» USACE has also reported consulting with Tribes on the use of human remains detection dogs, which provide a noninvasive method of locating archaeological sites that likely include human remains. The dogs are specifically trained to detect graves, including those more than 100 years old, to a depth of approximately six feet below the ground surface. The Detroit District utilized human remains detection dogs to survey an area where an inadvertent discovery of human remains had previously occurred, to determine if additional remains were present, at the request of consulting Tribes. The dogs were able to identify adjacent areas that may contain human remains for further testing and survey. » The USACE New York District recently supported the U.S. Military Army Garrison, West Point, in its partnership with the Stockbridge Munsee Community, by the award of a contract and management of a study on the Revolutionary War Stockbridge Company of Militia. The New York District frequently works with interagency partners for the identification and management of historic properties on installation lands.
Agencies reported proactive approaches to identification of at-risk historic properties including the use of digital tools. The Los Alamos National Laboratory developed a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Plan in FY 2022, which categorized property types by their dependency to agency mission, defining archaeological sites, Traditional Cultural Properties, built-environment resources, and cultural landscapes as sub-tier critical assets. For climate resiliency, the National Institute of Health is currently conducting climate vulnerability assessments for its campuses and will evaluate the findings in the context of preservation of historic properties. The U.S. Geological Service developed the Strategic Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment tool to help the Department of the Interior identify natural hazards relevant to its emergency planning and historic property risk assessments.
Indentification in the Context of Climate Change
Agencies were asked to elaborate on whether they have prioritized the identification of historic properties in areas with the highest potential for climate impacts. The ACHP’s 2023 Climate Change Policy Statement advised federal agencies to work collaboratively to assemble information about previously designated or documented historic properties and to identify previously undesignated or undocumented historic properties, with priority on areas with the highest potential for climate impacts. Agencies were explicit about the policies guiding their plans for climate adaptation, rehabilitation, and use of risk assessments. A description of how these policies are assisting agencies in the protection of historic properties is described further in Chapter 3. The ACHP celebrated a landmark accomplishment when in June 2023, it adopted the agency’s first Policy Statement on Climate Change and Historic Preservation, which clearly defines the connections between climate change and historic properties, articulates policy principles the ACHP will integrate into the Section 106 process, and advises federal agencies as well as nonfederal partners on how they may acknowledge, plan for, mitigate, and adapt to climate change impacts on historic properties. The policy statement was developed over the course of nine months and included listening sessions and other outreach efforts with states, historic preservation stakeholders, and Tribes and NHOs. The document defines the scope of climate impacts and puts forward a series of recommended policy principles for addressing the issues. Effects to sacred sites and other properties significant to Tribes and NHOs are highlighted, as are the disproportionate impacts of climate change on historic places in underserved communities. The policy statement also calls for public-serving institutions to consider the impact to historic properties as an integral part of climate planning and implementation. It urges the survey and identification of historic properties in areas with the highest potential for climate impacts. And, relevant to the Section 106 process, it suggests that permitting and environmental review of clean energy projects and climate-friendly transportation projects be expedited while ensuring full consideration of potential impacts to historic properties.
On May 24, 2023, Typhoon Mawar made landfall on the island of Guam, causing island-wide destruction in its wake. (Robert Barker/FEMA)
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