ACHP Members Approve Program Comment on National Park Service Mission 66-Era Facilities

WASHINGTON, DC - Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) members voted on November 4 to approve the issuance of a program comment that provides the National Park Service (NPS) with an alternative to comply with its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This program comment specifically addresses the NPS' inventory of facilities built between 1945 and 1972, a period of park development known as the Mission 66-era. The Mission 66 building campaign responded to a surge in national park visitation after World War II, and the improvements standardized and democratized the public's national park experience with comfort stations, picnic shelters, campgrounds, visitor centers, park staff housing, maintenance buildings, roads, and other infrastructure.

The Program Comment on Stewardship and Management of Mission-66 Era Facilities (1945-1972) will facilitate continued use and preservation of Mission 66-era historic properties by providing parks with an optional tool that will reduce or eliminate external reviews for certain straightforward Mission 66-era focused undertakings. It also will allow superintendents to consider Mission 66-era facilities as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in certain circumstances, thereby addressing NPS's identification backlog. Recent laws provided NPS with funding and charged them with improving the visitor experience and addressing accessibility requirements. The Program Comment will help NPS meet these mandates using these facilities and reinvesting in the historic properties from this era.

"We hope through this Program Comment, the Mission 66-era historic buildings will continue to serve their intended purpose or find new uses, so that the public and National Park Service staff can enjoy them for years to come," ACHP Executive Director Reid Nelson said. "This Program Comment should help NPS achieve a broader perspective in planning for similar historic properties it manages nationwide, and considering their national context."

The program comment is the result of an extensive consultation process that included more than a year of early coordination and formal consultation by NPS with key stakeholders, including government-to-government consultation with Indian Tribes, followed by the ACHP's consultation with these same stakeholders.

A program comment is one among a number of administrative tools the ACHP can use to provide greater flexibility and tailored approaches for federal agencies as they work to ensure historic preservation interests are balanced with development needs.