Home News Agreement Streamlines Review of Resource Conservation Activities

In an effort to protect important historic properties more effectively, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) signed a nationwide Programmatic Agreement May 31, 2002, that allows Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State offices, federally recognized Indian tribes, and State Historic Preservation Officers to streamline review of individual resource conservation activities.

Because many resource conservation needs are unique to a particular State or region, the agreement establishes broad standards and procedures that enable parties to tailor their own agreements to local resource conservation needs.

This flexibility allows parties to focus on NRCS activities that have the greatest potential to affect historic properties. Activities that have the least potential to affect historic properties will no longer be subject to the formal Federal historic preservation review process.

"This agreement is a model for sound, locally led historic resource conservation," said Lou Gallegos, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration.

NRCS and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) also signed the agreement, which was developed by ACHP, NRCS, and a committee of State Historic Preservation Officers representing NCSHPO.

NRCS also solicited comments from the 572 federally recognized Indian tribes through direct nation-to-nation communication and through NRCS’ State and Regional Tribal Liaisons, American Indian and Native Alaskan Employees Association, and American Indian Program Manager. Also consulted were the Inter-Tribal Agriculture Council and the Southwest Indian Agricultural Association.

ACHP, an independent Federal agency, serves as primary policy advisor to the President and Congress on historic preservation matters and oversees an administrative review process that requires Federal agencies to consider historic properties when planning projects. ACHP is headquartered in Washington, DC., with an office in Denver, Colorado.

For more information:

E-mail Program Analyst Tom McCulloch at tmcculloch@achp.gov
NRCS' Historic Preservation Program
The Section 106 process
About ACHP

Posted July 2, 2002

Return to Top