Federal Designation as a Preservation Tool: Benefits and Challenges

Among the many potential tools available to help protect and revitalize historic resources, one of the most important—but sometimes misunderstood—is obtaining federal designation for a site.

There are a variety of federal designations to consider—each one with its own set of benefits and challenges. This article provides an overview of some of these designations and notes how they can be used to bring attention, funding, and management oversight to save the historic sites and landscapes that matter to preservationists across the country.

There are two paths to a federal designation: through the action of Congress or through the executive branch. Some of these designations require Congress to take action and pass a bill, but some designations can be made by the president or by an administrative decision of the National Park Service. Below are a few of the more popular designations to consider.

THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AND THE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS PROGRAM

The National Park Service administers both the National Register of Historic Places and the National Historic Landmarks Program, programs established by the National Historic Preservation Act. Both of these designations can be granted to a property regardless of the owner’s approval. National Register properties are places deemed worthy of preservation that tell the stories that are important to local communities, the state or the nation. The National Historic Landmark (NHL) designation is reserved for properties of Importance at a national level. All NHL properties are included in the National Register of Historic Places. To determine eligibility for the National Register or for an NHL designation, the property will be evaluated for its age (it ordinarily needs to be at least 50 years old to be considered historic), integrity and significance.

The Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006 for its significance in the history of modernism and as an exemplary work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

PHOTO BY MIKE CREWS

Both types of designation encourage preservation by documenting and providing official recognition of a place’s historical significance. Owners and stewards of designated places may also be eligible to make use of preservation incentives for the protection and historically appropriate rehabilitation of the properties, such as federal preservation grants, federal rehabilitation tax credits, and preservation easements. Unfortunately, the designation does not mean the property is protected or preserved forever; in fact, there are no prohibitions against damaging or even destroying the property. However, designation can trigger the involvement of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in a Section 106 review when there is a federal undertaking or project that may affect the property.

NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA

National Heritage Area is a federal designation granted by Congress to foster community stewardship of our nation’s heritage where natural, cultural and historical resources are intertwined to form a nationally important landscape. A National Heritage Area is not a National Park; however, the National Park Service provides technical assistance to NHAs and manages the distribution of matching federal funds from Congress that are earmarked for NHA entities. There is no imposition of land controls within the boundary of an NHA and there are no federal ownership rights, although there may be some federal lands or federally protected lands that lie within the boundary of an NHA. One such example is the Journey through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area which includes parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. This NHA has a number of National Park sites within the boundary including Gettysburg National Military Park, the Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park, Manassas Battlefield Park, Antietam National Battlefield, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and Monocacy National Battlefield. The congressional designation imposes no land controls on either private, state or public properties, and provides no extra measures of protection for the historical, cultural or natural resources within an NHA.

In 2009, Congress designated the Mississippi Delta as a National Heritage Area to “foster partnerships and educational opportunities that enhance, preserve, and promote the heritage of...