Chapter 5: Cultural Resource Management

The National Park Service will protect, preserve, and foster appreciation of the cultural resources in its custody and demonstrate its respect for the peoples traditionally associated with those resources through appropriate programs of research, planning, and stewardship.

Introduction

The National Park Service is the steward of many of America’s most important cultural resources. These resources are categorized as archeological resources, cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, historic and prehistoric structures, and museum collections. The Service’s cultural resource management program involves

research to identify, evaluate, document, register, and establish basic information about cultural resources and traditionally associated peoples;
planning to ensure that management processes for making decisions and setting priorities integrate information about cultural resources and provide for consultation and collaboration with outside entities; and
stewardship to ensure that cultural resources are preserved and protected, receive appropriate treatments (including maintenance) to achieve desired conditions, and are made available for public understanding and enjoyment.

The cultural resource Management Policies of the National Park Service are derived from a suite of historic preservation, environmental, and other laws, proclamations, executive orders, and regulations. A comprehensive list can be found in the Cultural Resource Management Handbook issued pursuant to Director’s Order #28. Taken collectively, this guidance provides the Service with the authority and responsibility for managing cultural resources in every unit of the national park system so that those resources may be preserved unimpaired for future generations. Cultural resource management will be carried out in a manner that is consistent with these legislative and regulatory provisions and with implementing policies and procedures such as the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation (48 Federal Register(FR) 44716-740), and Standards and Guidelines for Federal Agency Historic Preservation Programs Pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act (63 FR 20497-508).

Superintendents and qualiﬁed cultural resource professionals will work together to carry out the Park Service’s cultural resource management program. Other NPS staﬀ and volunteers participating in cultural resource research, planning, and stewardship activities will be supervised by full-performance-level cultural resource professionals of the appropriate disciplines. Law enforcement professionals will consult with full performance-level cultural resource professionals of the appropriate disciplines when investigating cultural resource crimes.

Superintendents and cultural resource professionals will ensure that research about and stewardship of cultural resources are carried out only after adequate planning and consultation with interested or aﬀected individuals, groups, and other outside entities.

(See Decision-making Requirements to Identify and Avoid Impairments 1.4.7. Also see NHPA [16 USC 470h-4]; Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualiﬁcation Standards [48 FR 44738-44739]; Employee Training and Development Planning and Tracking Kit [1996]

5.1 Research

5.1.1 NPS Research

The National Park Service will conduct a vigorous interdisciplinary program of research into the cultural resources of each park. The principal goals of such research will be to

ensure a systematic, adequate, and current information base representing park cultural resources and traditionally associated peoples in support of planning, management, and operations;
ensure appropriate protection, preservation, treatment, and interpretation of cultural resources, employing the best current scholarship;
develop approaches for managing park cultural and natural resources that ensure consideration of the views held by traditionally associated peoples and others by emphasizing cooperative conservation and civic engagement;
collect data on subsistence and other consumptive uses of park resources in order to reach informed decisions; and
develop appropriate technologies and methods for monitoring, protecting, preserving, and treatingcultural resources.

Adequate research to support informed planning and compliance with legal requirements will precede any ﬁnal decisions about the treatment of cultural resources, or about park operations, development, and natural resource management activities that might aﬀect cultural resources. Research will be periodically updated to reﬂect changing issues, sources, and methods. Research needs will be identiﬁed and justiﬁed in a park’s approved resource stewardship strategy.

A written scope of work, research design, project agreement, proposal, or other description of work to be performed will be prepared and approved before any research is conducted. All archeological research, whether for inventory, data recovery, or other purposes, must comply with the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA), the Antiquities Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), as applicable. The National Park Service will not take or allow any action that reduces the research potential of cultural resources without ﬁrst performing an appropriate level of research, consultation, and documentation. Because research involving physical intervention into cultural resources or the removal of objects or specimens is a destructive process entailing an irretrievable commitment of the resources and often aﬀecting traditional practices associated with the resources, research in parks will employ nondestructive methods to the maximum extent feasible.

The features of sites, landscapes, and structures will be left in place unless impracticable. Field data, objects, specimens, and features of sites and structures retrieved for preservation during cultural resource research and treatment projects, together with associated records and reports, will be managed within the park museum collection, stored in NPS or non-NPS repositories, as appropriate, including repositories maintained by partners. All collections of archeological material remains and associated records will be maintained in repositories in accordance with applicable regulations.

Research conducted by NPS personnel, contractors, and cooperative researchers will be subjected to peer review both inside and outside the Service to ensure that it meets professional standards, reﬂects current scholarship, and adheres to the principles of conduct for the appropriate discipline. The data and knowledge acquired through research will be recorded on permanent and durable (long lived) media, documented in the appropriate Service-wide databases, and placed permanently in park museum and library collections and park ﬁles. This information will be made widely available and be incorporated, as appropriate, into park planning documents, exhibits, and interpretive programs. As appropriate, information will be shared with proper state and tribal historic preservation oﬃces, other tribal oﬃces, and certiﬁed local governments.

Certain research data may be withheld from public disclosure to protect sensitive or conﬁdential information about archeological, historic, or other NPS resources when doing so would be consistent with the Freedom of Information Act, section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act, or section 9 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. In some circumstances, the Service may withhold information about ethnographic resources. The Solicitor’s Oﬃce should be consulted when there is any question about the legal authority to withhold information.

(See Levels of Park Planning 2.3; Studies and Collections 4.2; Conﬁdentiality 5.2.3; Research and Scholarship 7.5.4; Use by American Indians and Other Traditionally Associated Groups8.5. Also see 36 CFR 79; 36 CFR Part 800; 43 CFR Parts 3, 7, and 10; NHPA; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Preservation Planning [48 FR 44716-720]; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Historical Documentation [48 FR 44728-730]; Director’s Order #28: Cultural Resource Management; Cultural Resource Management Handbook; Director’s Order #66: FOIA and Protected Resource Information )

5.1.2 Independent Research

The National Park Service will promote relationships with individuals and organizations qualiﬁed to perform research, and encourage them to direct their research toward park management objectives and the broader contexts within which park resources exist. The Park Service will encourage independent researchers to follow the Secretary of the Interior’s standards and guidelines and NPS guidelines to the fullest extent possible; the Service will also require that the views of traditionally associated peoples be fully considered. Research done in cooperation with tribal governments, tribal colleges, and tribal organizations should include mutually agreed upon conditions concerning the dissemination of data as well as consideration of the conﬁdentiality of culturally sensitive information.

Research that includes taking plants, ﬁsh, wildlife, rocks, or minerals must comply with the permit requirements of 36 CFR 2.5. Permits that would allow cultural resources to be physically disturbed or allow objects or specimens to be collected will be issued only when there is compelling evidence that the proposed research is essential to signiﬁcant research concerns, and when that the purpose of the research can be reasonably achieved only by using park resources. Permits must require provision for the long-term preservation and management of any recovered objects and specimens and for their cataloging, togetherwith any associated records, in the NPS museum cataloging system. Independent researchers will be authorized to conduct archeological research on park lands only through the issuance of an ARPA or Antiquities Act permit by the appropriate regional director. This permitting authority cannot be further delegated. As appropriate, parks will also issue other necessary permits, such as a special use permit. Archeological research conducted by independent researchers must comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act when applicable.

NPS facilities, collections, and assistance will be made available to qualiﬁed scholars conducting NPS-authorized research as long as park operations are not substantially impeded or park resources are not adversely impacted.

(See Independent Studies 4.2.2; Consultation 5.2.1; Natural and Cultural Studies, Research, and Collection Activities 8.10. Also see 43 CFR Parts 3, 7, and 10)

5.1.3 Identiﬁcation and Evaluation of Resources

The National Park Service will conduct surveys to identify and evaluate the cultural resources of each park, assessingresources within their larger cultural, chronological,and geographic contexts. The resulting inventories will provide the substantive data required for (1) nominating resources to the National Register of Historic Places;(2) general park planning and speciﬁc proposals for preserving, protecting, and treating cultural resources to achieve desired conditions; (3) land acquisition,development, and maintenance activities; (4) interpretation, education, and natural and cultural resource management activities; and (5) compliance with legal requirements.

