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FWS CULTURAL RESOURCES AUTHORITIES
An array of Federal laws exist to preserve and protect the Nation's cultural heritage.
Below you will find links to the full text of the major Federal
laws, regulations, standards and guidelines, and executive orders
related to cultural resources management. The complete Federal
Historic Preservation Laws book is available through
the National Park Service. Federal
Historic Preservation Case Law, 1966-2000, is available through
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
LAWS
Antiquities Act of 1906 as amended
(PL 59-209; 34 Stat. 225; 16 USC 431-433) is the earliest and most
basic legislation for protecting cultural resources on Federal lands.
It provides misdemeanor-level criminal penalties to control unauthorized
uses. Appropriate scientific uses may be authorized through permits,
and materials removed under a permit must be permanently preserved
in a public museum. The 1906 Act is broader in scope than the 1979
Archaeological Resources Protection Act, which partially supersedes
it. Uniform regulations at 43 CFR Part 3 implement the Act.
American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 as amended
(PL 95-431; 92 Stat. 469; 42 USC 1996) resolves that it shall be
the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for the
American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiian the inherent
right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise their traditional
religions, including access to religious sites, use and possession
of sacred objects, and freedom to worship through ceremonial and
traditional rites. Federal agencies are directed to evaluate their
policies and procedures to determine if changes are needed to protect
such rights and freedoms from agency practices. The act is a specific
expression of First Amendment guarantees of religious freedom. It
is not implemented by regulations.
Archeological
and Historic Preservation Act of 1974 amended the Reservoir
Salvage Act of 1960 (PL 86-523; 74 Stat. 220, 221; 16 USC 469; PL
93-291; 88 Stat. 174; 16 USC 469) provides for the preservation
of historical and archaeological data that might otherwise be lost
as the result of Federal construction projects or Federally-licensed
or assisted programs. The act provides that up to one percent of
congressionally authorized funds for a project may be spent from
appropriated project funds to recover, preserve, and protect archaeological
and historical data.
Archaeological Resources Protection Act of
1979 as amended (PL 96-95; 93 Stat. 721; 16 USC 47Oaa et
seq.) has felony-level penalties for excavating, removing, damaging,
altering, or defacing any archaeological resource more than 100
years of age, on public or Indian lands, unless authorized by a
permit. It prohibits the sale, purchase, exchange, transportation,
receipt, or offering of any archaeological resource obtained in
violation of any regulation or permit under the act or under any
Federal, State, or local law. The Act's definitions, permit requirements,
and criminal and civil penalties augment the Antiquities Act, which
it partially supersedes. It is implemented by uniform regulations
and Interior-specific regulations, both at 43 CFR Part 7.
Historic Sites Act of 1935 as amended
(PL 74-292; 49 Stat. 666; 16 USC 461) declares national policy to
identify and preserve nationally significant "historic sites, buildings,
objects and antiquities." It authorizes the National Historic Landmarks
program and provides the foundation for the National Register of
Historic Places authorized in the National Historic Preservation
Act of 1966. Regulations implementing the National Historic Landmarks
Program are at 36 CFR Part 65.
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
as amended (42 USC 4321, and 4331 - 4335) states it is the Federal
government's continuing responsibility to use all practicable means
to preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of
our national heritage. It also instructs Federal agencies to prepare
environmental impact statements for each major Federal action having
an effect on the environment.
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
as amended (PL 89-665; 80 Stat. 915; 16 USC 470), creates the
National Register of Historic Places and extends protection to historic
places of State and local as well as national significance. It establishes
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, State Historic Preservation
Officers, Tribal Preservation Officers, and a preservation grants-in-aid
program. Section 106 directs Federal agencies to take into account
effects of their actions ("undertakings") on properties in or eligible
for the National Register, and Section 110(a) sets inventory, nomination,
protection, and preservation responsibilities for Federally-owned
cultural properties. Section 110(c) requires each Federal agency
to designate a Preservation Officer to coordinate activities under
the act. Section 106 of the act is implemented by regulations of
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 36
CFR Part 800. The Department of the Interior criteria and
procedures for evaluating a property's eligibility for inclusion
in the National Register are at 36 CFR Part 60.
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act of 1990, as amended (PL 101-601; 104 Stat. 3048; 25 USC
3001 et esq.) establishes rights of Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations to claim ownership of certain cultural items,including
human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of
cultural patrimony, held or controlled by Federal agencies and museums
that receive Federal funds. It requires agencies and museums to
identify holdings of such remains and objects, and to work with
appropriate Native Americans toward their repatriation. Permits
for the excavation and/or removal of cultural items protected by
the act require Native American consultation, as do discoveries
of cultural items made during Federal land use activities. The Secretary
of the Interior's implementing regulations are at 43
CFR Part 10.
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement
Act of 1997 outlines gerneral management goals for the Refuge
system including protection and interpretation of cultural resources.
Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960, as
amended (16 USC 469-469c) extended the Historic Sites Act of 1935.
It gave the Department of the Interior, through the National Park
Service, major responsibility for preservation of archaeological
data that might be lost specifically through dam construction.
1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting
and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership
of Cultural Property (19 USC 2601).
REGULATIONS
Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered
Archeological Collections (36 CFR Part 79)
Determinations of Eligibility for Inclusion in the National Register (36 CFR Part 63)
National Historic Landmarks Program (36 CFR Part 65)
National Register of Historic Places (36 CFR Part 60)
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act: Final Rule (43 CFR Part 10)
Preservation of American Antiquities (43 CFR Part 3)
Procedures for State, Tribal, and Local Government Historic Preservation Programs (36 CFR Part 61)
Protection of Archeological Resources (43 CFR Part 7)
Protection of Historic Properties (36 CFR
Part 800)
Disposition of Federal Records (36 CFR Part 1228)
National Wildlife Refuge System-Prohibited Acts (50
CFR Part 27)
STANDARDS
Guidelines for Federal Agency Responsibilities,
Under Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards
and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation [As
amended and annotated by the National Park Service]
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for Architectural and Engineering Documentation The Secretary of
the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards (48 FR
22716, Sept. 1983)
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for Rehabilitation (36 CFR 67)
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for the Treatment of Historic Properties (36 CFR 68)
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving,
Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings
EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments
(2000), Executive Order 13175
Preserve America (2003), Executive Order 13287, directs Federal
agencies to improve their management of historic properties and
to foster heritage tourism in partnership with local communities.
Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment (1971),
Executive Order No. 11593, directs Federal agencies to inventory
cultural properties under their jurisdiction, to nominate to the
National Register all Federally-owned properties that meet the criteria,
to use due caution until the inventory and nomination processes
are completed, and also to assure that Federal plans and programs
contribute to preservation and enhancement of non-Federal properties.
Some of the provisions of the Executive Order were turned into Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
Indian Sacred Sites (1996), charges Federal agencies to accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious practitioners and to avoid adversely affecting the physical integrity of such sites.
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