Keep the Promise

August 26

As you know, spring and summer’s manic activity culminated in the House passage of the CLEAR Act, which includes full funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. August in DC seems eerily quiet as lawmakers abandon the heat of the Capital City.  But this can only mean one thing: If they aren’t here, they must be home…providing you a great opportunity to get the attention of your Senators in your State before the Congress reconvenes in mid-September.

Thanks to your efforts, we had terrific success with getting full funding for the HPF through the House of Representatives, but now we need to press hard on the Senate to follow suit.  We’re closer now than we’ve ever been…don’t stop now!

Action:

• Call:  Contact your Senators’ state office(s) and ask that the Senator request Senator Harry Reid include full and guaranteed funding for the Historic Preservation Fund in S.3663, the Senate Energy Bill, when the bill comes to the floor this fall. As always, you can use the talking points located on the FullyFund website: http://www.fullyfundhpf.org/home/fact_sheets_and_information

• Vote: America’s Great Outdoors is still collecting ideas and votes on the issues that will be fundamental to the shape of the initiative, but it’s important to keep the voting up.  The website is here: http://ideas.usda.gov/ago/ideas.nsf.  Once you’ve logged on, click on “historic preservation” under the “top idea tags” on the right of the screen, and vote on the ideas that support historic preservation.

August 1

It’s been a frantic several weeks, but what great news! On Friday evening, July 30, the House of Representatives passed H.R.3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act (CLEAR act) which contains full and permanent funding for the Historic Preservation Fund! It also contains full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

When it was questionable whether or not the HPF would make it into the final bill, the co-chair of the House Historic Preservation Caucus, Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO) showed House leadership the list of 165 Historic Preservation Caucus members and the list of 101 members that signed our FY11 appropriations request letter to prove there was support. In addition to all your calls and emails, these were key tools in the success of including the HPF.  None of this would have been possible were it not for all of your outstanding efforts during advocacy day and your relationship building throughout the year(s)!

Take a moment to celebrate your success…but don’t stop your advocacy efforts while you do!  We need you to engage in the next big push: convincing the Senate to include the HPF!

ACTION:

 Thank your Representatives.  To see whether your Congress(wo)man voted in support of the CLEAR Act, you can find the results of the roll call vote here:http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll513.xml.  Let them know how their support of the Historic Preservation Fund will help your community and your organization. 

 Work the Senate: The Senate is in session for one more week,  during which time, they may vote on their version of an energy bill that unfortunately does not include full funding for the HPF (but does include the LWCF).  Please contact your Senators and let them know how the HPF benefits their State and ask that the HPF be included in the Senate energy bill.  As always, providing case studies and examples of how this will benefit your community can help make the case more compelling.

Your advocacy efforts helped make this possible!

July 20

AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS LISTENING SESSION DATES tentatively scheduled:

New dates are announced regularly. Keep checking back for the latest updates.

Godfrey, IL - August 20
Denver, CO - August 26

CHANGE THE CONVERSATION in 10 seconds or less:

The America's Great Outdoors website has refreshed to allow for ideas relating to four new questions. Post your ideas about the importance of including full funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, and vote for other related posts.

• Go to http://ideas.usda.gov/ago/ideas.nsf/

• Register in the top right corner or sign in.

• Search for “Historic Preservation Fund” It may also be found towards the bottom of the right hand column under “What’s Hot”

• Click “Promote” next to Historic Preservation Fund ideas.

July 9

Sometimes Congress is like Baseball: there may be long periods of inactivity, but when things happen they happen fast. Now is a moment when things are happening at a dizzying rate. This is an extraordinary time for the HPF and there has never been a moment when mobilization was more important.

House Natural Resources committee Chairman, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), recently released a new discussion draft version of H.R.3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resources Act (CLEAR Act) which among other things, includes full and permanent funding for the Historic Preservation Fund ($150 million guaranteed annually until 2040). The legislation would also provide $900 million in full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Keeping the HPF provision in the bill is far from certain and we must aggressively continue our advocacy efforts.

ACTION:
We encourage you send testimony in support of the HPF amendment in the CLEAR Act. This could make a significant difference in the trajectory of the bill as it travels through Congress in the next days and weeks.

Who: Anyone can submit testimony. You have the option of
specifically simply stating your support of the Coalition and of fully funding the Historic Preservation Fund (which does not count as lobbying) or requesting funding (which counts as lobbying). As a reminder, 501 c 3s can lobby. For more information, you can follow this link: Can 501 (c) 3's lobby? YES!