5.1.3.1 Inventories

The Park Service will (1) maintain and expand the following inventories (or their successors) about cultural resources in units of the national park system, (2) enter information into appropriate related databases, and (3) develop an integrated information system—

Archeological sites inventory for historic and prehistoric archeological resources and the related Archeological Sites Management Information System (ASMIS) database
Cultural Landscapes Inventory (CLI) of historic designed landscapes, historic vernacular landscapes, ethnographic landscapes, and historic sites
List of Classiﬁed Structures (LCS), encompassing historic and prehistoric structures
National Catalog of Museum Objects, encompassing all cultural objects, archival and manuscript materials, and natural history specimens in NPS collections and the related automated version, the Automated National Catalog System (ANCS+)

(See Levels of Park Planning 2.3; Conﬁdentiality 5.2.3. Also see Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Identiﬁcation [48 FR 44720-723]; Director’s Order #28: Cultural Resource Management; Cultural Resource Management Handbook)

5.1.3.2 Evaluation and Categorization

Cultural resources will be professionally evaluated and categorized to assist in management decisions about their treatment and use. Cultural resources will be evaluated for signiﬁcance using the National Register Criteria for Evaluation (36 CFR 60.4), and those meeting the criteria will be nominated for listing. Museum collections are inappropriate for listing and will not be evaluated using these criteria. Some collections in their original structures can be included as contributing elements to a listed structure. As appropriate, cultural resources will be categorized using other management categories established by the National Park Service and listed in the Cultural Resource Management Handbook.

Cultural resource professionals will evaluate cultural resources in consultation with the appropriate state and tribal historic preservation oﬃcers. Ethnographically meaningful cultural and natural resources, including traditional cultural properties, will be identiﬁed and evaluated in consultation with peoples having traditional associations to park resources. Examples of traditionally associated peoples include Acadians, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Some ethnographically meaningful resources do not meet the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, but will be inventoried in consultation with traditionally associated peoples and considered in management decisions about treatment and use.

(See Consultation 5.2.1. Also see Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Evaluation [48 FR 44723-726])

5.1.3.2.1 National Register Nomination

Park resources that appear to meet the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places will be nominated—either individually, as components of historic districts, or within multiple property nominations—for listing by the Keeper of the National Register. National historic sites, national historical parks, and other parks that are signiﬁcant primarily for their cultural resources are entered automatically in the National Register upon establishment. However, nomination forms will be prepared and submitted to document the qualifying and contributing features of such parks and other National Register-eligible resources within them.

(Also see 36 CFR Parts 60 and 63; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Registration [48 FR 44726 728]; National Register Bulletins 16A and 16B [Guidelines for Completing National Register of Historic Places Forms])

5.1.3.2.2 National Historic Landmark Designation

Historic and cultural units of the national park system are nationally signiﬁcant by virtue of their authorizing legislation or presidential proclamation. National historic landmark designations are appropriate for park cultural resources that meet national historic landmark criteria if the national signiﬁcance of those resources is not adequately recognized in the park’s authorizing legislation or presidential proclamation. Cultural parks may warrant landmark designation as parts of larger areas encompassing resources associated with their primary themes. Modiﬁed National Register forms will be prepared and submitted to nominate such resources for landmark designation by the Secretary of the Interior.

(Also see 36 CFR Part 65)

5.1.3.2.3 Nominations for World Heritage List Designation

Park properties containing cultural features believed to possess outstanding universal value to humanity may qualify for placement on the World Heritage List under criteria described in the World Heritage Committee Operational Guidelines and in accordance with the World Heritage Convention. Before they can be nominated, all such properties must be assessed according to World Heritage criteria, and before the United States can submit a nomination to the World Heritage Committee the property must ﬁrst be included on the U.S. Tentative List of Potential Future World Heritage Nominations.

Any park superintendent who believes that part or all of the park they manage should be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List must consult with the NPS Oﬃce of International Aﬀairs, the NPS Director, and the Department of the Interior before proceeding. U.S. recommendations are approved by an interagency panel chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, based on criteria promulgated by the World Heritage Committee. These criteria and the rules for U.S. participation in the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage are published in 36 CFR Part 73.

Once a property is placed on the World Heritage List, the Park Service will recognize the designation in publicinformation and interpretive programs. Where appropriate, superintendents should use a park’s world heritage statusto promote the park and encourage sustainable tourism (tourism that does not adversely impact park resourcesand values) and the preservation of the world’s natural and cultural heritage. Placement on the World Heritage List will not alter the purposes for which a park was established, change management requirements, or reduce NPS jurisdiction over a park.

(See World Heritage Sites 4.3.7. Also see 36 CFR Part 73)

5.2 Planning

Eﬀective park stewardship requires informed decision- making about a park’s cultural resources. This is best accomplished through a comprehensive planning process. Eﬀective planning is based on an understanding of what a park’s cultural resources are and why those resources are signiﬁcant. To gain this understanding, the Service must obtain baseline data on the nature and types of cultural resources, and their (1) distribution; (2) condition; (3) signiﬁcance; and (4) local, regional, and national contexts. Cultural resource planning, and the resource evaluation process that is part of it, will include consultation with cultural resource professionals and scholars having relevant expertise; traditionally associated peoples; and other groups and individuals. Current scholarship and needs for research are considered in this process, along with the park’s legislative history and other relevant information.

Each park’s resource stewardship strategy will provide comprehensive recommendations about speciﬁc actions needed to achieve and maintain the desired resource conditions and visitor experiences for the park’s cultural resources. This will include activities necessary to identify, evaluate, manage, monitor, protect, preserve, and treat the park’s cultural resources, and to provide for enjoyment and understanding of the resources by the public.

Superintendents will ensure full consideration of the park’s cultural resources and values in all proposals for operations, development, and natural resource programs, includingthe management of wilderness areas. When proposed undertakings may adversely aﬀect national historic sites, national battleﬁelds, and other predominantly cultural units of the national park system that were established in recognition of their national historical signiﬁcance, superintendents will provide opportunities for the samelevel of review and consideration by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Secretary of the Interior that the Advisory Council’s regulations require for undertakings that may adversely aﬀect national historic landmarks (36 CFR 800.10).

(See Decision-making Requirements to Identify and Avoid Impairments 1.4.7; Strategic Planning 2.3.3; Implementation Planning 2.3.4. Also see Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites); Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelinesfor Federal Agency Historic Preservation Programs Pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act [63 FR 20496-508]; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Preservation Planning [48 FR 44716-720]; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties)

5.2.1 Consultation

The National Park Service is committed to the open and meaningful exchange of knowledge and ideas to enhance (1) the public’s understanding of park resources and values and the policies and plans that aﬀect them; and (2) the Service’s ability to plan and manage the parks by learning from others. Open exchange requires that the Service seek and employ ways to reach out to and consult with all those who have an interest in the parks.

Each superintendent will consult with outside parties having an interest in the park’s cultural resources or in proposed NPS actions that might aﬀect those resources, and provide them with opportunities to learn about and comment on those resources and planned actions. Consultation may be formal, as when it is required pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act or section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, or it may be informal, when there is not a speciﬁc statutory requirement. Consultation will be initiated, as appropriate, with tribal, state, and local governments; state and tribal historic preservation oﬃcers; the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; other interested federal agencies; traditionally associated peoples; present-day park neighbors; and other interested groups.

Consultations on proposed NPS actions will take place as soon as practical and in an appropriate forum that ensures, to the maximum extent possible, eﬀective communication and the identiﬁcation of mutually acceptable alternatives. The Service will establish and maintain continuing relationships with outside parties to facilitate future collaboration, formal consultations, and the ongoing informal exchange of views and information on cultural resource matters.

Because national parks embody resources and values of interest to a national audience, eﬀorts to reach out and consult must be national in scope. However, the Service will be especially mindful of consulting with traditionally associated peoples—those whose cultural systems or ways of life have an association with park resources and values that predates establishment of the park. Traditionally associated peoples may include park neighbors, traditional residents, and former residents who remain attached to the park area despite having relocated. Examples of traditionally associated peoples include both federally designated and nondesignated American Indian tribes in the contiguous 48 states, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, African Americans at Jean Laﬁtte, Asian Americans at Manzanar, Hispanic Americans at Tumacacori, and others.

