for online mapping, such as properties of significance to Indian tribes or information that could expose sensitive archaeological sites to harm. Digital tools that enable access to sensitive or protected information for authorized users must include appropriate security measures and access controls. As the ACHP noted in its 2020 Digital Information Task Force Recommendations and Action Plan, participants in the federal preservation program lack best practices for managing digital cultural resources data. Further work is needed to ensure long-term data security. HIGHLIGHTS ›› The first phase of the USFS Heritage Export Tool (HET) started as a partnership with the Washington
SHPO and allows National Forests in Washington to share geospatial and tabular data with the SHPO. The tool makes USFS data readable through common database and GIS applications. Region 6 archaeologists and historians are now working on a companion tool to enable the upload of USFS data to the Washington SHPO’s database. USFS is also exploring a way to import data obtained from consulting parties to the Forest Service’s Heritage Web/Mobile database. In 2020, the USFS began the second phase of work on the HET to expand it into an agency-wide tool for data sharing from the Heritage database. ›› The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Albuquerque District maintains internal cultural resources GIS databases and a data sharing agreement with the New Mexico SHPO. The District uses customized data requests for geospatial information from the New Mexico Cultural Resources Information System to examine potential impacts to sites resulting from lake level fluctuations or drawdowns. ›› The USACE St. Paul District gathers field survey information online that directly populates the District’s cultural resources GIS database. Digital tools are enabling other efficiencies in historic property management. Online tools offer new opportunities to link relevant data across multiple databases and to more fully integrate awareness of historic properties into agency planning and management procedures. GIS layers serve as a planning tool for federal agencies and others who plan projects that may affect or involve federal historic properties. Where accurate and up-to-date information is mapped, project planners can anticipate and adjust project plans to avoid or minimize adverse effects. In the case of the General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) online GIS-based inventory tool, the planned addition of historic district designation status could assist potential tenants or lessees exploring locational options by ensuring they are aware of the historic status of a building. For energy companies and utilities seeking right-of-way across federal lands, the availability of historic properties information in GIS format facilitates informed early planning that can help avoid adverse effects to historic properties. Digital tools can also support pro-active coordination between federal agencies and Indian tribes. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Tribal Directory Assistance Tool (TDAT), for example, could, if regularly updated, provide
Water screening techniques for archaeology data recovery, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park,VA (NPS)
18 | IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A REPORT ON FEDERAL HISTORIC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2021
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