In an effort to manage its vast museum collections more responsibly, the Department of the Interior established the Interior Museum Program and created the Departmental Manual Part 411 (411 DM), Managing Museum Property, and a guidance handbook. 411 DM sets the policy for the Department of the Interior for the collection, management, and care of museum property. 411 DM identifies responsible parties, required actions for planning and reporting, and standards for documenting museum property and for facilities holding its museum collections. Note that museum property is a subset of the larger personal property category, thus property law and regulations apply.
Both "Curation of Federally Owned and Administered Archaeological Collections" (36 CFR part 79) and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and its implementing regulations (43 CFR part 10), affect management of Reclamation's archaeological collections. Some of the other key laws, regulations, and policies underlying Reclamation's responsibility for managing its museum collections include: National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended; Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, as amended; Federal Property Management Regulations (FPMR) (41 CFR part 101) Reclamation's Supplements to the FPMR; Preservation of American Antiquities (43 CFR part 3); and Protection of Archaeological Resources (43 CFR part 7). The Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board also provides requirements for reporting museum property; SFFAS No. 6 - Accounting for Property, Plant, and Equipment (PP&E); SFFAS No. 8 - Supplementary Stewardship Reporting; SFFAS No. 14 - Amendments to Deferred Maintenance Reporting (amends SFFAS 6 and 8); and SFFAS No. 29 -Heritage Assets and Stewardship Land.
Also refer to CRM Reclamation Policies and Guidance and general CRM mandates.
