Home News NOAA, NPS Win ACHP Chairman's Awards

Charlottesville, VA—The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Park Service (NPS) received awards from the chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) for Federal Achievement in Historic Preservation, during the ACHP's fall business meeting in Charlottesville, Virginia, November 18, 2004.

NOAA's awarded project: Preserve America public awareness campaign

NPS's awarded project: Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery II traveling exhibit

ACHP chairman John L. Nau, III, presented the Chairman's Award for Federal Achievement in Historic Preservation to NOAA for its exemplary response to the Bush Administration's Preserve America initiative.

Receiving the award on NOAA's behalf were director Daniel J. Basta, senior program advisor Cheryl A. Oliver, and communications specialist David L. Hall, of NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program.

"NOAA's determination to use the Preserve America initiative as a primary means of creating partnerships with communities and sharing historic resources with the public is a demonstration of its strong commitments to accomplishing the program's goals," Nau said.

"Many people remain unaware of the cultural and natural treasures available to them on the Nation's 13 National Marine Sanctuaries, but thanks to NOAA's efforts and the Preserve America program, heritage tourists are beginning to find out about some of the special heritage assets that rest off our coast."

Among the efforts that earned the Chairman's Award, NOAA launched a Web site dedicated to its efforts to raise awareness of Executive Order 13287, "Preserve America," which calls on Federal agencies to increase their efforts to preserve, protect, and promote the heritage resources in their care. NOAA also is working to encourage public-private partnerships to conserve natural resources and protect special places.

One strong example of NOAA's efforts to share its holdings with the public is the Florida Key's National Marine Sanctuary's shipwreck trail, which highlights the region's rich maritime history and encourages the public to visit the Keys and dive the trail's nine mapped and interpreted sites. For more information on NOAA's efforts, visit www.preserveamerica.noaa.gov.

ACHP chairman John L. Nau, III, presented the Chairman's Award for Federal Achievement in Historic Preservation to NPS for coordinating the development and display of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery II traveling exhibit.

Receiving the award were National Park Service Director Fran Mainella and Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Superintendent Stephen Adams.

"The Corps of Discovery II project explains the importance of one of the most compelling and significant stories in American history, the saga of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," Nau said.

"During these bicentennial years of the legendary trek, the National Park Service and its partners are retracing its route and, in the Tent of Many Voices, refreshing the national memory about this epic. Importantly, they are doing so from the perspectives of the many communities and nations that were deeply affected and forever altered by this extraordinary journey."

The Corps of Discovery II began its three-year journey in January 2003 at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. President Jefferson was the driving force and visionary behind the Louisiana Purchase and the resultant Lewis and Clark Expedition. The traveling exhibit will visit 18 states and the District of Columbia during its three-year tour retracing the path of Lewis and Clark. The Tent of Many Voices is a 150-seat auditorium used for cultural arts demonstrations, folklore, music, living history, readings from the exhibition journals and more. Programs reflect a spectrum of nature, culture, and history.

Two especially important exhibit themes are cultural exploration and changes in landscape, including the cultures of American Indian tribes and the ethnic groups that moved into the American west along the Lewis and Clark Trail. For more information, including the many partners in the project, visit www.nps.gov/lecl/.

-----

An independent Federal agency, the ACHP promotes historic preservation nationally by providing a forum for influencing Federal activities, programs, and policies that affect historic properties, advising the President and Congress, advocating preservation policy, improving Federal preservation programs, protecting historic properties, and educating stakeholders and the public. In addition, the ACHP has a key role in carrying out the Administration's Preserve America initiative.

The Chairman's Award for Federal Achievement in Historic Preservation recognizes Federal projects, programs, initiatives, and policy leaders or career staff that make significant contributions to historic preservation in the Federal Government. Formal recognition by the ACHP chairman celebrates Federal preservation successes and showcases Federal accomplishments and best practices.

Posted December 19, 2004

Return to Top