Draft Agency Request for a Program Comment for NPS Mission 66-Era Facilities
The National Park Service (NPS) Cultural Resources Stewardship, Partnerships, and Science (CRPS) Directorate is developing an agency request to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) for a Program Comment on Stewardship and Management of National Park Service Mission 66-Era Facilities (1945-1972), to address compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. § 306108) for certain undertakings (Program Comment). The purpose of the Program Comment is to facilitate the reuse and preservation of historic facilities from the Mission 66-era by allowing park superintendents to determine them as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and by expediting undertaking reviews.
The Program Comment would support NPS efforts to use Mission 66-era historic properties to meet mission needs, fulfill legislated mandates to improve the visitor experience and accessibility, address longstanding deferred maintenance, and advance ongoing stewardship efforts. In 2015, NPS completed a NRHP Multiple Property Documentation Form (NRIS #64501248) (MPDF) to provide a framework for park identification of Mission 66-era historic properties. In 2007, a monograph was published on this era, Mission 66: Modernism and the National Park Dilemma, by Ethan Carr. In 2000, NPS also published an online book, MISSION 66 VISITOR CENTERS: The History of a Building Type, by Sarah Allaback, Ph.D., which provides additional context.
The regulations set forth at 36 CFR Part 800, “Protection of Historic Properties,” were issued by the ACHP in 2004 and set forth the standard review process federal agencies use to comply with Section 106. They also allow the Section 106 review process to be tailored for a group of undertakings or an entire program that may affect historic properties. Program comments (36 CFR § 800.14(e)) are intended to give the ACHP flexibility to issue comments on a federal program or class of undertakings in lieu of commenting on such undertakings on a case-by-case basis, and to allow a federal agency to comply with Section 106 in a consistent way for a class of undertakings rather than addressing each undertaking individually.
To inform development of the request, the NPS will be hosting additional virtual consultation meetings, and accepting oral and written comments again soon. All comments received during consultation will inform the nature and scope of the NPS agency request to the ACHP, which the NPS plans to submit later this year. It must specify: the types of undertakings to be covered; the likely effects on historic properties and the steps the agency official will take to ensure that the effects are taken into account; the time period for which the Program Comment is requested; and a summary of comments received, including copies of any written comments provided by affected Indian or Alaska Native Tribes or Native Hawaiians. The NPS anticipates that upon receipt of the agency request, ACHP will conduct its own consultation and then proceed with formal consideration by their membership of a final Program Comment.
Visit the National Park Service's Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) site to learn more about the Program Comment concept. You may also e-mail us with questions about the consultation process.
PEPC Project Page
Last updated: April 23, 2024