In particular, traditionally associated peoples should be consulted about

proposed research on and stewardship of cultural and natural resources with ethnographic meaning for the groups;
development of park planning and interpretive documents that may aﬀect resources traditionally associated with the groups;
proposed research that entails collaborative study of the groups;
identiﬁcation, treatment, use, and determination of aﬃliation of objects subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act;
repatriation of Native American cultural items or human remains based on requests by aﬃliated groups in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act;
planned excavations and proposed responses to inadvertent discoveries of cultural resources that may be culturally aﬃliated with the groups;other proposed NPS actions that may aﬀect the treatment of, use of, and access to cultural and natural resources with known or potential cultural meaning for the groups; and
designation of National Register, National Historic Landmark, and World Heritage Sites with known or potential cultural meaning for the groups.

Consultation with federally recognized American Indian tribes will be on a government-to-government basis. The Service will notify appropriate tribal authorities (such as tribal historic preservation oﬃcers) about proposed actions when ﬁrst conceived, and by subsequently consulting their appointed representatives whenever proposed actions may aﬀect tribal interests, practices, and traditional resources (such as places of religious value).

There are other groups and individuals with strong connections to the land through experiencing a signiﬁcant life event within or near a park unit. Through its civic engagement activities, the Service will be sensitive toand carefully consider the views of those who have these associations.

Whenever groups are created, controlled, or managed for the purpose of providing advice or recommendations to the Service, the Service will ﬁrst consult with the Oﬃce of the Solicitor to determine whether the Federal Advisory Committee Act requires the chartering of an advisory committee. Consultation with the Oﬃce of the Solicitor will not be necessary when the Service meets with individuals, groups, or organizations simply to exchange views and information or to solicit individual advice on proposed actions. The act does not apply to intergovernmental meetings held exclusively between federal oﬃcials and elected oﬃcers of state, local, and tribal governments (or their designated employees with authority to act on their behalf) acting in their oﬃcial capacities, when (1) the meetings relate to intergovernmental responsibilities or administration, and (2) the purpose of the committee is solely to exchange views, information, or advice relating to the management or implementation of federal programs established pursuant to statute that explicitly or inherently share intergovernmental responsibilities or administration.

(See Civic Engagement 1.7; Relationship with American Indian Tribes 1.11; Ethnographic Resources 5.3.5.3. Also see ARPA; NAGPRA; NEPA; NHPA [16 USC 470f]; 36 CFR Part 800; 40CFR Parts 1500-1508; 41 CFR Part 101;, 43 CFR Parts 7 and 10; Executive Memorandum on Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal Governments; Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites); Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments); 512 Department of the Interior Manual [DM] 2; Director’s Order #71: Government-to-government Relationships with Tribal Governments; NPS Guide to the Federal Advisory Committee Act)

5.2.2 Agreements

The National Park Service will seek to establish mutually beneﬁcial agreements with interested groups to facilitate collaborative research, consultation, park planning, training, and cooperative management approaches with respect to park cultural resources and culturally important natural resources. The NPS goal is to allow traditionally associated peoples to exercise traditional cultural practices in parks to the extent allowable by law and consistent with the criteria listed in section 8.2. To the extent this goal can be legally reached through agreements, park superintendents should do so.Whenever parks have cultural resources that are owned or managed by others, agreements will clarify how the resources are to be managed. Agreements will provide ways for periodically reviewing their eﬀectiveness, making mutually agreed-upon modiﬁcations, and avoiding and resolving disagreements and disputes. All agreements will conform to the requirements of Director’s Order #20: Agreements.

(See Decision-making Requirements to Identify and Avoid Impairments 1.4.7; Partnerships 1.10; Partnerships 4.1.4; Park Structures Owned or Managed by Others 5.3.5.4.8; Submerged Cultural Resources 5.3.5.1.6; Use by American Indians and Other Traditionally Associated Groups 8.5;Consumptive Uses 8.9. Also see Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites); 36 CFR 2.1)

5.2.3 Conﬁdentiality

Sensitive or conﬁdential information is sometimes acquired during consultations and during other research, planning, and stewardship activities. Under certain circumstances and to the extent permitted by law, information about the speciﬁc location, character, nature, ownership, or acquisition of cultural resources on park lands will be withheld from public disclosure. If a question arises about withholding information, and disclosure could result in a signiﬁcant invasion of privacy or a risk of harm to a cultural resource, the Park Service will consult the provisions of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (16 USC 470hh); the National Parks Omnibus Management Act (16 USC 5937); and the National Historic Preservation Act (16 USC 470w-3) before making a decision. Under some conditions, the Service may be required by law to disclose conﬁdential information acquired during consultations, public meetings, and other research, planning, and stewardship activities, or in association with the acquisition of resources, including museum collections. Before these activities occur, NPS staﬀ and authorized researchers will make every eﬀort to inform aﬀected parties that, while the information they provide will not be shared voluntarily, conﬁdentiality cannot be guaranteed.To the extent permitted by law, the Service will withhold from public disclosure (1) information provided by individuals who wish the information to remain conﬁdential, and (2) the identities of individuals who wish to remain anonymous and who are protected from release by exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. In each instance the Service will document its decision to disseminate or withhold sensitive or conﬁdential information from public disclosure.More detailed guidance on sensitive and conﬁdential information can be found in Director’s Order #66: FOIA and Protected Resource Information and the Museum Handbook, Part III.

(See Information Conﬁdentiality 1.9.2.3; Natural Resource Information 4.1.2. Also see 43 CFR Part 2; 43 CFR 7.18; Privacy Act)

5.3 Stewardship

5.3.1 Protection and Preservation of Cultural Resources

The National Park Service will employ the most eﬀective concepts, techniques, and equipment to protect cultural resources against theft, ﬁre, vandalism, overuse, deterioration, environmental impacts, and other threats without compromising the integrity of the resources.

5.3.1.1 Emergency Management

Measures to protect or rescue cultural resources in the event of an emergency, disaster, or ﬁre will be developed as part of a park’s emergency operations and ﬁre management planning processes. Designated personnel will be trained to respond to all emergencies in a manner that maximizes visitor and employee safety and the protection of resources and property.

(See Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Operations8.2.5.2. Also see 36 CFR Part 78)

5.3.1.2 Fire Detection, Suppression, and Post-ﬁre Rehabilitation and Protection

The Park Service will take action to prevent or minimize the impact of wildland, prescribed, and structural ﬁres on cultural resources, including the impact of suppression and rehabilitation activities.

In the preservation of historic structures and museum and library collections, every attempt will be made to comply with national building and ﬁre codes. When these cannot be met without signiﬁcantly impairing a structure’s integrity and character, management and use of the structure will be modiﬁed to minimize potential hazards rather than modifying the structure itself.

Subject to the previous paragraph, when warranted bythe signiﬁcance of a historic structure or a museum or library collection, adequate and appropriate ﬁre detection, warning, and suppression systems will be installed. Pre-ﬁre plans will be developed for historic structures and buildings housing museum or library collections; these plans will be designed to identify the ﬂoor plan, utilities, hazards, and areas and objects requiring special protection. This information will be kept current and made available to local and park ﬁre personnel.

Park and local ﬁre personnel will be advised of the locations and characteristics of cultural resources threatened by ﬁre and of any priorities for protecting them during any planned or unplanned ﬁre incident. At parks with cultural resources, park ﬁre personnel will receive cultural resource protection training. At parks that have wildland or structural ﬁre risks and programs, cultural resource management specialists will receive ﬁre prevention and emergency response training. Cultural resource management specialists whoassist with wildland ﬁre programs will be certiﬁed for incident management positions commensurate with their individual responsibilities.

Smoking will not be permitted in spaces housing museum or library collections or in historic structures (except those used as residences in which smoking is permitted by the park superintendent).

