National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers

09/12/2026

09/11/2026

Twenty-five years later, the events of September 11, 2001, continue to remind us of the lives lost, the communities forever changed, and the importance of preserving the stories we carry forward.

Thank you to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for their steadfast commitment to remind us that history calls us to have not only the easy conversations, but also the painful ones.

The Vesey Street Stairway, known as the Survivors’ Stairs, is the last surviving above-ground remnant of the original World Trade Center complex.

In the years following 9/11, families who lost loved ones in the attacks advocated for Ground Zero to be recognized as a historic place.

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act helped shape the recovery and rebuilding of the site, including the preservation of the Survivors’ Stairs. Recovered and relocated to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, where they remain part of the story of resilience, survival, and remembrance.

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Section 106 is often described as a process. But at its best, it is also about people, places, and the stories that matter.

Today, we remember.

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Photos courtesy Mike Roberts (vcohen) via Wikimedia CC BY 2.0, Shawn Moore/OSHA News Photo, and Kelly Paras

NY State Parks & Historic Sites

08/29/2026

Another successful Section 106 project is Green's Mill Bridge, a suspension bridge that spans the Little Niangua River, an arm of the Lake of the Ozarks. Completed in 1933, it was one of five bridges that were built in the 1930s to es**rt motorists around the new lake system. The only one of these bridges still standing, Green’s Mill Bridge was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, “under Criterion C for engineering as a nationally significant example of a self-anchored suspension bridge” (Green’s Mill Bridge – An Engineering Treasure, https://greensmillhistoricalbridge.com).

In 2020, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) began construction of a new bridge to replace Green's Mill Bridge. As part of the Section 106 process, MoDOT marketed Green’s Mill Bridge through MoDOT’s Historic Bridge Program, which makes historic bridges available for adaptive reuse. In 2023, the bridge was transferred to Green's Mill Historical Bridge, Inc., a grassroots organization formed in 2018 specifically for the purpose of protecting Green’s Mill Bridge. The group was successful in preserving the bridge in place and opening it to pedestrian use. Such an outcome would not have been possible had it not been for public involvement in the Section 106 process.

Image of Green's Mill Bridge courtesy of Green's Mill Historical Bridge website at https://greensmillhistoricalbridge.com/.

08/25/2026

Read the latest from NCSHPO →

Section 106: With the States, Not Around Them

The key to predictability is a comprehensive analysis of how the Section 106 process is currently operating.

The answer isn’t weakening the federal-state partnership...it’s getting the diagnosis right before rewriting the rules.

Read more at link in comments.

08/18/2026

08/11/2026

Section 106 Works!!!

The Project: In an effort to replace deficient bridges in Oklahoma, a bridge in Sequoyah County was identified as needing replacement. While the bridge itself was determined to not be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), an important NRHP-listed archaeological site occupied during the Late Archaic period (ca. 2000 to 300 B.C.) and during the Mississippian / Early Caddo (Harlan phase; ca A.D. 850 to 1200) periods was located near the bridge.

The 106 Process: Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to take into account the effects of projects they carry out, fund, or permit on historic properties prior to making final decisions on the projects. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funded the bridge replacement project through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). The landowner, Dan Hill, the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey (OAS), and the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) implementing measures to complete a geophysical survey, which identified six previously unknown buried archaeological features, and an archaeological recovery plan to excavate and analyze these features and the artifacts associated with them.

Section 106 Success: The Section 106 process allows for public participation in federally funded, licensed, or permitted actions. As such, Mr. Dan Hill could convey his concerns to the federal agency (and their delegate) pertaining to the prehistoric resources on his property. Furthermore, he was provided with the opportunity to serve as an invited signatory to the Memorandum of Agreement. Neither Mr. Hill’s concerns nor the presence of a significant NRHP listed prehistoric archaeological site prevented the project (the bridge replacement) from moving forward. The project was completed in 2025.

08/10/2026

Between Jan. 1, 2026 & June 30, 2026, PA SHPO was a signatory to nine Section 106 agreements with four agencies as part of consultation to resolve adverse effects to historic properties. Learn more ⬇

08/07/2026

What's next for the Section 106 rulemaking?

Read NCSHPO & National Trust for Historic Preservation comments on the proposed rule, get the latest on the federal rulemaking process, and see how Congress's parallel Section 106 discussions fit into the bigger picture.

Read at link in comments.