From supporting critical competitive grant programs to funding State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) has long been a cornerstone of preservation efforts—yet today, it faces its greatest threat.

For those who work in preservation, the grants provided by the HPF are one of the best ways to fund preservation at the state and local level, and so much of the process of preservation depends on the people at State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) and the Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs). These inividuals are critical to the process of preservation but also are fierce advocates for the preservation of historic places in their own states and communities.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. To encourage you to advocate for Historic Preservation Offices and the broader mission of the Historic Preservation Fund we asked a group of staff at SHPOs and THPOs about why their work matters.

Speak Up for Federal Historic Preservation Investment. The annual President’s Budget Request for the Historic Preservation Fund for FY 2026 would slash the HPF almost entirely—a devastating blow to the people and programs that safeguard our shared heritage. Take action today.

Why is the work you do in the State or Tribal Historic Preservation Office so important to you?

Kathryn Leonard at the Arizona SHPO

Those of us who work in the field of historic preservation and heritage conservation management are united in the belief that it is not only important, but imperative, that our built environment, landscape, and the stories and cultural beliefs and practices they embody be preserved for future generations. However, what I think attracts folk like myself to work at State Historic Preservation Offices is the Office's ability to drive preservation solutions within even the most challenging economic, social and political contexts.

Sitting in state government, SHPOs are uniquely positioned to serve as a voice for the state's priorities in the federal preservation program and our role as administrators of key programs such as the certified local government program and the National Register allows us to ensure that the voices of our communities are represented at all levels of planning. The work of governance is challenging- involving the need to balance many competing priorities.

It is enormously gratifying to be able to drive preservation outcomes that show industry, tribal, state and local elected officials, as well as the public that historic preservation is not an "all or nothing" prospect, that the contemporary needs of our state and our communities can be served, and sometimes enhanced, through the respectful incorporation of our heritage resources into thoughtful infrastructure development.

Kathryn Leonard has served as Arizona’s State Historic Preservation Officer since 2016. Leonard is a professional archaeologist and historian with over twenty years of experience managing heritage resources in both the public and private sectors

Michon Eben at Reno-Sparks Indian Colony THPO

It is not only to protect, manage and preserve our indigenous culture through the review, documentation and monitoring of projects that may adversely impact cultural resources, but it is to educate the mainstream public on how federal, state and local laws pertain to cultural resource management. It is also important to provide an understanding that these laws and policies don’t always align with the values, beliefs and traditions of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. As an advocate for our ancestral past lifeways, it is a important to promote tribal traditional laws and demand free, prior and informed consent while conducting government to government consultation.

Michon R. Eben is an enrolled Paiute/Shoshone member of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony (RSIC) of Reno, Nevada. Eben is Paiute from her fathers’s tribe, Pyramid Lake, Nevada and Shoshone from her mother’s ancestral homelands, Tümpisa of Death Valley, CA. Currently, Eben is employed with the RSIC as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO)/Cultural Resource Manager.

Billie Burtrum from Quapaw Nation THPO

For too long, tribal history has been reduced to the narratives of only a few tribes or misrepresented through romanticized fiction. Through this work, we as tribal members and representatives have the opportunity to educate others, build relationships that protect sacred sites, and challenge outdated perceptions of Native peoples as nonexistent, uneducated, or uncivilized.

Despite progress, a profound divide remains when it comes to honoring tribal history, sacred places, and ancestral remains. My hope is to play a small part in changing this by advocating for respectful, informed preservation practices that acknowledge and include Indigenous perspectives.

Billie Burtrum, is a Quapaw tribal member, a mother, and the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for Quapaw Nation. She has a dedicated background in community empowerment and cultural preservation. In her current role as THPO, she is committed to compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and working to safeguard the heritage of the Quapaw Nation for future generations.

Dawn DiPrince at the Colorado SHPO

The State Historic Preservation Office in Colorado is the essential link in our state in a collaboration among the federal government, Tribes, and local communities to preserve the places that are important to the American people, as well as Coloradans. The heart of this collaborative preservation is the recognition that those who are closest to historic sites, histories, and cultural resources have the most knowledge and should be consulted when making decisions.

Colorado is a state that is predicated on local control, and we think that our SHPO empowers the ideals and intention of this within a preservation context. While we do not want decisions made in DC about our beloved and significant historic places, we appreciate that the democratizing power of the Historic Preservation Fund enables the crucial participation of Tribes, local governments and other culture and knowledge bearers .