(See Fire Management 4.5; Fire Management 6.3.9; Structural Fire Protection and Suppression 9.1.8. Also see Director’s Order #18: Wildland Fire Management; Director’s Order #58: Structural Fire Management and Reference Manual 58)

5.3.1.3 Compensation for Injuries to Cultural Resources

The Service will use all legal authorities that are available to protect and restore cultural resources and the beneﬁts they provide when actions of another party cause the destruction or loss of or injury to park resources or values. As a ﬁrst step, damage assessments provide the basis for determining the restoration and compensation needs that address the public’s loss and are a key milestone toward the ultimate goal, which is restoration of resources for the American public. In accordance with the National Park System Resource Protection Act, the Park Service will take all necessary and appropriate steps to recover costs and damages from any person who destroys, causes the loss of, or injures any resource of the national park system. When such incidents involve cultural resources, the Service will

prevent or minimize the destruction or loss of or injury to the cultural resource, or abate or minimize the imminent risk of such destruction, loss, or injury;
assess and monitor damage to the cultural resource;
recover any and all costs associated with the restoration or replacement of the cultural resource or costs associated with the acquisition of an equivalent resource;
recover the value of any signiﬁcant loss of use of the cultural resource pending its restoration or replacement or the acquisition of an equivalent, or the value of the cultural resource in the event it cannot be restored or replaced; and
recover any and all costs incurred in responding to, assessing, and/or monitoring damage to the cultural resource.

(See Compensation for Injuries to Natural Resources 4.1.6. Also see Director’s Order #14: Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration)

5.3.1.4 Environmental Monitoring and Control

When necessary to preserve a historic structure or a museum collection, appropriate measures will be taken to control relative humidity, temperature, light, and air quality. When museum collections are housed in a historic structure, the needs of both the collection and the structure will be identiﬁed and evaluated, weighing relative rarityand signiﬁcance, before environmental control measures are introduced. The environmental conditions of all areas housing museum collections will be regularly monitored, according to a schedule speciﬁc to each condition, to determine whether appropriate levels of relative humidity, temperature, and light are being maintained.

(See Air Quality 4.7.1. Also see Director’s Order #24: NPS Museum Collections Management)

5.3.1.5 Pest Management

The Park Service will follow an integrated pest management approach in addressing pest problems (including invasive vegetation) related to cultural resources. Pest occurrences will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis according to the principles identiﬁed in section 4.4.5 and Director’s Order #77: Natural Resource Protection to ensure the most eﬀective and lowest risk management strategy.

(See Pest Management 4.4.5)

5.3.1.6 Visitor Carrying Capacity

Superintendents will set, enforce, and monitor carrying capacities to limit public visitation to or use of cultural resources that would be subject to adverse eﬀects from unrestricted levels of visitation or use. This will include (1) reviewing the park’s purpose; (2) analyzing existing visitor use of and related impacts on the park’s cultural resources and traditional resource users; (3) prescribing indicators and speciﬁc standards for acceptable and sustainable visitor use; and (4) identifying ways to address and monitor unacceptable impacts resulting from overuse. Studies to gather basic data and make recommendations on setting, enforcing, and monitoring carrying capacities for cultural resources will be conducted in collaboration with cultural resource specialists representing the appropriate disciplines.

(See Visitor Carrying Capacity 8.2.1)

5.3.1.7 Cultural Soundscape Management

Culturally appropriate sounds are important elements of the national park experience in many parks. The Service will preserve soundscape resources and values of the parks to the greatest extent possible to protect opportunities for appropriate transmission of cultural and historic sounds that are fundamental components of the purposes and values for which the parks were established. Examples of appropriate cultural and historic sounds include native drumming (at Yosemite National Park, for example), music (at New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, for example), and bands, marching, cannon ﬁre, or other military demonstrations at some national battleﬁeld parks. The Service will prevent inappropriate or excessive types and levels of sound (noise) from unacceptably impacting the ability of the soundscape to transmit the cultural and historic resource sounds associated with park purposes.

(See Soundscape Management 4.9; Recreational Activities 8.2.2. Also see 36 CFR 2.12: Audio Disturbances)

5.3.2 Physical Access for Persons with Disabilities

The National Park Service will provide persons with disabilities the highest feasible level of physical access to historic properties that is reasonable, consistent with the preservation of each property’s signiﬁcant historical features. Access modiﬁcations for persons with disabilities will be designed and installed to least aﬀect the features of a property that contribute to its signiﬁcance. Modiﬁcations to some features may be acceptable in providing access once a review of options for the highest level of access has been completed. However, if it is determined that modiﬁcation of particular features would impair a property’s integrity and character in terms of the Advisory Council’s regulations at 36 CFR 800.9, such modiﬁcations will not be made. To the extent possible, modiﬁcations for access will beneﬁt the greatest number of visitors, staﬀ, and the public, and be integrated with or close to the primary path of travel for entrances and from parking areas. In situations where access modiﬁcations cannot be made, alternative methods of achieving program access will be adopted.

(See Access to Interpretive and Educational Opportunities 7.5.2; Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities 8.2.4; Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities 9.1.2; Accessibility of Commercial Services 10.2.6.2. Also see Director’s Order #42: Accessibility for Visitors with Disabilities in National Park Service Programs and Services)

5.3.3 Historic Property Leases and Cooperative Agreements

The National Park Service may permit the use of a historic property through a lease or cooperative agreement if the lease or cooperative agreement will ensure the property’s preservation. Proposed uses must not unduly limit public appreciation of the property; interfere with visitor use and enjoyment of the park; or preclude use of the property for park administration, employee residences, or other management purposes judged more appropriate or cost eﬀective.If a lease or cooperative agreement requires or allows the lessee or cooperator to maintain, repair, rehabilitate, restore, or build upon the property, the work must be done in accordance with applicable Secretary of the Interior’s standards and guidelines and other NPS policies, guidelines, and standards.

(See Leases 8.12. Also see Director’s Order #38: Real Property Leasing; NHPA [16 USC 470h-3]; 16 USC 460l-22(a); Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997 [16 USC 1g]; 36 CFRPart 18)

5.3.4 Stewardship of Human Remains and Burials

Marked and unmarked prehistoric and historic burial areas and graves will be identiﬁed, evaluated, and protected. Every eﬀort will be made to avoid impacting burial areas and graves when planning park development and managing park operations. Such burial areas and graves will not knowingly be disturbed or archeologically investigated unless threatened with destruction.

The Service will consult with American Indian tribes, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other individuals and groups linked by demonstrable ties of kinship or culture to potentially identiﬁable human remains when such remains may be disturbed or are inadvertently encountered on park lands. Reinterment at the same park may be permitted and may include remains that may have been removed from lands now within the park. Human remains that are repatriated or otherwise returned under NAGPRA by the NPS, whether removed from outside park boundaries or from unknown locations, may be buried within a park.*

American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian human remains and photographs of such remains will not be exhibited. Drawings, renderings, or casts of such remains may be exhibited with the consent of culturally aﬃliated Indian tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian organizations. The exhibit of non-Native American human remains, or photographs, drawings, renderings, or casts of such remains, is allowed in consultation with traditionally associated peoples. The Service may allow access to and study, publication, and destructive analysis of human remains, but must consult with traditionally associated peoples and consider their opinions and concerns before making decisions on appropriate actions. In addition, such use of human remains will occur only with an approved research proposal that describes why the information cannot be obtained through other sources or analysis and why the research is important to the ﬁeld of study and the general public.

(See Cultural Resources 6.3.8; Consultation 7.5.6; Cemeteries and Burials 8.6.10. Also see ARPA; NAGPRA; 36 CFR Part 79; 43 CFR Part 10)

*Amended by Memorandum dated October 7, 2024

5.3.5 Treatment of Cultural Resources

The Park Service will provide for the long-term preservation of, public access to, and appreciation of the features, materials, and qualities contributing to the signiﬁcance of cultural resources. With some diﬀerences by type, cultural resources are subject to several basic treatments, including (1) preservation in their existing states; (2) rehabilitation to serve contemporary uses, consistent with their integrity and character; and (3) restoration to earlier appearances by the removal of later additions and replacement of missing elements. Decisions regarding which treatments will best ensure the preservation and public enjoyment of particular cultural resources will be reached through the planning and compliance process, taking into account

the nature and signiﬁcance of a resource and its condition and interpretive value
the research potential of the resource
the level of intervention required by treatment alternatives
the availability of data and the terms of any binding restrictions
the concerns of traditionally associated peoples and other groups and individuals

Except for emergencies that threaten irreparable loss without immediate action, no treatment project will be undertaken unless supported by an approved planning document appropriate to the proposed action.

