National Trust for Historic Preservation: Return to home page

On August 4, the National Trust submitted formal comments to the Department of the Interior on its proposed revisions to the implementing regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The letter underscored the essential role NEPA plays in safeguarding historic places by requiring federal agencies to evaluate the impacts of their actions and engage the public in decision-making.

We outline our three major concerns: Ensuring Adequate Analysis of Cumulative Impacts to Historic and Cultural Resources, Diminished Community-Driven Engagement, and compressed timelines without safeguards.

NEPA and Section 106 reviews can and should complement each other, and their effectiveness depends on coordinated implementation rather than competing processes.

When these reviews are aligned from the outset, agencies can avoid redundant efforts, reduce delays, and make more informed decisions.

Coordinated implementation allows for a fuller understanding of how proposed federal actions may impact historic properties. These processes in tandem would help to ensure that strategies are developed with meaningful input from State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, local communities, and other stakeholders.

The letter, which you can read in its entirety here, contains our 4 recommendations as well:

• Retain meaningful analysis of cumulative and indirect impacts on historic resources, in order to ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act;
• Preserve robust opportunities for early and effective public participation;
• Ensure strong coordination between NEPA and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act;
• Provide adequate time and resources for agencies to conduct thorough environmental and cultural resource reviews.

The National Trust also submitted letters to the Department of Transportation and the Army Corps of Engineers.

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.