Agency staffing to protect historic properties: Most agencies report that the number of their employees tasked with maintaining their preservation programs (to include Section 106 compliance) have stayed generally consistent, varying by agency size and mission. Several agencies, however, reported unfilled vacancies in their CRM departments that may or may not be filled due to personnel or budget limitations. Highlights: ›› As the largest federal land-managing agency (approximately 245 million acres) reporting, BLM has 212 archaeology positions (“an average ratio of 1.5 million acres of public land per cultural specialist”). ›› Reclamation has 43 full-time employees for its 7.1 million acres of owned land and easements. ›› FWS has 18 full-time positions for about 145 million acres. ›› GSA has 27 full-time employees and eight additional qualified personnel. ›› NASA reports having prioritized the need for cultural resources training as a Procedural Requirements dictate resulting in individual Space Center CRMs either meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards or receiving baseline CRM training within six months of their assignment with requirements for additional training courses every year. ›› USACE’s Southwestern Division has acquired a Regional Planning and Environmental Center which provides centralized cultural resources services to four Districts. Access to preservation training and expertise: Two major changes in access to expertise since the last Section 3 report have been an increase in the number and variety of webinars and on-demand training courses offered by and to federal agencies, and an increasing use of in-house teaching expertise. Several agencies reported benefits from these opportunities. Reduced travel budgets and the growing sophistication of the online experience are primary reasons for the first trend, while the steady growth in agency CRM expertise accounts for the second. Many federal agencies also host annual or regional meetings of their CRM staff, either stand alone or in conjunction with the larger professional organizations (the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology has in the past hosted many multi-day federal agency archaeology personnel meetings) but this has been in a slow decline due, again, to tight travel budgets. Highlights: ›› By mid-2018 NASA expects to have both general and advanced online training modules covering Section 106 review, tribal consultation, treatment of historic properties, writing Section 106 agreement documents, and working with historic districts. ›› During 2017, NPS partnered with the ACHP to provide Section 106 training for new superintendents and facility managers at 11 locations around the U.S. ›› VA partnered with the ACHP and SHPOs of Alabama, Ohio, and Nevada to host historic preservation training for its facility and planning staff and its Veterans Integrated Service Network staff. In addition, approximately a dozen VA staff from across the country report having taken individual preservation training during the reporting period. ›› USCG partnered with the ACHP to present three tailored Section 106 training courses to USCG personnel across country in 2016.
IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A REPORT ON FEDERAL HISTORIC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2018 | 27
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