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IN THIS ISSUE
Feature Stories
Legislative Updates
Announcements
FY'03 Appropriations: Historic
Preservation Funding Prospects Appear Good
Congressional appropriators have reached a tentative
agreement on FY2003 federal spending limits that will
force a majority of discretionary spending programs to
grow only slightly next fiscal year, but prospects for
historic preservation funding remain good nonetheless.
Despite the lack of a Senate-passed budget resolution,
congressional appropriators have agreed to a spending
ceiling of $375 billion, a figure that will allow for
only 3% growth in real dollars for all discretionary
spending programs. Defense spending and the war on
terrorism will see the lion's share of any increase in
FY'03, which is expected to rise 13% over FY'02 spending
levels, to $393 million.
Although the agreed-upon budget allocations provide
little room for growth on discretionary spending,
preservation advocates have been pressing House
Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations chair Joe Skeen
(R-NM) and ranking member Norm Dicks (D-WA) to support
an appropriation of $85.5 million for the Historic
Preservation Fund (HPF). In addition, Representatives
Dale Kildee (D-MI) and Robert Ehrlich (R-MD) circulated
a "Dear Colleague" letter in the House in support of the
higher HPF request, which garnered 41 signatures. The
Kildee/Ehrlich letter reveals that the HPF received a
$20 million reduction from FY'01 only to be followed by
President Bush's FY'03 budget which proposed an
additional $7.5 million cut for the HPF in FY'03! The
letter also emphasized that the State Historic
Preservation Offices and Tribal preservation programs
have taken the brunt of these very severe reductions in
overall funding for the HPF.
In addition, appropriations staff have provided
assurances this spring that cuts made in the HPF funding
in FY'02 will be restored and that a slight increase may
also be included for preservation funding. It also
appears that the Save America's Treasures (SAT) program
will be funded again in FY'03 at $30 million and the
prospects for a second year of funding for The National
Trust's Historic Sites Fund of $2.5 million are also on
track. Mark-up of the FY'03 Interior and other
appropriations bills should take place before the July
recess. Subcommittee chairs are anxiously awaiting their
spending allocations so they can begin marking up their
individual appropriations bills.
Preservation advocates should stay tuned for any
breaking developments on budget and spending issues
affecting historic preservation programs in the weeks
ahead.
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Streamlining Issue Comes to Fore in TEA-21
Reauthorization Debate
Congress will officially begin reauthorizing the
TEA-21 surface transportation law next year and one of
the more important issues facing legislators will be the
controversial topic of environmental streamlining.
Streamlining is shorthand for proposed changes in the
environmental reviews that the Federal Highway
Administration and state transportation agencies are
required to perform under a variety of federal laws
protecting natural and cultural resources from the
effects of highway projects. Historic sites are among
such protected resources and environmental review laws
have been controversial in many parts of the country.
There is an effort underway in Congress - among
various groups representing transportation interests and
in the Federal Highway Administration - to come up with
ways to make the historic preservation reviews less
burdensome to transportation officials under the moniker
of streamlining. However, streamlining proponents have
offered ideas that are quite drastic, such as removing
historic sites from the protection of Section 4(f) of
the Department of Transportation Act. Another suggestion
is that only sites actually on the National Register of
Historic Places should be protected. Yet a third
proposes that only publicly owned historic sites should
be subject to environmental reviews.
The National Trust Public Policy Department is
presently working with a coalition of environmental
groups to help raise questions and awareness about the
extreme nature of some of these "streamlining" proposals
and engage supporters of "streamlining" measures about
preservation concerns. The National Trust is forming a
partnership with Preservation Action, the National
Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and
other groups to marshal arguments in defense of stronger
protections for historic sites and to critique the
proposals of "streamlining" advocates. These
preparations will help galvanize preservation advocates
for what may be a difficult and prolonged fight during
reauthorization on the streamlining issue.
Stay tuned to future issues of Preservation Advocate
News and/or special policy bulletins and alerts, if
necessary. For further information or questions on
streamlining, contact Dan Costello in the Public Policy
Department at dan_costello@nthp.org.
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Coalition Urges Congress to Increase Funding for
National Parks
The National Trust has joined with the National Parks
and Conservation Association (NPCA) and a host of other
groups in a coalition effort to convince Congress to
substantially increase funding for the nation's national
parks. Americans for National Parks aims to address the
serious maintenance backlog problem that is affecting
the natural, cultural and historic resources in many of
the 385 units of the national park system. Operating and
maintenance problems have festered for more than a
decade in the national parks, as relatively modest
yearly spending increases have failed to accommodate the
system's expansion, aging infrastructure and steady
increase in tourism -- with nearly 300 million visitors
annually.
Additional funding is necessary to preserve historic
sites that are facing critical maintenance and staffing
shortages. This funding is especially critical when you
consider that, according to the National Park Service's
"Cultural Resource Challenge Report 2000," 59% (228
units) of the Service's 385 units "were designated to
specifically preserve important aspects or moments in
our nation's history. The National Trust has signed
coalition letters to chairmen and ranking members of the
House and Senate Subcommittees on Interior
Appropriations requesting an additional $280 million for
the National Park Service in FY'03 to help the agency
address the maintenance backlog issue.
