On January 27, 2021, President Joe Biden issued EO 14008,“Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” which directs the Department of the Interior to partner with federal agencies across the government to advance inclusive and collaborative solutions to the climate crisis. As part of this EO, the Administration has launched a 10-year challenge for federal agencies and members of the public to aid in the protection of 30 percent of all of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030. The challenge, called the America the Beautiful Initiative, sets aside $1 billion in grant funding to leverage federal conservation and investments with private and philanthropic contributions to accelerate land, water, and wildlife conservation efforts across the country. In the three years since its inception, the initiative has helped agencies coordinate efforts to expand preservation efforts to all parts of the nation in order to combat the worst impacts of climate change. Federal historic property management encompasses a comprehensive range of activities, from identification and tracking to project planning and the long-term preservation of historic places. Agencies are increasingly considering how to balance sustainability goals with their stewardship responsibilities, and working to apply the expertise of climate scientists and Indigenous Peoples to find solutions to protecting historic properties. As in previous years, agencies continue to utilize programmatic agreements to establish consistent policies that support maturing agency preservation programs. Program Alternatives As reported in 2021, agencies have increased the use of tailored approaches to Section 106 review through the development of program alternatives, and programmatic agreements in particular. Agencies were asked for this reporting period to describe any new or revised Section 106 program alternatives, how program alternatives have supported the planning and implementation of infrastructure projects, and how the effectiveness of these program alternatives is measured. Overall, agencies reported positively that program alternatives save them and consulting parties’ time and resources on the review of routine undertakings, allowing them to focus their resources on projects with greater impacts to historic properties. Agencies also reported they have made updates and issued guidance for the implementation of existing programmatic agreements. This emphasizes the requirement for agencies to ensure their program alternatives are being implemented correctly and demonstrates the flexibility of programmatic approaches to adapt to changing circumstances and needs.
the cultural resources compliance requirements under Section 106 and standardizes mitigation when adverse effects are likely to occur to water infrastructure features. Benefits from this agreement are already becoming evident in the first year of implementation. BOR estimates the agreement has saved $44,000 and 19.8 months of consultation and review time on covered projects. Additionally, BOR has saved $12,000 and 10 months of consultation and review time on projects utilizing the agreement’s standardized mitigation, which utilizes ArcGIS StoryMaps. » TVA, the Tennessee SHPO, and the ACHP executed a programmatic agreement to comprehensively address effects to TVA’s historic transmission assets throughout the state of Tennessee in August 2023. Initial estimates, based on current project costs and volumes, indicate that this agreement will save TVA more than $3 million in assessment costs alone over the next 20 years.
Protection of Historic Properties from Climate Change
Agencies were asked whether they have incorporated climate change adaptation/ mitigation principles in their policies, programs, and procedures in order to enhance the protection of historic properties over the last three years. Responses overwhelmingly confirmed that they had, in meeting EOs and internal agency directives.
Some agencies reported that, while they are working to address the impacts of climate change and to implement and promote climate change adaptation and improve environmental resiliency, these actions have not specifically targeted historic properties. For example, DHS has established a framework and tools to support strategic prioritization and execution of sustainability and resilience actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change on their facilities and assets. Others, such as NOAA, have already begun to assess and protect their existing facilities and appropriately plan for future facilities to help reduce the climate vulnerability of some historic properties.
HIGHLIGHTS
Other agencies are building renewable energy infrastructure on federal lands, requiring comprehensive identification efforts of historic properties that may be adversely affected. The DAF established a 2,600-acre Solar Enhanced Use Lease project at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California that began to produce power in December 2022, evaluating around 6,000 acres in the process. TVA’s solar program, which produces more than 8,200 megawatts of renewable energy, has succeeded through early coordination with consulting parties and a greater flexibility in design to avoid adverse effects. Further information about TVA’s solar projects can be found in a Case Study on page 54.
Uprecedented amounts of rainfall combined with snowmelt caused severe damage to infrastructure including the north entrance road at Yellowstone National Park in June 2022. (Doug Kraus/NPS)
» The ACHP’s EVSE Exemption, approved in 2022, has already been utilized by VA and TVA to streamline the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on federal lands. » The Department of the Army’s newly-developed Inter-War Era Program Comment introduced the programmatic application of modern climate resilient imitative substitute building materials following a materials selection procedure prioritizing financial feasibility, quality of life, health, and safety criteria equally with preservation goals. » BOR executed a programmatic agreement with the Colorado SHPO, the ACHP, BLM, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USFS, and the USFWS in the summer of 2022 for water control features in Colorado. The agreement helps to streamline
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IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A Report on Federal Historic Properties • 2024 | 47
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