Advocacy Alert: Urge Congress to Sign-on to Bipartisan Letter Opposing Harmful Section 106 Proposal

Write a letter to your Representative and Senators urging them to sign-on to the bipartisan letter led by Reps. Davids and Fitzpatrick opposing the ACHP's harmful proposal to rewrite Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. A sample letter has been provided to get you started. Select "Public Lands and Natural Resources" or "Environment" as your letter topic.

Be sure to make the letter your own. Let them know who you are and how the ACHP's proposal would have a devastating impact on historic resources in your community. Provide examples of how the Section 106 process has worked well in your state and the kind of places that could be lost if these changes are enacted.

If you have a personal contact in your Representative or Senator's Washington D.C. or District/State office, contact that person directly. If you need help finding a direct contact in your member's office, reach out to Rob Naylor at rnaylor@preservationaction.org.

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Write to

U.S. Senator Tim Scott
Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

U.S. Senator Darline Graham
Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

U.S. Representative Ralph Norman
Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

Your Letter

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to join the bipartisan letter led by Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) in the House and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in the Senate opposing the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's (ACHP) proposed rewrite of the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). I hope you will add your name to this important, bipartisan effort.

Since its enactment in 1966, Section 106 has provided a commonsense, collaborative framework for federal agencies to weigh the impact of infrastructure and development projects on historic properties. It does not stop projects or hand any single party a veto -- it simply ensures that State Historic Preservation Offices, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, local governments, and the public have a seat at the table before decisions are finalized. This process has a proven, six-decade track record of helping communities like ours protect the places that matter most to them while allowing important projects to move forward.

The ACHP's proposal undermines that record of success. The proposal would effectively cut state, Tribal, local communities, and the public out of the process and replace it with more federal control, severely limit the consideration of a federal undertakings impact on historic resources, and even redefine what is considered historic. Compounding these concerns, the ACHP advanced this sweeping rewrite on an accelerated timeline, giving its own members only one week to review the proposal and bypassing required Tribal consultation.

These changes would not make federal permitting faster or more predictable. Instead, by sidelining the state, Tribal, and local partners who help resolve concerns early, this proposal is far more likely to lead to more confusion, delays, litigation and fewer projects being completed.

Under the proposal Federal agencies would be free to decide for themselves whether a project harms a historic property, with no requirement to even ask the public first. A mountain, valley, or sacred Tribal landscape could be ruled ineligible for protection. Noise, traffic, and visual impacts on a historic district's character would no longer count as harm at all. And once an agency identified harm, it would face no obligation to avoid or lessen it.

Section 106 has never been about stopping projects. It is about ensuring that federal agencies have the benefit of local knowledge and expert review before decisions affecting irreplaceable historic and cultural resources become final.

Members of both parties have long supported historic preservation as a shared, nonpartisan value that strengthens local economies, protects the places that help tell our country's story, and preserves the character of the communities we call home. As we commemorate America's 250th anniversary, that commitment matters more than ever.

I urge you to help protect that legacy by joining the bipartisan and bicameral letter led by Representatives Davids and Fitzpatrick in the House and Senator Heinrich in the Senate calling on the ACHP to reconsider this proposal and to work with Congress on thoughtful, lasting reforms to the Section 106 process.

Your office can sign-on to the letter at the link below.

https://quill.senate.gov/letters/letter/39359/opt-in/view/4c9e3159-23cf-4175-8e98-f6aa3228e023/

Please reach out to Eric Dunay in Rep. Davids’ office (Eric.Dunay@mail.house.gov) or Maya Herrmann in Sen. Heinrich's office (Maya_Hermann@energy.senate.gov) for more information.

Thank you for your consideration.

Advocacy Alert: Urge Congress to Sign-on to Bipartisan Letter Opposing Harmful Section 106 Proposal

Write to

U.S. Senator Tim Scott Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

U.S. Senator Darline Graham Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

U.S. Representative Ralph Norman Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

Your Letter

U.S. Senator Tim Scott
Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

U.S. Senator Darline Graham
Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.

U.S. Representative Ralph Norman
Some elected officials require that you give them additional information in order to send them a letter. Fill out that information below to send your letter.