What: We have created a draft template for Congressional
Testimony and posted it on the Coalition website here:
http://www.fullyfundhpf.org/home/legislation.

When: Testimony must be submitted before close of business on Tuesday, July 13th.

Where: Testimony should be submitted to House Natural
Resources Committee staff at: nancy.locke@mail.house.gov. You should also copy your own Congressional delegation. You can find links to your delegation here:http://www.fullyfundhpf.org/home/take_action.

To help us coordinate our advocacy efforts and legislative follow up, please also send a copy to NCSHPO Government Relations Director, Elizabeth Hebron at hebron@sso.org.

How: Testimony should be submitted electronically as a
Microsoft Word document.

July 7

AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS LISTENING SESSION DATES tentatively scheduled:

New dates are announced regularly. Keep checking back for the latest updates.

Grand Junction, CO - July 16 (confirmed)
Denver, CO - July 16 (confirmed)
Albuquerque, NM - July 17 (confirmed)
Minneapolis, MN - July 22
Philadelphia, PA - July 27 (confirmed)
Hudson River Valley, NY - July 29
TBD, ME - August 4
Salt Lake City, UT - August 6
Anchorage, AK - August 12
Denver, CO - August 26

CHANGE THE CONVERSATION in 10 seconds or less:

The America's Great Outdoors website has refreshed to allow for ideas relating to four new questions. Post your ideas about the importance of including full funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, and vote for other related posts.

• Go to http://ideas.usda.gov/ago/ideas.nsf/

• Register in the top right corner or sign in.

• Search for “Historic Preservation Fund” It may also be found towards the bottom of the right hand column under “What’s Hot”

• Click “Promote” next to Historic Preservation Fund ideas.

June 1

Our ranks have now swelled to more than 210 members!  Keep spreading the word to friends, neighbors and partners – the more members, the more effective we will be.   Here’s the latest from D.C.:

On April 16, the President announced the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative, a multi-state agency effort to enhance conservation. Early indications show the initiative to be heavily influenced by our conservation friends, with much support for fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We’ve been working hard to put the HPF on the same footing as the LWCF in Congress and as part of the AGO Initiative, and while we haven’t gotten any firm commitment, our campaign has been persistent and people in charge certainly know what we want.  More information on the initiative is found here: http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/

ACTION:

• CHANGE THE CONVERSATION in 10 seconds or less:  The Department of the Interior is hosting an online forum to contribute ideas and priorities for what should be included in the American’s Great Outdoors initiative. Full funding for the HPF has been submitted, but we need you to vote for it, and to contribute other ideas that include the HPF and cultural resources.  The website requires registration, however it is free and simple.  Once you register, you can do a search for “Historic Preservation” and click “Promote” next to the Fully Fund HPF idea.   http://ideas.usda.gov/ago/ideas.nsf/

April 20

On April 16 we passed an important milestone: In just under six months, 200 organizations and Indian tribes from 47 states (plus the District of Columbia) have joined the Coalition for Full Funding! With what is becoming a pretty serious number of supporters, our message is beginning to make some headway in the halls of Congress.  More on that in a minute, but first, we thought it would be a good idea to check in and get some information to find out a little bit more about who you are. 

Please take a moment to go to our very brief (just nine questions) surveymonkey survey.  It should take you only about 5 minutes to complete.  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2RXCFJY

And now an update:

On Friday, the White House hosted a conference to kick off the America’s Great Outdoors initiative – a major initiative of the Department of the Interior, which houses the Historic Preservation programs as well as the other programs of the National Parks system.  The initiative establishes a conservation agenda for the 21^st century, with three chief goals:

1) Private land conservation;

2) Improving and restoring public lands;

3) Connecting citizens, especially in cities, with the outdoors. 

The audience heard from Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality, and Lisa Jackson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency.  Secretary Salazar once referenced historic sites and cultural resources, and asked a question about historic preservation.

As it stands, now, the program includes a goal of fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the much larger sister fund to the Historic Preservation Fund, but nothing was mentioned about fully funding the HPF.  Over the next few months, there will be a series of listening sessions across the country – we have our work cut out for us to make preservation’s voice heard at these sessions!  We’ll keep you posted as these sessions are scheduled, and encourage you to attend so that the decision makers will hear the message that historic preservation, and the Historic Preservation Fund, are important and should be central to this landmark program!

You can read the President’s Remarks to the Conference as well as his Memorandum on America’s Great Outdoors by clicking here: http://www.fullyfundhpf.org/home/legislation

For more information on America’s Great Outdoors, click here: http://www.doi.gov/whatwedo/outdoors/

March 22

Breathe deep and congratulate yourselves: After a lot of hard work from all quarters, we have reached 101 co-signers on this year's Dear Colleague funding letter!  This show of support from Congressional leaders clobbers last year's record of 86 co-signers.   Thank you to everyone who helped in this effort.

