National Trust for Historic Preservation: Return to home page

Federal agencies are acting quickly to implement changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that will have a significant impact on one of the most important laws protecting our nation’s historic, cultural, and natural resources.

NEPA is a critical component for historic preservation by integrating a review process for federal projects that ensures federal agencies engage in early analysis of project impacts on historic resources and ensure valuable public input prior to their decision-making.

During our webinar last month, we reviewed several of the recent developments related to NEPA along with sharing information about the open public comment period for several federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior, that ended August 4.

The National Trust submitted comments to multiple agencies sharing support for NEPA and its critical role in protecting our shared cultural heritage. We will continue to engage on this issue and share updates when they become available.

In July 2025. the National Trust’s Government Relations team shared a federal advocacy update focused on timely actions advocates can take to support historic preservation efforts and our progress to date.

This briefing provided the latest information on federal policy developments, preservation-related tax legislation, fiscal years 2025 and 2026 appropriations, and other key priorities.

The discussion focused on historic preservation’s most critical advocacy needs and provided a concise overview of the political landscape to help maximize our advocacy impact.

Responses to submitted questions will be posted here at a later date.

On May 20, 2025, Secretary of the Interior Bergum issued Secretarial Order 3431, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which implements Executive Order 14253 issued by President Trump earlier this spring.

The Secretarial Order directs federal land management agencies to review and potentially revise public-facing content across national parks, wildlife refuges, and other federally managed sites, as well as mandating the National Park Service complete infrastructure improvements at Independence National Historical Park ahead of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In addition, agencies are instructed to review any monuments or memorials that were altered or removed since 2020, with potential reinstatement if any changes are deemed inconsistent with the Administration’s preferred interpretation of history.

We will continue our assessment of this Order and share updates as soon as they are available.

On April 28, 2025, President Trump appointed Travis Voyles of Virginia to serve as Vice Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), who will serve through June 2026.

While the full-time chairman role remains vacant, Voyles will perform the responsibilities of the chair until a new appointee is confirmed by the Senate.

Voyles currently serves as Assistant Deputy Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Prior to this role, he served as Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia, where he advised Governor Glenn Youngkin and oversaw five state agencies, including the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the State Historic Preservation Office.

His professional background includes service as Oversight Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works under Senator Shelley Moore Capito, as well as previous roles at the EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations.

He also worked for the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Voyles holds a law degree from Florida State University with a certificate in environmental, energy, and land use law.

He also earned a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Georgia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Georgia.

The National Trust looks forward to engaging with Vice Chairman Voyles in his new role as the Advisory Council continues its work to advance the goals of the National Historic Preservation Act and guide federal agencies in their stewardship of historic resources.