The preservation of cultural resources in their existing states will always receive ﬁrst consideration. Treatments entailing greater intervention will not proceed without the consideration of interpretive alternatives. The appearance and condition of resources before treatment and changes made during treatment will be documented. Such documentation will be shared with any appropriate state or tribal historic preservation oﬃce or certiﬁed local government and added to the park museum cataloging system. Pending treatment decisions reached through the planning process, all resources will be protected and preserved in their existing states.

As a basic principle, anything of historical appearance that the National Park Service presents to the public in a park will be either an authentic survival from the past or an accurate representation of that once existing there. Reconstructions and reproductions will be clearly identiﬁed as such.

The Service will holistically approach the treatment of related cultural resources in a park. All cultural resource and natural resource values will be considered in deﬁning speciﬁc treatment and management goals. Research will be coordinated and sequenced so that decisions are not made in isolation. Each proposed action will be evaluated to ensure consistency or compatibility in the overall treatment of park resources. The relative importance and relationship of all values will be weighed to identify potential conﬂicts between and among resource preservation goals, park management and operation goals, and park user goals. Conﬂicts will be considered and resolved through the planning process, which will include any consultation required by 16 USC 470f.

Although each resource type is most closely associated with a particular discipline, an interdisciplinary approach is commonly needed to properly deﬁne speciﬁc treatment and management goals for cultural resources. Policies applicable to the various resource types follow.

(See Park Management 1.4; Levels of Park Planning 2.3; Planning 5.2; Cultural Resources 6.3.8. Also see NEPA; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties)

5.3.5.1 Archeological Resources

Archeological resources will be managed in situ, unless the removal of artifacts or physical disturbance is justiﬁed by research, consultation, preservation, protection, or interpretive requirements. Preservation treatments will include proactive measures that protect resources from vandalism and looting, and will maintain or improve their condition by limiting damage due to natural and human agents. Data recovery actions will be taken only in the context of planning, consultation, and appropriate decision-making. Preservation treatments and data recovery activities will be conducted within the scope of an approved research design. Archeological research will use nondestructive methods of testing and analysis wherever possible. The Park Service will incorporate information about archeological resources into interpretive, educational, and preservation programs. Artifacts and specimens recovered from archeological resources, along with associated records and reports, will be maintained together in the park museum collection.

(Also see Director’s Order #28A: Archeology; 36 CFR Part 79; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeological Documentation [48 FR 44734-737]; Museum Handbook)

5.3.5.1.1 Preservation

Archeological resources will be maintained and preserved in a stable condition to prevent degradation and loss. The condition of archeological resources will be documented, regularly monitored, and evaluated against initial baseline data. Parks are encouraged to enlist concerned local citizens in site stewardship programs to patrol and monitor the condition of archeological resources. The preservation of archeological components of cultural landscapes, structures, and ruins are also subject to the treatment policies for cultural landscapes, historic and prehistoric structures, and historic and prehistoric ruins.

(See Volunteers in the Parks 1.9.1.6)

5.3.5.1.2 Stabilization

Archeological resources subject to erosion, slumping, subsidence, or other natural deterioration will be stabilized using the least intrusive and destructive methods. The methods used will protect natural resources and processes to the maximum extent feasible. Stabilization will occur only after suﬃcient research demonstrates the likely success of the proposed stabilizing action and after existing conditions are documented.

5.3.5.1.3 Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction

These terms are normally related to the treatment of historic structures and cultural landscapes. The Park Service will not normally undertake the rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction of archeological resources or features. Archeological studies undertaken in conjunction with the rehabilitation or restoration of cultural landscapes, structures, or ruins, or with the reconstruction of obliterated cultural landscapes or missing structures, will be guided by the treatment policies for archeological resources as well as those for the other associated resource types.5.3.5.1.4 ProtectionArcheological resources will be protected against human agents of destruction and deterioration whenever practicable. Archeological resources subject to vandalism and looting will be periodically monitored and, if appropriate, fencing, warning signs, remote-sensing alarms, and other protective measures will be installed. Training and public education programs will be developed to make park staﬀ and the public aware of the value of the park’s archeological resources and the penalties for destroying them. For public safety reasons, local citizens who are monitoring resources under site stewardship programs will be instructed to report incidents of vandalism and looting to law enforcement personnel for response.

(See Volunteers in Parks 7.6.1; Shared Responsibilities 8.3.3)

5.3.5.1.5 Archeological Data Recovery

Archeological data recovery is permitted if justiﬁed by research or interpretation needs. Signiﬁcant archeological data that would otherwise be lost as a result of resource treatment projects or uncontrollable degradation or destruction will be recovered in accordance with appropriate research proposals and preserved in park museum collections. Data will be recovered to mitigate the loss of signiﬁcant archeological data due to park development, but only after

he redesign, relocation, and cancellation of the proposed development have all been considered and ruled out as infeasible through the planning process;
the park development has been approved; and
the project has provided for data recovery, cataloging, and the initial preservation of recovered collections.

(See Planning 5.2)

5.3.5.1.6 Earthworks

Appropriate and, when feasible, native vegetation will be maintained when necessary to prevent the erosion of prehistoric and historic earthworks, even when the historic condition might have been bare earth. Because earthwork restorations and reconstructions can obliterate surviving remains and are often diﬃcult to maintain, other means of representing and interpreting the original earthworks will receive ﬁrst consideration.

(See Management of Native Plants and Animals 4.4.2; Management of Exotic Species 4.4.4)

5.3.5.1.7 Submerged Cultural Resources

Historic shipwrecks and other submerged cultural resources will be protected, to the extent permitted by law, in the same manner as terrestrial archeological resources. Protection activities involve inventory, evaluation, monitoring, interpretation, and establishing partnerships to provide for the management of historic shipwrecks and other submerged cultural resources in units of the national park system. The Service will not allow treasure hunting or commercial salvage activities at or around historic shipwrecks or other submerged cultural resources located within park boundaries unless legally obligated to do so. Parks may provide recreational diving access to submerged cultural resources that are not susceptible to damage or the removal of artifacts. The Service will ensure that the activities of others in park waters do not adversely aﬀect submerged cultural resources or the surrounding natural environment. The Service will consult with the owners of non-abandoned historic shipwrecks and enter into written agreements with them to clarify how the shipwrecks will be managed by the Park Service. Shipwrecks owned by a state government pursuant to the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 will be managed in accordance with the Abandoned Shipwreck Act Guidelines (55 FR 50116-145, 55 FR 51528,and 56 FR 7875).

(See Recreational Activities 8.2.2. Also see 36 CFR Part 2; 485 DM 27; Director’s Order #4: Diving Management)

5.3.5.2 Cultural Landscapes

The treatment of a cultural landscape will preserve signiﬁcant physical attributes, biotic systems, and uses when those uses contribute to historical signiﬁcance. Treatment decisions will be based on a cultural landscape’s historical signiﬁcance over time, existing conditions, and use. Treatment decisions will consider both the natural and built characteristics and features of a landscape, the dynamics inherent in natural processes and continued use, and the concerns of traditionally associated peoples.

The treatment implemented will be based on sound preservation practices to enable long-term preservation of a resource’s historic features, qualities, and materials. There are three types of treatment for extant cultural landscapes: preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration.

(See Decision-making Requirements to Identify and Avoid Impairments 1.4.7. Also see Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes)

5.3.5.2.1 Preservation

A cultural landscape will be preserved in its present condition if

that condition allows for satisfactory protection, maintenance, use, and interpretation; or
another treatment is warranted but cannot be accomplished until some future time.

5.3.5.2.2 Rehabilitation

A cultural landscape may be rehabilitated for contemporary use if

it cannot adequately serve an appropriate use in its present condition; and
rehabilitation will retain its essential features and not alter its integrity and character or conﬂict with approved park management objectives.

