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Overview:

ACHP is an independent agency that works with federal, state, local, and tribal governments to address the requirements in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which mandates their consideration of historic preservation values when planning activities. The ACHP is also the primary policy adviser to the President and Congress on historic preservation issues and it helps carry out the interagency Preserve America Initiative that encourages increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets.

History:

In 1966 the National Historic Preservation Act established ACHP as the first federal entity created solely to focus on historic preservation issues. It was structured to include a combination of federal, state, and local government representatives, experts in the field, and citizens, so the public would be ensured to have a forum for influencing federal policy that impacts historic properties. Since then, Section 106 of the Act, and many others, have been amended, most recently in 2000, to help federal institutions meet the broad goals the original Act put forth. In 1971 Executive Order 11593 required federal agencies, before taking any grant, license or permit actions, to identify properties as historic, based on their being in, or eligible for listing in, the National Register of Historic Places, and to provide ACPH a reasonable amount of time to comment in advance on any historic property undertakings. In 2003 the White House Preserve America (WHPA) initiative added further dimension to the ACHP, including charging it with administering the WHPA program, which recognizes communities that protect and celebrate their local heritage, and overseeing the Preserve America Presidential Awards project that each year gives out four such honors, two for activities advancing heritage tourism and two for privately funded historic preservation projects or programs.

What it Does:

Among the responsibilities of the ACHP:

Advocate full consideration during federal decision-making of the preservation of historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects.
Ensure through the Section 106 review process that the public, Indian tribes, and State and local governments have a voice in federal decisions that impact historic properties.
Monitor problems Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations confront in adhering to Section 106 requirements, and help develop solutions.
Use measures, including financial and technical assistance, training, and education to foster conditions under which modern society and prehistoric and historic resources can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations.
Advise the President and Congress on historic preservation issues, and provide suggestions for improving federal policies, programs, planning, and decisions regarding historic and cultural resources.
Promote intergovernmental cooperation and partnerships for the preservation and use of historic properties, and mediate between local historic preservation interests and federal officials when the government’s activities could adversely affect historical properties.
Work in a variety of ways to advance the goals of the 2003 White House Preserve America Initiative, including helping educate citizens on the cultural and economic value of historic preservation; expanding participation in Preserve America Communities and Neighborhoods and the Preserve America Presidential Awards Program; develop corporate outreach strategies for engaging businesses; and evaluate and report on a regular basis on the impact of the initiative.

From the Web Site of the ACHP

Case Digest: Section 106 in Action (pdf)

Contact Information

Federal, State, and Tribal Historic Preservation Programs and Officers

Frequently Asked Questions

Heritage Tourism

Historic Preservation Organizations

National Historic Preservation Program

Native American Program

News Archive

Publications

Sources of Financial Assistance for Historic Preservation Projects

Where Does the Money Go:

The Historic Preservation Fund was established as part of the NHPA to help fund preservation projects. Congress has authorized up to $150 million to be earmarked for the fund, although that maximum is not met in annual budgets.

FY 2013 Budget Justification (pdf)

Controversies:

ACHP Opposes Wind Energy Project Off Cape Cod

ACHP has taken positions in opposition of government programs that have the potential of adversely affecting the environment or endangered species. In April 2010, it recommended that the Department of the Interior not approve the development of the Cape Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, nine miles from Martha’s Vineyard. Cape Wind involves the purchase and installation of 130 turbines from Siemens Energy Inc., designed to produce “clean energy” and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 700,000 tons annually. The matter was a subject of controversy for nine years, eliciting opposing views of lawmakers from both political parties, and culminating in ACHP’s opposition, claiming that the effects of Cape Wind on historic properties would be “pervasive, destructive, and, in the instance of seabed construction, permanent.” Within weeks, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the project, in spite of ACHP’s opposition, citing benefits of energy production and an estimate of 1,000 construction jobs that would be created as a result of Cape Wind’s implementation.

Former Directors:

John L. Nau, III

President Bush appointed John Nau Chairman of ACHP in 2001, and he served two four-year terms. Nau graduated from the University of Virgina with a BA in History in 1968. He began working across the Midwest in various positions at Coca-Cola distributors. After that, he moved over to the beer business, starting with a job with Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis. He went on to purchase, with three partners, an Anheuser-Busch distributorship in Florida. In 1987 they sold it, using the money to buy 49 per cent of Southwest Distributing. By 1989 they had bought all the shares, and re-named it Silver Eagle Distributors of Houston. In 1990 Nau became the President and CEO of Silver Eagle, and he has continued in those positions ever since. In 1997 Nau and his wife became sole owners. Silver Eagle is currently the largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products in the United States. In 1993 Nau was appointed to the Texas Historical Commission by Governor Ann Richards, and reappointed in 1999 by Governor George W. Bush. Since 1995 Nau has served as chairman of the commission. He is also on the board of directors of the Civil War Preservation Trust and he has been a Professor of the American Civil War at his alma mater.

Since 1993, Nau has contributed more than $300,000 to the campaigns of a wide range of Republican candidates and to the Republican Party in general. He has contributed to the presidential campaigns of Bob Dole, George W. Bush, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney.

