Got this email from the Archaeological Institute of America today.

I have been a member for some years now.

If you plan to visit any historic sites in the US this year you might find this of interest

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Last month we shared some of the Archaeological Institute of America’s exciting accomplishments from the last year. I am taking over this month’s e-Update to broadcast to you matters of grave concern for the future of archaeology and the places you love in the United States.

On July 24, the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) voted 12 to 5 with 2 abstentions to overturn long established regulations that have protected important buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts since 1966. This is the first step in a process that would upend how we protect the historic landmarks, parks, and archaeological sites that have inspired all of us.

The new regulations adopted by the ACHP allow the federal government to fast-track projects in our communities with virtually no public oversight and without consulting state, local, and tribal governments. Here are some of the concerns outlined by the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

🚩 Federal agencies will no longer be required to try to avoid or minimize damage to America’s historic architecture, neighborhoods, and landscapes.

🚩 State and local governments will no longer have the right to be notified or have the opportunity to comment when federal agencies propose to damage or destroy historic places within their jurisdiction.

🚩 The public’s opportunity to comment on federal historic preservation policies or actions would now be entirely optional, at the discretion of the federal agency.

🚩 The federal government will no longer be required to consult with Native American tribes or seek their expertise regarding their own significant cultural resources.

🚩 Significant cultural landscape features would no longer be considered historic properties, so federal agencies would no longer be required to take into account any adverse effects to significant places such as Chaco Canyon and Gettysburg.

🚩 Federal agencies would no longer be required to consider the reasonably foreseeable consequences of their actions on historic properties, other than direct actions that physically damage the properties.

🚩 We believe that these regulations are inconsistent with the National Historic Preservation Act and would violate the Council’s own rules and procedures.

🚩 The changes are also internally inconsistent and riddled with errors, likely to cause enormous regulatory confusion and chaos.

When Congress chartered the Archaeological Institute of America in 1906, we were charged with “promoting archaeological studies by investigation and research in the United States.” The need for archaeological study and the preservation of places that we care about has not changed. We are watching the updates to these regulations carefully.