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UPCOMING
COMMENT DEADLINES
Due
April 30, 2025: CTIA FCC Petition: Late last month, CTIA The Wireless Association (CTIA)
petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a rulemaking that would effectively eliminate NEPA and NHPA Section 106 Review for the vast majority of cell towers. There would be serious implications to such a rulemaking, which is why NATHPO
and so many other Tribal Nations and organizations fought a very similar effort back in 2018. The D.C. Circuit Court vacated this part of that ruling in 2019.
The FCC has already issued a request for comments, with a due date of April 30, 2025. NATHPO will be submitting its own comment, a copy of which is attached, and which will be made available
on our website when we send it in. Comments can be submitted electronically
HERE using RM-12003 for the proceeding. The FCC public notice
HERE also provides details for comment filers who choose to use a non-electronic method or require assistance.
April 30, 2025, Tribal Listening Session. On March 12, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army announced a
Federal Register notice publicizing a series of six listening sessions and a 30-day recommendations docket to solicit feedback on key aspects of the definition of “waters of the United States.” The six listening sessions will be held in-person with a virtual
option for States, Tribes, industry and agricultural stakeholders, environmental and conservation stakeholders, and the general public.
The listening session for Tribal Nations is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at 1 PM EDT. Register for that
HERE
May
2025:
ACHP Section
106 Webinars. The
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)
is hosting a series of three training webinars on Section 106 in
May 2025. For information on course content and registration instructions, visit https://www.achp.gov/training/webinars.
NATHPO regularly submits comment letters to federal agencies advocating on behalf of Tribal communities and their THPOs. You can find several of our most recent letters HERE,
and if you know of an upcoming deadline and want NATHPO to consider submitting comment, please contact Melissa Madrigal at mel...@nathpo.org.
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NATHPO
HAPPENINGS:
NATHPO Statement On Interior Department Decision To Curtail Tribal Review Of Energy Projects. This morning, NATHPO called on the US Department of the Interior to reverse course following the
announcement that it would give Tribal Nations a mere seven days to comment on proposed projects on their trust lands or lands to which they attach religious or cultural significance. You can read our full statement
HERE, but below is the quote from our Executive Director, Dr. Valerie Grussing:
"The United States government has an obligation to engage in meaningful nation-to-nation consultation with Tribes on projects that effect their trust lands and lands they hold sacred. There is no reason why energy and infrastructure
projects cannot move forward while also protecting Tribes' sacred places and cultural resources. We ask the Administration to reverse this announcement curtailing review by THPOs, and we stand ready to work with them to ensure THPOs have the resources to perform
those reviews quickly, begin the consultation process early, and heed the concerns of Tribes and THPOs seeking to protect their sacred places and cultural resources."
Stacy
And Melissa's Excellent Adventure, Continued: NATHPO
Indigenization Director Stacy Laravie (Ponca) and Operations Director Melissa Madrigal recently wrapped up a multi-day road trip through the Southeast United States, visiting THPOs from Virginia to Louisiana. You can find photos of their visit to the Jena
Band of Choctaw Indians on our
Facebook page.
Stay tuned for more photos in the days to come. Team NATHPO loves getting out and visiting THPOs on the ground, seeing where they work and hearing from them directly. We hope to be visiting you sometime soon!
On The Ground At The Alliance For Indigenous Environmental Stewardship Summit. NATHPO Government Affairs Advisor Ted Monoson traveled to the Suquamish Nation for the 2nd annual Alliance for Indigenous Environmental Stewardship Summit. There,
staff from Tribal organizations and Tribal Nations members who work for environmental organizations gathered to discuss how to protect the places that are important to Tribal Nations and support Tribal members engaged in this work. The House of Awakened Culture
was the perfect setting for this important work. "In both form and location, the House of Awakened Culture draws its inspiration from Old Man House—perhaps the largest winter house or communal longhouse ever built on the Northwest Coast ... The massive longhouse
served as the center of the community and housed generations of Suquamish people, including the renowned tribal leader Chief Seattle (or Sealth), for whom the city of Seattle is named." Stay tuned to
NATHPO's Facebook page for photos and dispatches from the summit.
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NATHPO
CONFERENCE UPDATE
Registration
for NATHPO's 25th Annual Conference & Sacred Places Summit is going strong! Congratulations to our first conference registrants, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians! They've been joined so many others who have signed up
to attend this year's conference, happening September 8-12 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV, and hosted by the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. If you want to register and secure your spot, you can do that
HERE. If you or your organization are interested in sponsoring the conference, please check out or Sponsorship Deck
HERE. And if you're interested in presenting during a session of the conference, you can find our presenter RFP
HERE.
We
can't wait to see you in Reno!
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DATE AND
TIME CHANGE: MAY THPO POLICY FORUM
ATTENTION THPOS: Our May THPO Policy Forum is being moved to
May 13, 2025, at 3 PM EDT. These forums, open only to THPOs and THPO staff, serve a regular opportunity for THPOs to convene virtually to learn from each other. We are hoping to create a space for THPOs to share knowledge on the policies and practices of
the job. Stay tuned for more details via email, and please register for the forum
HERE if you haven't already.
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