In addition to the National Trust supporting
increased funding for the maintenance backlog problem,
the Save America's Treasures (SAT) Program has been
actively fundraising for preserving historic and
cultural resources in the parks. For example, Valley
Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania cannot
even adequately staff to open, monitor and interpret
five of the six historical structures associated with
George Washington's 1777-78 military encampment because
the structures are in complete disrepair - only the
visitor center and headquarters are open year-round.
However, the Save America's Treasures (SAT) program has
taken a very active role in preserving the Valley Forge
winter encampment buildings for the past three years,
having privately raised $1.2 million to stabilize all
six remaining 18th-century structures. In addition, the
Valley Forge project has received a $450,000
appropriation from the federal (SAT) program while the
SAT private program actively pursues raising over $8
million to actually restore the encampment buildings so
they can be opened to the public, most for the first
time in history.
For further information and updates on the activities
of the Americans for National Parks coalition, visit the
NPCA web site at
http://www.npca.org/across_the_nation/AmericansforNationalParks/
and get involved with saving our most precious historic
and cultural resources. In addition, learn more about
the Trust's activities in the parks and the Save
America's Treasure's Program by visiting
http://www.saveamericastreasures.org/ on the Internet.
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Historic Preservation Development Council in New
Orleans a Success
The Historic Preservation Development Council (HPDC),
a partnership between the National Trust for Historic
Preservation and the National Housing &
Rehabilitation Association, held its Southern Regional
Meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday, April 30. There were
approximately 40 participants including developers and
preservationists from New Orleans, the region, and
around the country. Patricia Gay of the Preservation
Resource Center of New Orleans and Laurel Wyckoff, the
Louisiana State Historic Preservation Officer, gave a
presentation on the current market for historic
rehabilitation in Louisiana. Other topics of discussion
included "state of the art" deal structuring issues, the
investment market for tax credit equity, and debt and
mezzanine financing.
The National Trust staff led a policy discussion on
the limits to certified historic rehabilitation and the
legislative changes needed to allow greater usage of the
credit. They presented ideas that have been formed from
discussions at past HPDC meetings and other meetings
with the preservation community as well as information
on the Historic Homeownership Assistance Act. The group
reacted to these ideas and presented new ones.
Future meetings of the Historic Preservation
Development Council include a Chicago meeting
tentatively scheduled in September and a meeting at the
National Preservation Conference in Cleveland on
Wednesday, October 9th. Visit
http://www.housingonline.com/hpdc/index.htm for more
information on the HPDC.
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
Heritage Areas Bill Pulled from Resources
Committee Markup
The House Resources Committee pulled the "National
Heritage Areas Policy Act of 2001" (H.R. 2388) at the
last minute from its scheduled markup on April 23 due to
Democratic objections to the bill.
Sponsored by Rep. Joel Hefley (R-CO), H.R. 2388 would
create a federal framework to help develop criteria for
the designation and management of national heritage
areas, but also place limits on federal funding for such
areas. Democratic members of the Committee object to the
bill's top-down approach that requires total unanimity
among all affected State and local governments on
approval of a business and regional management plan
within a proposed national heritage before official
designation can take place.
Opponents of the Hefley bill also point out that H.R.
2388 unfairly discriminates against the creation of
smaller heritage areas that have regional significance
which may deserve federal funding, but not necessarily
be worthy of being designated "national heritage areas"
based on the bill's criteria for national significance.
The National Trust is working with the National Park
Service and a coalition of groups supporting a more
regionally based cooperative approach to establishing
heritage areas to draft compromise bill language that
addresses these concerns.
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Senate Committee Approves Community Character
Act
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
approved legislation (S. 975) on April 25 by a vote of
12-7 to assist states and local communities deal with
uncontrolled growth and development. Sponsored by
Senator Lincoln Chafee's (R-RI), the "Community
Character Act of 2001" will provide voluntary federal
grants each year to help States and local communities
develop or revise land use planning legislation, and to
conduct research and development related to land use
plans. The bill does not require any state or local
government to do any planning if they decide it is
unnecessary. S. 975 would provide $25 million each year
for fiscal years 2002-2006 and caps grants at $1
million. The legislation also authorizes the EDA to
provide up to $1 million per year in additional
voluntary educational and informational programming.
Cities and towns are facing a difficult choice
between explosive development and the preservation of
community character. Since 1990, the rates of population
growth in some communities across America have been
staggering. For example, the cities with the greatest
rates of growth include: Las Vegas, Nevada (83%),
Naples, Florida (65%), Austin, Texas (48%), Boise, Idaho
(46%), Phoenix, Arizona (45%), Provo, Utah (40%),
Atlanta, Georgia (39%), Wilmington, N.C. (36%), and
Denver (30%).