5.3.5.1.3 Restoration

A cultural landscape may be restored to an earlier appearance if

all changes after the proposed restoration period have been professionally evaluated and the signiﬁcance of those changes has been fully considered;
restoration is essential to public understanding of the park’s cultural associations;
suﬃcient data about that landscape’s earlier appearance exist to enable its accurate restoration; and
the disturbance or loss of signiﬁcant archeological resources is minimized and mitigated by data recovery.

5.3.5.2.4 Reconstruction of Obliterated Landscapes

No matter how well conceived or executed, reconstructions are contemporary interpretations of the past rather than authentic survivals from it. The National Park Service will not reconstruct an obliterated cultural landscape unless

there is no alternative that would accomplish the park’s interpretive mission;
suﬃcient data exist to enable its accurate reconstruction, based on the duplication of historic features substantiated by documentary or physical evidence, rather than on conjectural designs or features from other landscapes;
reconstruction will occur in the original location;
the disturbance or loss of signiﬁcant archeological resources is minimized and mitigated by data recovery; andreconstruction is approved by the Director.

A landscape will not be reconstructed to appear damaged or ruined. General representations of typical landscapes will not be attempted.

5.3.5.2.5 Biotic Cultural Resources

Biotic cultural resources, which include plant and animal communities associated with the signiﬁcance of a cultural landscape, will be duly considered in treatment and management. The cultural resource and natural resource components of the park’s resource stewardship strategy will jointly identify acceptable plans for the management and treatment of biotic cultural resources. The park’s resource stewardship strategy will anticipate and plan for the natural and human-induced processes of change. Before any major treatment of a cultural landscape is undertaken, there must be an understanding of the degree to which change contributes to or compromises the historic character of the landscape, and the way in which natural cycles inﬂuence the ecological processes within the landscape. Treatment and management of a cultural landscape will establish acceptable parameters for change and manage the biotic resources within those parameters.

(See Maintenance of Altered Plant Communities 4.4.2.5)

5.3.5.2.6 Land Use and Ethnographic Value

Many cultural landscapes are signiﬁcant because of their historic land use and practices. When land use is a primary reason for the signiﬁcance of a landscape, the objective of treatment will be to balance the perpetuation of use with the retention of the tangible evidence that represents its history. The variety and arrangement of cultural and natural features in a landscape often have sacred or other continuing importance in the ethnic histories and cultural vigor of associated peoples. These features and their past and present-day uses will be identiﬁed, and the beliefs, attitudes, practices, traditions, and values of traditionally associated peoples will be considered in any treatment decisions.

Contemporary use of a cultural landscape is appropriate if it

does not adversely aﬀect signiﬁcant landscape characteristics and features; and
either follows the historic use or does not impede public appreciation of it.

All uses of cultural landscapes are subject to legal requirements, policy, guidelines, and standards for natural and cultural resource preservation, public safety, and special park uses.

5.3.5.2.7 New Construction

Contemporary alterations and additions to a cultural landscape must not radically change, obscure, or destroy its signiﬁcant spatial organization, materials, and features. New buildings, structures, landscape features, and utilities may be constructed in a cultural landscape if

existing structures and improvements do not meet essential management needs;
new construction is designed and sited to preserve the landscape’s integrity and historic character; and
the alterations, additions, or related new construction is diﬀerentiated from yet compatible with the landscape’s historic character—unless associated with an approved restoration or reconstruction.

New additions will meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

5.3.5.3 Ethnographic Resources

Park ethnographic resources are the cultural and natural features of a park that are of traditional signiﬁcance to traditionally associated peoples. These peoples are the contemporary park neighbors and ethnic or occupational communities that have been associated with a park for two or more generations (40 years), and whose interests in the park’s resources began before the park’s establishment. Living peoples of many cultural backgrounds—American Indians, Inuit (Eskimos), Native Hawaiians, African Americans, Hispanics, Chinese Americans, Euro- Americans, and farmers, ranchers, and ﬁshermen—may have a traditional association with a particular park.

Traditionally associated peoples generally diﬀer as a group from other park visitors in that they typically assign signiﬁcance to ethnographic resources—places closely linked with their own sense of purpose, existence as a community, and development as ethnically distinctive peoples. These places may be in urban or rural parks and support ceremonial activities or represent birthplaces of signiﬁcant individuals, group origin sites, migration routes, or harvesting or collecting places. Although these places have historic attributes that are of great importance to the group, they may not necessarily have a direct association with the reason the park was established or be appropriate as a topic of general public interest. Some ethnographic resources might also be traditional cultural properties. A traditional cultural property is one that is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places because of its association with cultural practices or beliefs of a living community that are (1) rooted in that community’s history, and (2) important in maintaining the continuing cultural identity of the community.

The Service’s primary interest in these places stems from its responsibilities under

the NPS Organic Act—to conserve the natural and historic objects within parks unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations;
the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)—to preserve, conserve, and encourage the continuation of the diverse traditional prehistoric, historic, ethnic, and folk cultural traditions that underlie and are a living expression of our American heritage;
the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA)— to protect and preserve for American Indians accessto sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites;
the Archeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA)— to secure, for the present and future beneﬁt of the American people, the protection of archeological resources and sites that are on public lands and Indian Lands;
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—to preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage; and
Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites)—to accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious practitioners and avoid adversely aﬀecting the physical integrity of such sacred sites.

The Service must therefore be respectful of these ethnographic resources and carefully consider the eﬀectsthat NPS actions may have on them. When religious issues are evident, the Service must also consider constraints imposed on federal agency actions by the First andFourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The National Park Service will adopt a comprehensive approach towards appreciating the diverse human heritage and associated resources that characterize the national park system. The Service will identify the present-day peoples whose cultural practices and identities were, and often still are, closely associated with each park’s cultural and natural resources.

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) recognizes the importance of maintaining Alaska Native and non-Native subsistence lifestyles and contains provisions that authorize activities by the Park Serviceto assist Alaska Natives in the preservation of cultural resources. For many rural Alaskans, the land and the way of life are inseparable. The Service will explore opportunities in Alaska to forge a mutually beneﬁcial relationship between Alaska Natives, rural Alaskans, and the Service. In Alaska and elsewhere, the Service will try to strengthen the ability of traditional and indigenous peoples to perpetuate their culture and to enrich the parks with a deeper sense of place and applicable traditional knowledge held by associatedgroups.

Ethnographic information will be collected through collaborative research that recognizes the sensitive nature of such information. Cultural anthropologists/ethnographers will document the meanings that traditionally associated groups assign to traditional natural and cultural resources and the landscapes they form. The park’s ethnographicﬁle will include this information, as well as data on the traditional management practices and knowledge systemsthat aﬀect resource uses and the short- and long-term eﬀects of use on the resources.

(See Conﬁdentiality 5.2.3. Also see Director’s Order #28B: Ethnography Program)

5.3.5.3.1 Resource Access and Use

Consistent with the requirements of the Organic Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites) cited in section 5.3.5.3 above, the Service will strive to allow American Indians and other traditionally associated peoples access to and use of ethnographic resources. Continued access to and use of ethnographic resources is often essential to the survival of family, community, or regional cultural systems, including patterns of belief and sociocultural and religious life. However, the Service may not allow access and use if it would violate the criteria listed in section 8.1.

The Service generally supports traditional access and use when reasonable accommodations can be made under NPS authorities to allow greater access and use. Park superintendents may reasonably control the times when and places where speciﬁc groups may have exclusive access to particular areas of a park.

With regard to consumptive use of park resources, current NPS policy is reﬂected in regulations published at 36 CFR 2.1. These regulations allow superintendents to designate certain fruits, berries, nuts, or unoccupied seashells that may be gathered by hand for personal use or consumption if it will not adversely aﬀect park wildlife, the reproductive potential of a plant species, or otherwise adversely aﬀect park resources. The regulations do not authorize the taking, use, or possession of ﬁsh, wildlife, or plants for ceremonial or religious purposes except where speciﬁcally authorized by federal statute or treaty rights or where hunting, trapping, or ﬁshing are otherwise allowed. These regulations are currently under review, and NPS policy is evolving in this area.