If your Congress(wo)man is on board, be sure to take a minute to say thank you.  As always, consider copying Elizabeth Hebron (hebron@sso.org) on your e-mails so that we can coordinate appropriate follow-up.

If you have a good story about how any of the Historic Preservation Fund programs have made a positive impact on your community or historic sites, especially with regards to economic development or job creation, it will help to strengthen their support and build the kind of interest we need to raise our profile within the halls of the Capitol.  We need to help our Congressional Representatives realize what we already know: Preservation equals jobs.

Another signal that our efforts are gaining ground:  On Tuesday, March 16, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis testified before the House Interior subcommittee, led by the new chairman, James Moran (D-VA).  Nearly half of the questions posed by members pertained to historic and cultural preservation, The zeroing out of Save Americas Treasures and Preserve America grant programs put the Director on the hot seat.  When faced with disdain for the program cuts, Jarvis stated that the elimination of the two programs was purely a budgetary consideration, and conceded that Save Americas Treasures, especially, is very successful, especially in creating private matching contributions.

We still have a long way to go to succeed in achieving full and permanent funding, and there will be more work to do before this years final funding amount is passed, but in the meantime it is great to know that our voices are being heard.  

And speaking of numbers, the Coalition now has 181 member organizations from 45 States, the District of Columbia and 2 Tribal communities! Not to mention 11 National and 2 Regional organizations. Do you think we can make it to 200 by the end of March? I bet we can.

March 15

The need is urgent. We are frantically working to get as many co-signers as possible onto Congressmen Turner and Carnahan’s “Dear Colleague” letter in support of our fiscal year 2011 funding request of: $55 million for State Historic Preservation Officers, $12 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, $25 million for Save America’s Treasures Grants, $4.6 million for Preserve America Grant).   Please ask your Representative to sign onto the letter before the deadline of THURSDAY, March 18.

This letter is an extremely important step to registering support for historic preservation. The members on the appropriations committee will use this letter to help determine how much funding the programs receive.  Right now we only have half the amount of co-signers as last year, and especially in the current fiscal condition, we need to show increased, not decreased, support!  We also need to continue to send the message that historic preservation is an economic driver and job creation tool.

March 7

It’s been a while since an update from the Coalition, but that’s just because we’ve been so busy…but so have you!  As of this afternoon, there are a stunning 171 organizational members of the Coalition for Full Funding!  Wisconsin continues to lead the pack with a tremendous 24 members, but watch your back because Maryland is rapidly gaining: 16 members at last count!  And don’t count out Arkansas with their 10. The word has spread to the Heritage Area network,  with nine groups from that constituency.  We’ve added two new States to our roster: welcome to representatives from West Virginia and Utah!

Keep up the great work and continue spreading the word among your partner organizations.  The more members we have, the louder our voice to Congress.  And many of you were in Washington last week to make Congressional visits as part of 2010 National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week – reports are still coming in, but with more than 370 participants registered for the week’s events, we are sure to have made an impact on the Hill. 

February 2

123 Coalition members - outstanding! With 14 members, Wisconsin has now taken a commanding lead as the state with the most organizations signed on – but rumors are that there are a few friendly State rivalries that may change that. Stay tuned!

Budget update: As you may have heard, yesterday President Obama released his FY2011 budget, ending the speculation about which programs would fall under the cuts and reductions promised in the State of the Union Address last week.   The news is decidedly mixed for historic preservation.  State and Tribal Historic Preservation Office funding held the line – a victory in a time when virtually every program is considered for the axe – but two major preservation grant programs (Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America), did not escape the chopping block.

About Full Funding: Obviously, the Coalition continues to work to pull the Historic Preservation Fund out of the appropriations process for permanent, full funding. As mentioned in the last update, the growing evidence of grassroots support for this initiative has made an impression on key people in Interior and among Congressional staff.  We will continue to look for any and every opportunity to seek full funding for the HPF as either a stand-alone bill or as part of larger bills.  

January 22, 2010

The Coalition for Full Funding now has 111 members from 42 States and the District of Columbia! Maryland has soared ahead with eight supporting organizations, with Arkansas and Georgia close behind with seven organizations each. Watch out for Wisconsin, though.  Four new members joined from America’s Dairyland just yesterday!

It’s been a while since we’ve sent you an update on activities in Washington, but that’s just because it’s been hard to catch our breath. 

