Secretary Salazar: $150 million isn't enough

[Harbeson, Kristen]

Friends and allies:

All summer, we have been encouraging you to attend the America’s Great Outdoors listening sessions, and to let your voices be heard on the AGO ideajam website.  While the process has been occasionally frustrating, as cultural resources voices seemed drowned out by our friends in the environmental movement, at the September meeting of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation this morning, we got proof positive that our message has reached the highest levels of the administration:  Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar voiced his support for full funding of the Historic Preservation Fund, adding that $150 million wasn’t enough.  He issued this statement as part of a more general discussion of the America’s Great Outdoors  initiative, where he expressed his desire to have a ‘significant chapter’ of the final report to the President on the importance of historic preservation. This follows the news item sent last week that the Obama administration had released a Statement of Administrative Policy stating their strong support of funding for land and water conservation and historic preservation projects that prioritize the needs of the Nation based on competitive process.”

 

We are working to get the exact wording of the Secretary’s statement, which will be distributed and posted on the fullyfund website.  This is the first time, as far as we know, that the cause of fully funding the historic  preservation fund has received the endorsement at the Secretary level of any administration.

 

With Congress back in session and the Energy Bill up for debate, look for another update soon on action items for the next important push to include the HPF in the Senate bill.  It’s been your hard work that has brought us to this point – keep it up!  Thank you for all your work for historic preservation, and your support of the Coalition for Full Funding.

Best,

Kristen

 

 

Kristen Harbeson, State Services Director | NCSHPO  | National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers |

444 N Capitol St NW  Suite 342 | Washington DC 20001-1512 | 202-624-5465 | 202-624-5419 fax | harb...@sso.org | www.ncshpo.org

 

Join the Coalition for Full Funding of the Historic Preservation Fund. visit the website at: www.fullyfundhpf.org