Following the passage of a full FY 24 budget in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, PL 118-42, the National Park Service (NPS) released the figures for a FULL Apportionment of the FY 2024 THPO Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Annual Grants and announced that grant applications are due May 30, 2024.

You can read the full announcement from NPS in the email with the subject line: "FY24 HPF THPO Grant - FINAL APPORTIONMENT." If you have questions, NPS asks you to contact 202-354-2020 or Lea_Anne_Chapman@nps.gov for assistance.

NPS LCWF Section 106 Alternative Consultation, May 16, 2024: The NPS is soliciting feedback on its process for satisfying responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. § 306108) related to its Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) financial assistance programs. In previous consultation meetings, NPS has discussed the current process and whether a program alternative can best assist the NPS in improving the Section 106 process for these undertakings.

NPS held three virtual webinars in April and were asked to consider holding an additional Tribal Consultation webinar (now May 16) and to extend the open comment period (now June 28). The additional webinar will take place on May 16, 2024, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time, please use the link below to register.

NPS LWCF Section 106 Program Alternative Webinar
Thursday, May 16, 2024
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET
REGISTER HERE

NPS invites you to participate in the above webinar and to provide comments through its PEPC webpage, where you will find additional information about the State and Local Assistance programs. NPS requests comments by June 28, 2024. Please upload your comments via PEPC link above or you may send to lwcf_compliance@nps.gov. NATHPO will be submitting comment, which we will make available on our website when it is finalized.

USDA Consultations, May 22 & 23: The US Department of Agriculture will be holding two Indian Country consultations/listening sessions on their Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Purchase Preference. You can find details on the program as well as the sessions HERE.

NAGPRA Review Committee Meeting, May 23: The NPS NAGPRA Review Committee will hold a virtual public meeting on Thursday, May 23, from 2pm to 6pm Eastern as noticed in the Federal Register. Agenda and meeting materials will be posted no later than May 9, 2024 on the National NAGPRA Program Events page. Register for access to the meeting HERE.

Department of Interior 2023 Historic Preservation Award Nominations, May 24: The Department of Interior is still accepting nominations for their 2023 Historic Preservation Awards. If you want to nominate someone you think has made an outstanding contribution to the work of historic preservation, you can do so at the link below. Nominations are due May 24, 2024.

DOI Consultations, June 10 & 12: The US Department of the Interior will be holding two Indian Country consultations/listening sessions on their Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Purchase Preference. You can find details on the program as well as the sessions HERE.

Due June 11: Bears Ears National Monument Draft Plan: The Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service are accepting comment on their Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, proposed recreational shooting closures, and proposed Areas of Critical Environmental Concern for Bears Ears National Monument. There will be several in-person and virtual public meetings, the details of which are at the link above, and comments are due June 11, 2024. NATHPO will be submitting comment, which we will make available on our website when it is finalized.

NATHPO regularly submits comment letters to federal agencies advocating on behalf of Tribal communities and their THPOs. You can find several of our most recent letters HERE, and if you know of an upcoming deadline and want NATHPO to consider submitting comment, please contact Melissa Madrigal at melissa@nathpo.org.

The Alexandria Archive Institute is conducting a survey of cultural heritage professionals as part of their 3-year Advancing FAIR+CARE Practices in Cultural Heritage project. The purpose of the survey is to hear from cultural heritage professionals about how they collect, manage, preserve, curate, share, and store cultural information in the course of your daily work. NATHPO's Board Chair, Dr. Shasta Gaughen serves as an advisor to the project, along with our Executive Director, Valerie Grussing. The survey is completely anonymous, should take approximately 30 minutes to complete, and allows you up to 7 days to complete once you begin. Learn more about the project and take the survey HERE before May 31.

Archaeology Southwest is asking professionals involved in the Section 106 process to contribute knowledge and perspective on the best ways to identify, assess, and protect cultural landscapes through a brief online survey. The goal of the survey is to inform a set of best practices for the integration of cultural landscape studies into the Section 106 process of large-scale federal undertakings. Please take the succinct and anonymous survey HERE by May 17, 2024.

At long last, the National Park Service has published the 2023 Report to Congress from the NAGPRA Review Committee. You can view the report HERE.

Watch NATHPO's Executive Director Testify Before Congress: Earlier this week, NATHPO Executive Director Dr. Valerie Grussing testified before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Here's the main takeaway: The President’s budget proposal calls for funding for THPOs to remain unchanged from last year, and Valerie called on Congress to increase the federal funding for THPOs, specifically an increase of $11 million for THPOs, along with a request for $12.4 million for NAGPRA grants, as well as additional funding for the BIA, BLM, the Smithsonian and the Justice Department for things like cultural resource compliance, NAGPRA compliance, repatriation, and NAGPRA enforcement. You can watch Valerie's testimony HERE and read it HERE.

Historic Preservation Month Congressional Briefing Next Week: On Tuesday of next week, Valerie will be back on Capitol Hill, this time to participate in a Congressional briefing on historic preservation with representatives from our partner organizations like Preservation Action, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers.

NATHPO will present our Excellence in Tribal Historic Preservation Award at the NATHPO Conference August 12-16, 2024. This annual award recognizes Tribal Historic Preservation Officers who have made exemplary contributions to protecting culturally important places and perpetuating Native identity, resilience, and cultural endurance. Connections to cultural heritage sustain the health and vitality of Native peoples and THPOs are at the forefront of this work.

Eligibility: The awardee must be a member of NATHPO who has made a significant impact through her/his work protecting Native places or otherwise preserving cultural heritage. Nominees are THPOs who demonstrate exemplary achievement and quality of work in historic and cultural preservation, advocacy, building partnerships, and elevating the community of THPOs. Nominations may be made by NATHPO members. NATHPO staff can provide verification of membership status (join or renew today!).

Awardee is selected by the NATHPO Board of Directors following the June 17 deadline.

To nominate, please fill out this form: 24th NATHPO Excellence in THP Award Nomination

Stay current on important happenings using our new Calendar of Events, and post your own to share! And let us know if you have a job posting you would like to share and we'll post it on our Community Job Board. AND don't forget to browse our listing of relevant Grant Opportunities.

The 24th Annual NATHPO Conference & Sacred Places Summit will take place August 12-16, 2024, at the Ho-Chunk Gaming Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. Register here, stay tuned for more details, and be sure to mark these days on your calendars!

If you would like to become one of our conference sponsors, please contact please contact Melissa Madrigal at melissa@nathpo.org. Information about sponsorship rates is available HERE.

Valerie J. Grussing, PhD
NATHPO Executive Director
valerie@nathpo.org | 202-628-8476