OverviewYosemite National Park is developing a parkwide programmatic agreement (PA) to guide consultation under Section 106 National Historic Preservation Act. This agreement will replace the existing parkwide PA that expired in May 2017 as amended. Park operations, management, and administration require a large number of routine, low/no-impact, and repetitive activities that have the potential to affect historic properties listed in—or determined eligible for listing in—the National Register of Historic Places. These undertakings require consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The park will follow the terms of the new parkwide PA rather than those of the 2008 NPS Nationwide PA to streamline Section 106 compliance for these routine activities specific to Yosemite. The new parkwide PA will specify Yosemite's consultation requirements and procedures with the California State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation (ACHP), Yosemite's traditionally associated American Indian tribes and groups, the public, and other interested parties. To develop the new parkwide PA, the park has engaged in consultation meetings with the SHPO and ACHP, who will be signatories to the agreement. The park has also consulted with the traditionally associated American Indian tribes and groups who are invited to be concurring parties to this agreement. Historic preservation projects and initiatives are most successful when the public is supportive and actively involved in carrying them out. The Section 106 process requires that federal agencies reach out to the public and keep them informed of their projects and programs and solicit their input and comments. This public participation effort is consistent with 36 CFR 800.14(b)(2)(i) to "arrange for public participation appropriate to the subject matter and the scope of the program." This effort provides the public with an opportunity to understand the approach to streamlining review of routine activities before the agreement between the park and SHPO is signed. A draft parkwide programmatic agreement is now available for public review through March 31, 2020. |
Last updated: March 16, 2020