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Content

Table of Contents
Overview
History
What it Does
Where Does the Money Go
Controversies
Suggested Reforms
Comments
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Founded: 1966

Annual Budget: $7.023 million (FY2013 Request)

Employees: 33 (FY 2013 Estimate)

Official Website: http://www.achp.gov/

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Donaldson, Milford Wayne

Chair

In June 2010, President Barack Obama appointed architect Milford Wayne Donaldson to be Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the nation’s lead agency on historic preservation. ACHP is an independent agency that works with federal, state, local, and tribal governments to address the requirements of the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which mandates consideration of historic preservation values when planning development. The ACHP is also the primary policy advisor to the President and Congress on historic preservation issues and it helps carry out the inter-agency Preserve America Initiative, which encourages increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets. Oddly, Donaldson is the first architect to serve as chair in the 45-year history of ACHP.

Born in August 1943, Donaldson earned a Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 1967, an M.S. in Architecture from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, and an M.A. in Public History and Teaching from the University of San Diego. He also engaged in undergraduate studies at Uppsala University in Sweden from 1966 to 1968.

Donaldson began his career as a working architect as an associate for the San Diego firm of Mosher Drew Watson from 1972 to 1978. He then founded his own firm, now known as Heritage Architecture & Planning, in 1978, specializing in historic renovation and preservation and adaptive reuse of existing structures, most notably in San Diego. He and his firm have preserved more than half of the 126 buildings in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter and have worked all 21 California Mission sites.

He has also taught architecture, first at his alma mater from 1969 to 1970, and later at Southwestern Community College from 1976 to 1984.

Donaldson has been affiliated with several historical and preservation organizations, including the California Historic State Capitol Commission (in 2000 as its only architect) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He is a former president of the non-profit California Preservation Foundation and chair of the California State Historical Building Safety Board. While serving with the Safety Board, Donaldson visited Mexico City after its 1985 earthquake and, noting a variety of soil conditions, formulated a plan to use in California to create seismic safety standards by zone rather than using blanket standards for all areas.

Donaldson is currently serving a second four-year term as California’s State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), an appointment initially made by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in April 2004. The SHPO serves as chief administrative officer of the Office of Historic Preservation in Sacramento and as executive secretary of the State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC), a nine-member state review board, appointed by the Governor, responsible for identifying, registering, and preserving California’s cultural heritage.

Donaldson’s commitment to historic preservation clearly runs deep. In 2005, for example, Donaldson spent thousands of dollars of his own money on the relocation and restoration of the Futuro, a flying saucer-shaped home built in the 1960s; and in 2010 the SHRC designated the Apollo 11 moon landing site a historic site.

Donaldson and his wife, Laurie, reside in Sacramento in a signature Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects 1963 mid-rise condominium. Their family includes one daughter, Erica Lynn Donaldson and two sons, Jaret Blankenship and Nevin Blankenship. Donaldson’s first wife, fellow preservationist Nancy Donaldson, died in 2001. Donaldson is a registered Republican.

Donaldson owns and restored a 1946 Stinson Voyager airplane and is past president and current secretary of the International Stinson Club.

The first ten days: emergency response and protection strategies for the preservation of historic structures (by Milford Wayne Donaldson)

ACHP Biography

To California, Moon Junk Is State Treasure (by Jesse McKinley, New York Times)

Close Encounter (by Ann Jarmusch, San Diego Union Tribune)

Architect Honored for Preservation (by Dirk Sutro, Los Angeles Times)

Nau, John

Previous Chairman

President Bush appointed John Nau Chairman of ACHP in 2001, and he served a second four-year term. Nau graduated from the University of Virgina with a B.A. in History in 1968. He began working across the Midwest in various positions at Coca-Cola distributors. After that, he moved over to the beer business, starting with a job with Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis. He went on to purchase, with three partners, an Anheuser-Busch distributorship in Florida. In 1987 they sold it, using the money to buy 49 per cent of Southwest Distributing. By 1989 they had bought all the shares, and re-named it Silver Eagle Distributors of Houston. In 1990 Nau became the President and CEO of Silver Eagle, and he has continued in those positions ever since. In 1997 Nau and his wife became sole owners. Silver Eagle is currently the largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products in the United States. In 1993 Nau was appointed to the Texas Historical Commission by Governor Ann Richards, and reappointed in 1999 by Governor George W. Bush. Since 1995 Nau has served as chairman of the commission. He is also on the board of directors of the Civil War Preservation Trust and he has been a Professor of the American Civil War at his alma mater.

Overview:

History:

What it Does:

Among the responsibilities of the ACHP:

Advocate full consideration during federal decision-making of the preservation of historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects.
Ensure through the Section 106 review process that the public, Indian tribes, and State and local governments have a voice in federal decisions that impact historic properties.
Monitor problems Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations confront in adhering to Section 106 requirements, and help develop solutions.
Use measures, including financial and technical assistance, training, and education to foster conditions under which modern society and prehistoric and historic resources can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations.
Advise the President and Congress on historic preservation issues, and provide suggestions for improving federal policies, programs, planning, and decisions regarding historic and cultural resources.
Promote intergovernmental cooperation and partnerships for the preservation and use of historic properties, and mediate between local historic preservation interests and federal officials when the government’s activities could adversely affect historical properties.
Work in a variety of ways to advance the goals of the 2003 White House Preserve America Initiative, including helping educate citizens on the cultural and economic value of historic preservation; expanding participation in Preserve America Communities and Neighborhoods and the Preserve America Presidential Awards Program; develop corporate outreach strategies for engaging businesses; and evaluate and report on a regular basis on the impact of the initiative.