History & Culture National Park Service: Preservation

Preservation

preservation includes:
Grants
How To...
Laws, Executive Orders & Regulations

QUICKLINKS:
Apply for a Lighthouse
Document a Historic Site
List in the National Register
Preservation Planning

Preservation is about deciding what's important, figuring out how to protect it, and passing along an appreciation for what was saved to the next generation. Preservation is hands on.

National Park Service archeologists, architects, curators, historians, and other cultural resource professionals work in America’s nearly 400 national parks to preserve, protect, and share the history of this land and its people. This includes:

27,000 significant structures in national parks
66,000 archeological sites in national parks
115 million objects in park museum collections

Beyond the parks, the National Park Service is part of a national preservation partnership working with American Indian tribes, states, local governments, nonprofit organizations, historic property owners, and others who believe in the importance of our shared heritage – and its preservation. This includes:

$1.2 billion in preservation grants
80,000 listings in the National Register of Historic Places
2,400 National Historic Landmarks
$30 billion in historic rehabilitation tax credit projects
27 National Heritage Areas

The National Park Service also develops standards and guidelines for historic rehabilitation projects, offers “how to” advice for hands-on preservationists, and helps find new owners for historic lighthouses.

We can help you preserve what you care about. Find out how.

National Historic Preservation Act

Image of an awning on a historic building

Awnings on
Historic Buildings

Nine Tips for
Cemetery
Preservation

Managing
Archeological
Collections

Did You Know?
Completed and lit in October 1792, Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia was the first lighthouse built by the United States. more...