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specific nav links Home News Senior Policy Officials Discuss Needs Under Section 3
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Chairman John Nau hosted a meeting of Senior Policy Officials Feb. 21 to discuss the findings and recommendations made in the ACHP’s 2006 Section 3 report. It offered the officials a chance to engage in a square table discussion about how the ACHP might address these recommendations. Senior Policy Officials (SPOs) are those individuals designated under Executive Order 13287, “Preserve America,” who have policy oversight responsibility for their federal agency’s historic preservation program. This was the first such meeting since the ACHP submitted The Preserve America Executive Order Report to the President in February 2006, per Section 3(c) of Executive Order (EO) 13287. Section 3 of EO 13287 requires real property managing agencies to submit a triennial report on their progress in identifying, protecting, and using historic properties in its ownership. Agencies submitted baseline reports in 2004 and progress reports in 2005. The ACHP review of these reports resulted in the ACHP making six findings on the current status of the federal historic preservation program as a whole, along with recommendations for addressing each finding. Through the dialogue at the Preserve America Summit in 2006 and with federal agencies over the last year, it has become clear there are four thematic areas found in the 2006 recommendations to the President: (1) Enhancing and Improving our Inventory of Historic Properties; (2) Integrating Stewardship into Agency Planning; (3) Building Partnerships; and (4) Managing Our Assets. The SPO meeting began with opening remarks from Cherie Harder, special assistant to the President and First Lady, on behalf of First Lady Laura Bush who is honorary chair of the Preserve America initiative. Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior Lynn Scarlett and Deputy Director for Management Clay Johnson, III, of the Office of Management and Budget also spoke to the group. In the meeting, the ACHP heard from participating agencies about their experiences in implementing EO 13287 and both the successes and challenges they face in improving their preservation programs. Several important topics addressed by participants are highlighted below:
The ACHP anticipates federal agencies having important progress to report on in 2008 as agencies constantly improve their ability to integrate historic property information into the various federal reporting requirements. Toward that end, the ACHP has pledged to reconvene its EO 13287 Advisory Guidelines Working Group (first activated in 2003 to produce the initial Section 3 guidelines for federal agencies) and work closely with partner agencies to develop guidance for the 2008 reports. The Office of Federal Agency Programs has committed to issuing these guidelines by summer 2007. The ACHP will ensure these efforts complement the overall goals of the Preserve America initiative and that commitments are incorporated into the ACHP strategic plan. For additional information on the role of Senior Policy Officials and Section 3 reporting please contact Reid Nelson, assistant director, at (202) 606-8556 or rnelson@achp.gov.
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