Regulations addressing traditional subsistence uses that are authorized in Alaska by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act are published at 36 CFR Part 13. Some park-speciﬁc enabling acts (for example, Big Cypress National Preserve and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park) allow subsistence or other traditional uses of park resources.

(See Appropriate Use 8.1.1; Use by American Indians and Other Traditionally Associated Groups 8.5; Special Park Uses 8.6; Collecting Natural Products 8.8; Consumptive Uses 8.9)

5.3.5.3.2 Sacred Sites

The National Park Service acknowledges that American Indian tribes, including Native Alaskans, treat speciﬁc places containing certain natural and cultural resources as sacred places having established religious meaning and as locales of private ceremonial activities. Consistent with Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites), the Service will, to the extent practicable, accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by religious practitioners from recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives, and avoid adversely aﬀecting the physical integrity of such sacred sites.

In consultation with the appropriate groups, the Service will develop a record about such places, and identify any treatments preferred by the groups. This information will alert superintendents and planners to the potential presence of sensitive areas and will be kept conﬁdential to the extent permitted by law. The Service will collaborate with aﬀected groups to prepare mutually agreeable strategies for providing access to ordinarily gated or otherwise inaccessible locales, and for enhancing the likelihood of privacy during religious ceremonies. Any strategies that are developed must comply with constitutional and other legal requirements. To the extent feasible and allowable by law, accommodations will also be made for access to and the use of sacred places when interest is expressed by other traditionally associated peoples (especially Native Hawaiians and other Paciﬁc islanders) and by American Indian peoples and others who often have a long-standingconnection and identity with a particular park or resource.

Various ethnic groups, local groups with recently developed ties to resources in neighboring parks, and visitors to family and national cemeteries and national memorials also might use park resources for traditional or individual religious ceremonies. Mutually acceptable agreements may be negotiated with known groups to provide access to and the use of such places, consistent with constitutional and other legal constraints.

(See Conﬁdentiality 5.2.3; Resource Access and Use 5.3.5.3.1; Use by American Indians and Other Traditionally Associated Groups 8.5; First Amendment Activities 8.6.3.Also see Director’s Orders #66: FOIA and Protected Resource Information, and #71B: Indian Sacred Sites; NHPA [16 USC 470w-3]; Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites); 512 DM 3)

5.3.5.3.3 Research

The Park Service will maintain a program of professional cultural anthropological/ethnographic research designed to provide NPS managers with information about relationships between park resources and associated peoples. Research will be undertaken in cooperation with associated peoples in an interdisciplinary manner whenever reasonable, especially in studies of natural resource use and ethnographic landscapes. Research ﬁndings will be used to inform planning, cultural and natural resource management decision-making, and interpretation, as well as to help managers meet responsibilities to associated peoples and other stakeholders in the outcomes of NPS decisions.

Collaborative research dealing with recent or contemporary cultural systems and the resources of park-associated peoples will involve the groups in the design and implementation of the research and the review of research ﬁndings to the fullest possible extent. The Service will provide individuals or groups involved with or directly aﬀected by the research with copies or summaries of the reports, as appropriate.

(See Levels of Park Planning 2.3; Studies and Collections 4.2; Consultation 7.5.6; Use by American Indians and Other Traditionally Associated Groups 8.5. Also see Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes)

5.3.5.4 Historic and Prehistoric Structures

The treatment of historic and prehistoric structures will be based on sound preservation practice to enable the long-term preservation of a structure’s historic features, materials, and qualities. There are three types of treatment for extant structures: preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration.

(Also see Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties)5.3.5.4.1 PreservationA structure will be preserved in its present condition ifthat condition allows for satisfactory protection, maintenance, use, and interpretation; oranother treatment is warranted but cannot be accomplished until some future time.

5.3.5.4.1 PRESERVATION
A structure will be preserved in its present condition if

that condition allows for satisfactory protection, maintenance, use, and interpretation; or
another treatment is warranted but cannot be accomplished until some future time.

5.3.5.4.2 Rehabilitation

A historic structure may be rehabilitated (rehabilitation does not apply to prehistoric structures) for contemporary use if

it cannot adequately serve an appropriate use in its present condition; and
rehabilitation will retain its essential features and will not alter its integrity and character or conﬂict with approved park management objectives.

5.3.5.4.3 Restoration

A structure may be restored to an earlier appearance if

all changes after the proposed restoration period have been professionally evaluated, and the signiﬁcance of those changes has been fully considered;
restoration is essential to public understanding of the park’s cultural associations;
suﬃcient data about that structure’s earlier appearance exist to enable its accurate restoration; and
the disturbance or loss of signiﬁcant archeological resources is minimized and mitigated by data recovery.

5.3.5.4.4 Reconstruction of Missing Structures

there is no alternative that would accomplish the park’s interpretive mission;
suﬃcient data exist to enable its accurate reconstruction based on the duplication of historic features substantiated by documentary or physical evidence rather than on conjectural designs or features from other structures;
reconstruction will occur in the original location;the disturbance or loss of signiﬁcant archeological resources is minimized and mitigated by data recovery; and
reconstruction is approved by the Director.

A structure will not be reconstructed to appear damaged or ruined. Generalized representations of typical structures will not be attempted.

(See Environmental Monitoring and Control 5.3.1.4; Physical Access for Persons with Disabilities 5.3.2; Historic and Prehistoric Ruins 5.3.5.4.10)

5.3.5.4.5 Movement of Historic Structures

Proposals for moving historic structures will consider the eﬀects of movement on the structures, their present environments, their proposed environments, and the archeological research value of the structures and their sites. No historic structure will be moved if its preservation would be adversely aﬀected or until the appropriate recovery of signiﬁcant archeological data has occurred. Prehistoric structures will not be moved.

A nationally signiﬁcant historic structure may be moved only if

it cannot practically be preserved on its present site; or
the move constitutes a return to a previous historic location, and the previous move and present location are not important to the structure’s signiﬁcance.

A historic structure of less-than-national signiﬁcance may be moved if

it cannot practically be preserved on its present site; or
its present location is not important to its signiﬁcance, and its relocation is essential to public understanding of the park’s cultural associations.In moving a historic structure, every eﬀort will be made to reestablish its historic orientation, immediate setting, and general relationship to its environment.

The Park Service will not acquire historic structures for relocation to parks unless those structures were removed from the park and are necessary to achieve the park purpose or authorized by legislation.

5.3.5.4.6 New Construction

In preference to new construction, every reasonable consideration will be given to using historic structures for park purposes compatible with their preservation and public appreciation. Additions may be made to historic structures when essential to their continued use and when new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the structure. Structural additions will harmonize in size, scale, proportion, and materials with, but be readily distinguishable from, the older work, and will not intrude upon the historic scene. New additions will meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

In those areas of parks managed for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of cultural resources and their settings, new structures, landscape features, and utilities will be constructed only if

existing structures and improvements do not meet essential park management needs; and
new construction is designed and sited to preserve the integrity and character of the area.

Unless associated with an approved restoration or reconstruction, all alterations, additions, or related new construction will be diﬀerentiated from yet compatible with the historic character of the structure.

(See Rehabilitation 5.3.5.4.2; Use of Historic Structures 5.3.5.4.7; Adaptive Use 9.1.1.4. Also see Executive Order 13006 (Locating Federal Facilities on Historic Properties); National Historic Preservation Act)

5.3.5.4.7 Use of Historic Structures

NHPA (16 USC 470h-2(a)(1)) and Executive Order 13006 (Locating Federal Facilities on Historic Properties) require each federal agency—before acquiring, constructing, or leasing buildings—to use, to the maximum extent feasible, historic properties available to it whenever operationally appropriate and economically prudent. The National Historic Preservation Act also requires each agency to implement alternatives for the adaptive use of historic properties it owns if that will help ensure the properties’ preservation. Therefore, compatible uses for structures will be found whenever possible. This policy will help prevent the accelerated deterioration of historic structures due to neglect and vandalism. Unused signiﬁcant historic structures should be stabilized and protected throughappropriate measures (such as mothballing) until long-term decisions are made through the planning process.

