SIA JOINS 600 ORGANIZATIONS IN OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF SECTION 106

As many SIA members know, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has proposed rule changes that would severely weaken Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966.  The Act created the National Register of Historic Places, and it created a framework to protect cultural resources from federal undertakings.  Such undertakings include federally funded bridge and highway projects, re-licensing of hydroelectric dams, construction of federal buildings, and a wide array of other projects that can have adverse effects on cultural resources.  Under the Act, federal agencies must determine whether their actions will affect resources eligible for listing in the National Register and if so, see if they can avoid the adverse effect.  If an adverse effect cannot be avoided, then the agencies must mitigate the adverse effect.  Most of that review process is administered through State Historic Preservation Offices, which are largely funded by the federal government.  It’s a marvelous system of state and federal cooperation.

The whole process is overseen by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which was also created by the Act.

Project 2025 identified section 106 and the work of the Advisory Council as a set of regulatory features in U.S. law that should be weakened.  As with other councils and commissions, President Trump has gotten rid of most members of the Advisory Council and replaced them with his own loyalists.  The Advisory Council is now recommending rule changes that would implement the Project 2025 recommendations and gut Section 106.

The SIA has joined a large group of organizations, ranging from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Institute of Architects to local preservation-minded groups, in signing an Open Letter to Congress asking Congress to support our nation’s federal historic preservation infrastructure and oppose efforts by the Trump administration to weaken the Section 106 process.  SIA members wishing to see the Open Letter and the list of signatory organizations may find them at https://culturalheritagepartners.com/open-letter-to-congress-from-national-coalition/