08/05/2026
Reposted from a friend Kathryn P. Puseman
From CCPA:
Proposed Changes to Section 106 that Will Eviscerate Historic Preservation in America.
Are you proud of your heritage? Do you value the places that reflect your community’s history and our shared past? Preservation of our heritage and the historic places that we value and love is in grave danger. For 60 years, the National Historic Preservation Act has been a cornerstone in historic preservation in America. Under the Act, Section 106 review has been the central tool used to influence decision making regarding the preservation of historic properties, including buildings, archaeological sites, historical sites, and historic landscapes. By law, you, the American public, have a voice when a project involving federal lands, actions, approvals, or funding may affect properties that qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official list of historic properties.
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the impacts of projects they carry out, permit, or fund on historic properties. Additionally, federal agencies must consult with the State or Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and other interested parties on the effects of undertakings, the eligibility of sites for inclusion in the National Register, and mitigation for sites of our shared history that will be adversely affected by those projects. Part of the consultation process has included the interested public and allows us to have a voice either as individuals or members of organizations. Your ability to have a voice will go away if the proposed new rules are accepted in how the National Historic Preservation Act is carried out under Section 106.
Recently, the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation (ACHP) voted to make sweeping changes to Section 106 review that would take away your voice and those of your community. The proposed changes centralize all decision-making authority with federal agencies and require them to prioritize things like costs of mitigation to a project developer over the values of cultural and historic places. Mitigation of project impacts are such things as gathering the important information from an archaeological site before it is damaged or destroyed, doing interpretive signage that informs the public about the importance of a place, or provides funding for restoration. Section 106 consultation also allows for discussions that might result in a project avoiding or lessening its impacts on a historic property. The changes would mean that those discussions will no longer take place and that you, the Historic Preservation Offices, and tribes will no longer have the ability to have a role in decisions about historic properties that you or your community value. The National Historic Preservation Act came about because government projects were destroying historic neighborhoods for highway projects and urban renewal without the public having a say. That is not something we want to return to.
What can you do?
The proposed changes will eventually be posted to the Federal Register. The Federal Register is the daily publication of official government documents, rules and regulations, and public notices by the National Archives and Records Administration so that the public remains informed. The public will have a 30-day comment period to let the administration know that we do not support the changes. You can also tell your elected representatives that you support the Section 106 process and community oversight over federal projects.
To find out more about the proposed changes to Section 106 and additional resources for understanding the impact to your community, please visit:
https://savingplaces.org/section106. https://ncshpo.org/2026/07/24/section-106-rulemaking-whats-next/
https://saa.org/Member/SAAMember/Media-Room/News/SAA-Issues-Statement-On-ACHP-Draft-Changes-To-Section-106-Regulations.aspx
Our statement on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's approval of a complete proposed modification of the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
