North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office

North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office
Name	North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office
Type	State agency
Headquarters	Bismarck, North Dakota
Parent organization	North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department
Jurisdiction	State of North Dakota

North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office is the state-level agency in Bismarck charged with identifying, evaluating, and protecting historic and archaeological resources in North Dakota. It coordinates National Register nominations, manages preservation grants and tax incentives, and collaborates with tribal governments, the National Park Service, and community organizations across the Plains and Great Plains region. The office works with federal agencies such as the National Park Service, state entities like the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, and tribal nations including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation to integrate preservation into land-use projects and cultural resource management.

History

The office traces its origins to the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and subsequent state-level implementation during the late 1960s and early 1970s, following models established by the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Early activity involved cooperation with institutions such as the State Historical Society of North Dakota, the Library of Congress, and regional museums like the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum to document Fort Abraham Lincoln, Fort Mandan, and other territorial-era sites. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the office expanded partnerships with Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and preservation advocates including the National Trust for Historic Preservation to respond to infrastructure projects along the Missouri River and to manage impacts from energy development driven by interests in the Williston Basin and Bakken Formation. Recent decades have seen collaboration with academic programs at North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota as well as engagement with cultural resource management firms and tribal historic preservation offices.

Mission and Responsibilities

The office’s mandate derives from the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and state statutes, aligning responsibilities with the National Park Service protocols and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation expectations. Core duties include survey and inventory of properties such as Historic Fort Buford, assessment of archaeological sites including Mandan villages, review of federal undertakings under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and preparation of National Register nominations for resources like the State Capitol (Bismarck, North Dakota), the Northern Pacific Railway corridors, and historic districts in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot. The office also consults with tribal governments including the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians on Traditional Cultural Properties and repatriation issues under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Programs and Services

Programs administered include grant programs coordinated with the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Fund, review processes for Section 106 consultation with agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration and the Bureau of Land Management, archaeological permitting, and outreach initiatives modeled after national efforts by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers. Services offered to local governments and preservation groups encompass technical assistance for National Register of Historic Places nominations, design review guidance consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and coordination with tax credit programs analogous to the federal Historic Tax Credit administered by the Internal Revenue Service.

Historic Resource Survey and Inventory

The office maintains an electronic and paper inventory of built and archaeological resources compiled through field survey, laboratory analysis, and archival research in collaboration with entities like the State Historical Society of North Dakota, university archaeology programs at the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University, and consulting archaeologists. Survey priorities have included Precontact sites tied to the Plains Village cultures, Euro-American homesteads associated with the Homestead Act of 1862, railroad-related properties linked to the Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway (U.S.), and energy-related cultural landscapes in the Williston Basin. The inventory supports compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and provides baseline data for National Register evaluations and stewardship by municipal preservation commissions in communities like Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks.

National Register Coordination

The office prepares and reviews nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, forwards nominations to the National Park Service, and convenes state review boards that include historians, architects, and archaeologists with affiliations to institutions such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, and regional museums. Notable listings coordinated include territorial courthouses, historic bridges on routes of the Lincoln Highway, WPA-era buildings linked to the Works Progress Administration, and Native American sites with significance to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. Coordination also involves collaboration with the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record for documentation of vernacular architecture and industrial heritage.

Grants, Tax Credits, and Funding

Funding mechanisms managed or administered in partnership include allocations from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund, state historic preservation grants, and technical assistance for access to federal tax incentives modeled after the federal Historic Tax Credit program overseen by the Internal Revenue Service and the National Park Service. The office supports applicants seeking rehabilitation credits for properties in designated historic districts in cities like Fargo and Bismarck, and distributes small-matching grants for survey and planning in rural counties, often working alongside county historical societies and tribal historic preservation offices such as those of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Three Affiliated Tribes.

Outreach, Education, and Partnerships

Outreach activities include workshops, public lectures, and educational materials produced in cooperation with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, university partners at the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University, and cultural organizations like the Plains Art Museum and local preservation commissions. Partnerships extend to federal agencies—including the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—tribal governments such as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, national organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and professional groups including the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers to promote stewardship of landmarks like Fort Union Trading Post and to integrate preservation into planning for infrastructure, heritage tourism, and community development.

Category:Historic preservation in North Dakota