All uses of historic structures are subject to preservation and public safety requirements. No administrative or public use will be permitted that would threaten the stability or character of a structure, the museum objects within it, or the safety of its users, or that would entail alterations that would signiﬁcantly compromise its integrity.

(See Fire Detection, Suppression, and Post-ﬁre Rehabilitation and Protection 5.3.1.2; Physical Access for Persons with Disabilities 5.3.2; Adaptive Use 9.1.1.4; Energy Management 9.1.7; Historic Structures 9.4.3.3. Also see Executive Order 13287 (Preserve America))

5.3.5.4.8 Park Structures Owned or Managed by Others

Structures and related property owned or managed by others will be managed in accordance with NPS policies, guidelines, and standards to the extent permitted by the Service’s interest. This includes structures and property owned but not occupied by the Service, and structures and property owned by others in which the Service hasa less-than-fee interest or plays a major management or preservation role. Interests acquired or retained by the Service will enable the application of this policy.

(See Land Protection Plans 3.3; Historic Property Leases and Cooperative Agreements 5.3.3; Commercial Visitor Services Planning 10.2.2)

5.3.5.4.9 Damaged or Destroyed Historic Structures

Historic structures damaged or destroyed by ﬁre, storm, earthquake, war, or any other accident may be preserved as ruins; be removed; or be rehabilitated, restored, or reconstructed in accordance with these policies.

5.3.5.4.10 Historic and Prehistoric Ruins

The stabilization of historic and prehistoric ruins will be preceded by studies leading to the recovery of any data that would be aﬀected by stabilization work. Ruins and related features on unexcavated archeological sites will be stabilized only to the extent necessary to preserve research values or to arrest structural deterioration, recognizing that it is preferable to preserve archeological sites in situ than to excavate them. Archeological ruins to be exhibited will not be excavated until consultation has occurred with traditionally associated peoples and adequate provisions are made for data recovery and stabilization. Structures will not be deliberately reduced to ruins, and missing structures will not be reconstructed to appear damaged or ruined.

5.3.5.5 Museum Collections

The Service will collect, protect, preserve, provide access to, and use objects, specimens, and archival and manuscript collections (henceforth referred to collectively as “collections,” or individually as “items”) in the disciplines of archeology, ethnography, history, biology, geology, and paleontology to aid understanding among park visitors, and to advance knowledge in the humanities and sciences. As appropriate, the Service will consult with culturally aﬃliated or traditionally associated peoples before treating or reproducing items in NPS collections that are subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

(Also see Museum Handbook)

5.3.5.5.1 Preservation

An item in a museum collection will be preserved in its present condition through ongoing preventive care if

that condition is satisfactory for exhibit or research; or
another treatment is warranted but it cannot be accomplished until some future time.

An item will be stabilized if

preventive measures are insuﬃcient to reduce deterioration to a tolerable level; or
the item is so fragile that it will be endangered under any circumstances.

Active conservation treatment (intervention) will be minimized to reduce the possibility of compromising the item’s integrity. All active treatment will be documented.

5.3.5.5.2 Restoration

An item in a museum collection may be restored to an earlier appearance if

restoration is required for exhibit or research purposes;
suﬃcient data about that item’s earlier appearance exist to enable its accurate restoration; and
restoration will not modify that item’s known original character.

Restoration will be accomplished using the techniques and materials that least modify the item and so that the materials can be removed at a later time with minimal adverse eﬀect. Restored areas will be documented and distinguishable from original material. Restoration will take into account the possible importance of preserving signs of wear, damage, former maintenance, and other historical and scientiﬁc evidence.

5.3.5.5.3 Reproduction

Items needed for interpretive and educational presentations will be reproduced for such use when the originals (1) are unavailable, or (2) would be subject to undue deterioration or loss, or (3) are otherwise inappropriate for exhibit. If an object is inappropriate for exhibit because of its religious or spiritual signiﬁcance to a traditionally associated people, it will be reproduced only after consultation with such people.

5.3.5.5.4 Acquisition, Management, Disposition, and Use

Collections and related documentation essential to achieving the purposes and objectives of parks will be acquired and maintained in accordance with approved scope of collection statements for each park. When museum objects, specimens, or archival documents become available and fall within a park’s approved scope of collection statement, every reasonable eﬀort will be made to acquire them if they can be managed and made accessible according to NPS standards.

Archeological objects systematically collected in a park, and natural history specimens systematically collected in a park for exhibit or permanent retention, will be managed as part of the park’s museum collection. The management and care of museum collections will be addressed at all appropriate levels of planning. Requisite levels of care will be established through the interdisciplinary eﬀorts of qualiﬁed professionals.

Museum collections will be acquired and disposed of in conformance with legal authorizations and current NPS procedures. The National Park Service will acquire only collections having legal and ethical pedigrees. Each park will maintain complete and current accession records to establish the basis for legal custody of the collections in its possession, including intellectual property rights when acquired. Each park will prepare museum catalog records to record basic property management data and other documentary information about the park’s museum collection. Collections will be inventoried in accordance with current procedures. Archeological, cultural landscape, ethnographic, historic and prehistoric structure, historic furnishings, natural resource, and other projects that generate collections for parks will provide for cataloging and initial preservation of those collections in the project budget.

The Service may cooperate with qualiﬁed entities in the management, use, and exhibition of museum collections, and may loan items to or borrow items from such entities for approved purposes. The Service may deaccession items using means authorized in the Museum Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Interested persons will be permitted to inspect and study NPS museum collections and records in accordance with standards for the preservation and use of collections, and subject to laws and policies regarding the conﬁdentiality of resource data. At-cost copies of documents may be provided.

(See Natural Resource Collections 4.2.3; Paleontological Resources and Their Contexts 4.8.2.1; Conﬁdentiality 5.2.3; Fire Detection, Suppression, and Post-ﬁre Rehabilitation and Protection 5.3.1.2; Environmental Monitoring and Control 5.3.1.4; Consultation 7.5.6; Special Park Uses 8.6; Museum Collections Management Facilities 9.4.2. Also see 16 USC 18f; 43 USC 1460; 36 CFR Part 79; 43 CFR Part 10; and Museum Handbook)

5.3.5.5.5 Historic Furnishings

When historic furnishings are present in their original arrangement in a historic structure, every eﬀort will be made to preserve them as an entity. Such historic furnishings will not be moved or replaced unless required for their protection or repair or unless the structure is designated for another use in an approved planning document. The original arrangement of historic furnishings will be properly documented. A structure may be refurnished in whole or in part ifall changes after the proposed refurnishing period have been professionally evaluated, and their signiﬁcance has been fully considered;a planning process has demonstrated that refurnishing is essential to public understanding of the park’s cultural associations; andsuﬃcient evidence of the design and placement of the structure’s furnishings exists to enable its accurate refurnishing without reliance on evidence from comparable structures.Generalized representations of typical interiors will not be attempted except in exhibit contexts that make their representative nature obvious. Reproductions may be used in place of historic furnishings, but only when photographic evidence or prototypes exist to ensure the accurate re creation of historic pieces.

(See Levels of Park Planning 2.3; Nonpersonal Services 7.3.2)

5.3.5.5.6 Archives and Manuscripts

Archival and manuscript collections are museum collections; they will be preserved, arranged, cataloged, and described in ﬁnding aids. They will be maintained and used in ways that preserve the collections and their context (provenance and original order) intact while providing controlled access. With few legal exemptions, the Park Service will make archives and manuscripts available to researchers. Electronic documents that are to be preserved in archival and manuscript collections will be migrated so that their information remains accessible.All documentation associated with natural and cultural resource studies and other resource management actions will be retained in the park’s museum collection for use in managing park resources over time. Parks will retain notes or copies of records signiﬁcant to their administrative histories when they periodically transfer their oﬃcial records to federal record centers.

(See Managing Information 1.9.2; Conﬁdentiality 5.2.3)

Last updated: October 8, 2024

Contact Us

Chapter 5: Cultural Resource Management

Tools