What Can You Do To Help?
The National Trust supports Senator's Chafee and his
efforts to fight urban sprawl through better planning.
Advocates should contact their Senators and urge them to
cosponsor S. 975 and support the preservation of
community character. Visit our Congressional Advocacy
Center at http://capwiz.com/nthp/home/ to see if your
Senator is a cosponsor and to send him a personalized
e-mail letter to ask for his support.
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Conferees Retain Historic Barn Program, Boost
Farmland Protection Program Funding in Farm Bill
Conferees finally agreed to a 10-year farm bill (H.R.
2646) on April 25 that includes Senator James
Jeffords'(I-VT) historic barn legislation. Jeffords'
bill will provide $25 million for the preservation of
historic barns and be distributed over five years.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), the chairman of the Senate
Agriculture Committee, was also instrumental in getting
the barn provisions inserted into the Farm Bill as was
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), who also
played a major role in keeping the barn provisions
intact through floor consideration and conference
negotiations on the bill. Preservation advocates are
encouraged to write to Senators Jeffords, Harkin and
Daschle and thank them personally for their leadership
in efforts in shepherding the barn provisions through to
the very end.
The House and Senate have passed the conference
report on H.R. 2646 and the President has stated he will
sign the bill. In addition, efforts are already underway
to ask appropriators to begin funding for the historic
barn program in fiscal year 2003. Senator Jeffords has
been approached to assist with a "Dear Colleague" letter
to jumpstart the advocacy for barn funding in the
Senate. Stay tuned for breaking developments on this
strategy and timing of appropriations for the barn
program.
Conferees also authorized $600 million in total
funding for the Farmland Protection Program (FPP) for
the next six fiscal years. Under this program, USDA's
Commodity Credit Corporation funds 50% of the cost of a
conservation easement to purchase development rights on
farmland, ensuring that the land remains permanently in
agriculture. Easement protections will also be extended
to archeological and historical resources found on these
lands for the first time under the Farmland Protection
Program. If appropriators fully fund an expanded FPP,
over $1 billion could be funneled toward the protection
of agricultural lands. Since FPP is a matching program,
states and local governments would have an even greater
incentive to develop and expand conservation easement
programs to leverage the increased levels of federal
funding authorized under H.R. 2646.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Trust, Interior Department and Anschutz
Corporation Reach Accord on Weatherman Draw
On April 22 the Department of the Interior announced
that an agreement between the National Trust and the
Anschutz Exploration Corporation had been reached to
eliminate exploration for oil and gas in the Weatherman
Draw Rock Art Complex and Archaeological District in
central Montana. Weatherman Draw, also known as the
Valley of the Chiefs, has been used for centuries by
various Native American tribes as a religious site and
for peace talks. The area includes archaeological
resources and 1,100-year-old pictographs, including the
largest collection of polychorne painted art known in
the Northern Plains. Under the agreement, Anschutz will
convey two federal and oil gas leases to the in the
4,268-acre Weatherman Draw area to the National Trust.
The transfer will be followed by a formal action from
the Bureau of Land Management withholding the area from
leasing. Kudos to National Trust Assistant General
Counsel Anita Canovas and the entire Trust legal
department for negotiating an agreement that can serve
as model to resolve future conflicts over uses on public
lands!
Advisory Council Issues Notice of Final Exemption
on Abandoned Historic Pipelines
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation issued
a Notice of Final Exemption regarding historic natural
gas pipelines on April 5. The regulatory action
culminated a long negotiation between the Council and
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that
extended to last November to establish a formalized
process for exemptions from Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act regarding abandoned historic
natural gas pipelines. Preservationists were concerned
that historic pipelines would be categorically excluded
as a cultural resource from National Register
designation based on language that was previously
included in both the House and Senate versions of the
energy bill (H.R 4/S. 517), but has since been removed.
Instead, the regulatory language worked out between the
Council and FERC allows for federal agencies to qualify
for the exemption provided that the agency has
documented the historic natural gas pipeline through a
variety of means, including as-built drawings, historic
photographs, maps, and annotated bibliography. The
exemption, however, does not apply to those portions of
federal agency undertakings that take place on tribal
lands and is not intended to amend, invalidate or
otherwise modify already existing Section 106
Programmatic Agreements (PAs).
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Preservation Advocate News is published by the
National Trust's Department of Public Policy and
distributed via e-mail to its grass roots advocacy
network. For further information contact: National Trust
for Historic Preservation, Department of Public Policy,
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036,
202-588-6254 (phone), 202-588-6038 (fax), policy@nthp.org
(e-mail). To sign up directly for e-mail delivery, visit
the National Trust's Congressional Advocacy Center at http://capwiz.com/nthp/home.
Richard Moe, President
Kathryn Higgins, Vice
President for Public Policy
Gordon Kerr, Director of
Congressional Affairs
Staff Writers: Carl Wolf, Dan
Costello, Stacey Mahaney
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