of cultural resources data and recommended that federal agencies seek ways to enable cultural resources GIS data exchanges with these partners. As historic properties data is increasingly managed in electronic format, it can move much more efficiently between agencies and State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) to enable decision making about historic properties stewardship and project planning decisions on or affecting federal properties. A key consideration for this efficiency, however, is securing the data and restricting access where appropriate, as may be the case to protect archaeological sites or to ensure the confidentiality of information about properties of religious and cultural significance to Indian tribes or NHOs. Data sharing arrangements with SHPOs are a component of many agency and facility historic preservation programs. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) successful Cultural Resources Data Partnership (CRDP) with 11 western SHPOs continues to operate, helping ensure SHPOs and BLM have consistent information about properties identified on BLM land, and that such information can also inform project planning led by other entities. In July 2018, BLM released a policy defining a National Cultural Resource Management Data Standard, establishing consistent fields for historic properties inventories on BLM-administered lands. The standard developed out of the CRDP and is implemented through the National Cultural Resource Information Management System (NCRIMS), a geospatial database and online web application maintained by the BLM National Operations Center. NCRIMS is helping BLM save on costs in the project review process and create “measurable efficiencies” in its project reviews and land use planning activities. BLM reports, “Cultural resource data are more broadly available, aiding large- scale analyses, enabling predictive modeling, enhancing the BLM’s response to wildfire and other emergency situations, improving the accuracy of project budgets, and enabling national level access to key program reporting metrics.” Data sharing through online platforms and GIS layers raises other questions about information security and access control, however. Not all cultural resources data is suitable
IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A REPORT ON FEDERAL HISTORIC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2021 | 17
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