Issues

All across the country and in your neighborhood, the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) has helped to recognize, save, and protect America’s historic places. Created in 1976, the HPF is funded through a tiny portion of Outer Continental Shelf lease revenues – utilizing one non-renewable resource (oil and gas) in order to save another – our historic and cultural history. The HPF has not only helped to preserve and protect iconic sites and objects such as the historic homes of Emily Dickenson in Amherst, MA, Rosa Park’s Bus, and the original Star Spangled Banner, but also places such as the historic main street of Deadwood, South Dakota or the historic streets of Charleston, South Carolina, where history and adventure opportunities spur the tourism industry and in turn provides local jobs and economic development to countless numbers of small and large and rural and urban communities coast to coast.

This report is the product of an effort by the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) to examine how we recognize our historic places, with particular attention to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The NCSHPO established a National Historic Designation Advisory Committee (NHDAC) in 2021 to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the NRHP’s original established goals, how well those goals are being met, what opportunities to improve overall access and inclusion might exist, and whether new programs may be part of the solution.