers.

A. Partnership Liaison Office. This office assists in building collaborative partnerships between National Park Service programs and interested non-governmental organizations.

B. National Program Centers.

(1) National Center for Recreation and Conservation. This national program center is responsible for the Service=s recreation and conservation partnership programs, including Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance, Land and Water Conservation Fund state assistance, Urban Park and Recreation Recovery, Federal Lands to Parks, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Hydropower Relicensing, and Long Distance Trails programs. The center provides leadership, policy coordination and development, strategic planning, and support for the field.

(a) National Recreation Programs Division. This division administers three programs that provide technical and/or financial assistance and transfers real property to States and local units of government (the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery, and the Federal Lands to Parks programs). In addition, it is responsible for the continued public recreation use and protection of the resources that have been conveyed or received assistance under these programs. The division also oversees the expenditure of funds in the Pinelands National Reserve.

(b) National Designation Division. This division oversees non-unit wild and scenic rivers and National Trails System components. It provides training and technical support for these programs, coordinates with and assists other agencies and national non-profit organizations in advocating for rivers and trails, and links designated rivers and trails to NPS planning and operations.

(c) Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Division. This division develops and manages partnership-based activities to conserve rivers, greenways, and open space, and create trails. These activities provide NPS presence and services in communities throughout the country. Field staff undertake projects with local cooperators, offering technical assistance in resource and goal identification, organizational development, and use of creative conservation strategies. Cooperators include local governments, nonprofit organizations and, in some instances, units of the National Park System.

(2) National Center for Historic Preservation. This national program center provides cultural resources program support including policy and budget, strategic planning, establishment of National Park Service standards, guidance, and priorities, and professional advice and assistance to parks and state and local partners.

(a) Heritage Preservation Services Division. This division administers Historic Preservation Tax Certification Program; Historic Preservation Fund apportionment, application policy, and procedures; State Program Reviews; tribal historic preservation programs and grants; Certified Local Government Program; cultural resources survey and historic preservation planning initiatives; Section 110, Federal Agency Historic Preservation Programs Initiative; and American Battlefield Protection Program. The division establishes standards and guidelines for these programs and provides technical assistance to the public, as well as federal, state, tribal, and local agencies through publications and training programs.

(b) Park Historic Structures and Cultural Landscapes Division. This division provides support for the historic property leasing program, as well as for the management and use of park prehistoric and historic structures and cultural landscapes in the National Park System. It develops and maintains management inventories and information systems for these resources. It coordinates the cultural resource information management policy among the cultural programs.

(c) Museum Management Division. This division provides support for the development and coordination of servicewide policies and standards for managing museum collections, including natural, cultural, archival, and manuscript materials. It provides technical assistance and professional development on museum collections management for the NPS and other Departmental bureaus. The program develops and maintains a servicewide catalog of museum records and other statistics on museum collections.

(d) National Register, History, and Education Division. This division administers the National Register of Historic Place. It provides professional support for the presentation of history and historic resources in parks within the National Park System. These include formulation of policy, standards, guidelines, and technical assistance to parks, the public, and federal, state, and local agencies. It maintains the National Register of Historic Places, the National Historic Landmarks Survey, and the National Register archives and information system databases. It provides assistance servicewide on historical research, park planning, interpretation, and management of historic resources, including compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. It administers the National Maritime Initiative and maritime grants program, the Teaching with Historic Places program, and the NPS park administrative history program.

(e) Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record Division. This division is responsible for documenting the design and construction of architecturally or historically significant structures, as well as the engineering and industrial heritage of the United States. It advises and assists federal, state and local agencies and nonprofit organizations concerning these resources.

(f) Archeology and Ethnography Division. This division formulates program policies, guidelines, and standards for conservation and management of archeological and ethnographic resources of the National Park System. It works with other Interior bureaus, federal agencies, and state, tribal, and local archeological programs in matters related to these program areas. Within its functional and program areas, it develops and manages servicewide information databases. This division also coordinates accomplishment of the Secretary=s responsibilities for the national implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) and its implementing regulations.

(3) National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. This center, located at Northwestern Louisiana State University in Natchitoches, LA, coordinates preservation technology transfer among universities and research institutions, government agencies, professional organizations, and private professional practitioners.

10/1/02 #3530

Replaces 1/20/87 #2725