•  KEY MEETINGS: The Coalition steering committee has been working hard to schedule meetings with key staffers on Capitol Hill, as well as decision-makers at the Department of the Interior. The response has been cautious: in the face of continued economic woes, as well as the “pay as you go” rules, working to secure full funding for the HPF will be difficult.  The presence of a growing Coalition, however, is making an impression and shows important grassroots support. The key will be to continue growing our membership – and for you to help educate your Members of Congress on the far-reaching benefits of historic preservation.  More on that later.

• CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS: Yesterday, Coalition steering committee organizations, as well as the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Park Service, and the History Channel provided a Historic Preservation Congressional Caucus briefing to educate staffers on the Federal-State/Tribal-Local structure of the federal Historic Preservation Program, and the role that their nonprofit partners play in the movement.  The briefing was well attended, with nearly 60 Congressional staff present.  Thanks go to the History Channel for sponsoring lunch.

•  ADVOCACY DAY: In and around all this other activity we are busy preparing for National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, which will be held March 1-5, 2010. The week will include NCSHPO Advocacy Day and Annual Meeting, Preservation Action Lobby Day and Board Meeting, NAPC Board Meeting, and the National Historic Tax Credit Conference.  Funding for the Historic Preservation Fund will be the primary ask during the Hill visits, and while we will not be requesting full funding this year, the goals of the Coalition will be presented.

December 17, 2009

Following the December 4th vote by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to endorse full funding of the Historic Preservation Fund, ACHP Chairman John Nau sent a letter indicating their support to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). Senator Bingaman has recently introduced a bill to provide full funding for the HPF sister program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Chairman Nau's letter can be found by clicking here

December 4, 2009

At the December 4th meeting of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Councilmember and chair of the Preservation Initiatives Committee, Ann Pritzlaff, submitted a motion on behalf of her Committee for the Council to endorse full funding of the Historic Preservation Fund. Members who were able to vote issued unanimous support of the motion.

Also during the meeting, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis discussed the recently released "National Park Service Second Century Report," including the recommendation for full funding of both the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund. The Department of the Interior is clearly aware of the issue and the need for increased support of cultural resources as they plan their priorities for this Administration.

December 1, 2009

"It is clear that the historic preservation movement has kept its promise to enhance, enrich and inspire the American nation through preserving historic places of local, state and national significance. This web-work of sites that includes whole neighborhoods, landscapes and culturally instructive locales is cherished by millions of citizens, each feeling especially attached to one of its segments. It is a web that forms the physical fabric of our country's heritage. Through enthusiastic and enduring efforts these people have achieved near miracles in retaining historic places long thought lost until the advent of a national historic preservation program over forty years ago. On the slender thread of a national site recognition program with limited funding Americans swiftly added energy, initiative and action to pursue what their hearts and minds knew should be done. That national program tapped a vast reservoir of popular devotion to heritage and revealed an undiscovered socio-economic treasury lying within our historic places. Americans have inventoried and protected that treasure. Now to keep it we must invest it wisely. Sites must be maintained, restored and developed to best advantage so they may serve America long into the future.  It makes sense to add a modicum of support to these innovations and heartfelt intentions. A fully funded HPF will do that. America will take it from there."

Also, take a look at this web entry from the director of the Preservation Research Office in Missouri:

http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/2009/11/more-federal-money-for-historic.html

Keep working to get the word out! And thank you for all you do.

The Coalition for Full Funding is growing rapidly! As of today, there are 50 organizational members, from 28 states, as well as one Tribal community and a regionally based National Heritage Area. Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia lead the pack with three members from each of those states. The determination and enthusiasm from organizations joining the coalition is stunning. In signing on, the Helena/Louis & Clark County Historical Commission in Montana wrote:

November 2

The National Congress on American Indians has recently adopted a resolution supporting full funding for the Historic Preservation Fund! To read the resolution, click here:

October 30

More than 30 organizations from 20 different states have joined to support full funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, and the news is starting to spread to all quarters! Coalition members have been asked to let their partners and communities know of the initiative and encourage their support, using a sample press release to provide basic background information.

October 22

National Trust for Historic Preservation submits letter to Chairman Nick Rahall in support of including full funding for the Historic Preservation Fund as part of the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act of 2009 (H.R. 3534)

The complete letter can be seen by clicking here

September 24, 2009

National Park Service Second Century Report recommends full funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. Today, former Governor Tony Knowles reported the finding of the Second Century Commission, including permanent funding at the authorized levels of $150 million for the Historic Preservation Fund in addition to $900 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For more information, click here.