Dawn DiPrince currently serves as the President/CEO of History Colorado and as Colorado’s State Historic Preservation Officer. Since 2012, DiPrince has led innovative community-centered efforts that focus on ensuring the inclusion of all Coloradans.

What is the biggest impact that SHPOs and THPOs make on preserving history and culture in the United States?

Lynda Ozan at the Oklahoma SHPO

Preservation does not happen by accident in Oklahoma. It happens because people throughout time have fought to create laws - federal, state, local – to protect our history, to protect our communities and to protect our historic properties. The Oklahoma SHPO plays a small but vital role in supporting everything from Main Street revitalization and building rehabilitations to environmental reviews and disaster recovery. We strive to collaborate with and empower communities to celebrate, preserve and commemorate our historic resources through stewardship and public education with a focus on progress and economic stability within the state of Oklahoma.

Lynda Ozan currently serves as the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer and architectural historian at the Oklahoma Historical Society. In Oklahoma SHPO staff has been reduced from 11 to 4 staff positions.

Allyson Brooks at the Washington SHPO

A state historic preservation office is on the front lines of historic preservation. Our work ranges from coordinating with Native American tribes on saving sacred places, maintaining the neighborhoods of diverse and marginalized communities to protect cultural heritage, giving new life to historic buildings through economic development and promoting state historic preservation policies with our legislature, Governor's office and Congressional delegation. Every day is different and unique.

The biggest impact that our offices make comes from the old line "we preserve the past for the future". Community character is not only essential for maintaining our tangible historic resources but also for mental health. A historic district, for example, that represents an Asian, Jewish, Black, or Latine neighborhood gives people a sense of belonging and place.

Our Maritime Washington National Heritage Area educates our citizens on the maritime history of Washington State from canoe cultures, to boat building to exploration and our current marine highway. We are the ones tasked to work directly with the public on the preservation of our nation's history at the state and local level. Seeing how people respond to our historic preservation initiatives at the local and tribal level is an incredibly rewarding experience for ourselves and our partners.

Allyson Brooks is the State Historic Preservation Officer for Washington where she has spent over two decades advising governors, legislators and the Congressional delegation on shaping policies that preserve our cultural heritage.

Sean Scruggs at Fort Independence Indian Reservation THPO

As the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Fort Independence Indian Reservation, I have learned that our traditional cultural story has been told by ethnographers, archaeologist and others who have appropriated our history without consent.

My culture and belief system are “place based” beginning with a Creation Story and is in direct conflict with major world religions. By working to preserve the Traditional Cultural Landscape I have taken the opportunity to educate people on my beliefs and advocate for tribes to gain Cultural Sovereignty.

Preservation work brings our culture to life for those I work with by adding context that is missing from the standardized education system and reinforces the message of “Strength and Resiliency” to those in our tribal communities work to understand the past and move into the future with confidence and pride.

Cultural restoration through repatriation and protection by nominating places to the National Register serves not only to protect important cultural sites by also tells the stories of genocide, colonization, assimilation and industrialization from the tribal perspective. Cultural gaps will continue to prevail as long as non-tribal people try to tell our story. Cultural appropriation ends when tribes take an active stance to tell their stories.

Sean Scruggs now serves as cultural advisor and NAGPRA coordinator/specialist for the Fort Independence Indian Reservation, having previously served as THPO for 7 years. A 20-year veteran of the United States Air Force, Sean has also represented his Tribe with the Nellis Air Force Base Consolidated Groups and Tribes Organization for 10 years.

Jennifer Flood at the Georgia SHPO

There are very few areas where the SHPO does not make an impact on preserving our shared culture and history. Historic places tell our stories, and by working to document, preserve, educate, and represent them, we’re helping to ensure those stories are shared in the present and available to share in the future. We are the catalyst – we empower individuals, organizations, communities, and agencies – teaching them the tools to save their history how they want and need to and preserving the stories they contain.

They then take that message and teach others or bring it to their community to do preservation work and speak up for what is important to them. They learn that the nondescript building they walk past each day without a second thought is where the first country music recording in the United States was done or the place where a new technology or fire prevention technique was first employed. By helping to preserve these spaces, we help to preserve the legacy of the events and people who have shaped our collective daily lives – for years to come.