Preserve America Act
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| Preserve America Act | |
|---|---|
| Name | Preserve America Act |
| Enacted by | United States Congress |
| Effective date | 2003 |
| Status | Active |
Preserve America Act The Preserve America Act is a 2003 public law enacted to promote the identification, protection, and celebration of historic preservation resources across the United States. The Act established a program to encourage stewardship of cultural heritage through grants, technical assistance, and recognition of participating communities, tribes, and organizations. It builds upon earlier federal initiatives and interacts with multiple statutes, agencies, and nonprofit partners to support heritage tourism, economic revitalization, and community-based conservation.
Background and legislative history
The Act arose during the administration of George W. Bush and followed precedents set by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Environmental Policy Act, and executive initiatives such as the Preserve America executive efforts. Congressional deliberations involved members of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the U.S. House Committee on Resources, and stakeholders from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and state historic preservation offices (SHPOs). Legislative sponsors referenced cases like the rehabilitation of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace and revitalization projects in Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and Santa Fe, New Mexico to illustrate economic and cultural benefits. The bill received bipartisan support and was signed into law as part of federal policy aligning with tourism strategies championed by the Department of Commerce and heritage programs championed by the Smithsonian Institution.
Purpose and provisions
The law's primary purpose is to encourage cultural stewardship, stimulate heritage tourism economies, and integrate historic preservation into community planning. Key provisions authorize competitive grants for documentation, planning, and interpretation projects similar to programs administered by the National Park Service and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Act outlines criteria for designation of participating communities, tribes, and organizations, and mandates coordination with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, SHPOs, and the Department of the Interior. It also established mechanisms for public recognition—often likened to awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and municipal heritage programs in cities such as Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Boston.
Eligibility and designation process
Eligibility extends to local governments, federally recognized tribes, and nonprofit organizations that demonstrate stewardship of historic and cultural resources comparable to programs run by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The designation process requires coordination with SHPOs, submission of management plans modeled on guidance from the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and evidence of local support comparable to community-driven initiatives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Monticello, and Independence National Historical Park. Entities must document historic assets, interpretive programs, and strategies for integrating preservation with economic development approaches highlighted in studies from the Brookings Institution and the Urban Land Institute.
Funding and grants
The Act authorizes federal appropriations to provide competitive grants for activities such as survey, planning, education, and heritage tourism promotion. Grants parallel existing funding streams from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund and match programs used by the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service and the Economic Development Administration. Eligible grant activities include documentation similar to projects funded by the Library of Congress's Historic American Buildings Survey, conservation work aligned with standards from the Secretary of the Interior, and interpretive programming consistent with guidelines from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding distribution has linked with state-level tax credit programs, municipal revitalization efforts in places like Raleigh, North Carolina and Portland, Oregon, and nonprofit capital campaigns backed by organizations such as the Ford Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Administration and participating agencies
Administration involves interagency coordination among the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and state historic preservation offices. The Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Administration contribute to heritage tourism integration, while the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities collaborate on interpretation and education aspects. Partnerships extend to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, regional nonprofit conservancy groups, tribal historic preservation offices like those associated with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Navajo Nation, and local municipal preservation boards in cities such as St. Augustine, Florida and San Antonio, Texas.
Impact and outcomes
The program contributed to increased documentation of historic assets, expanded heritage tourism, and supported community revitalization projects in designated locations including Fredericksburg, Virginia, Annapolis, Maryland, and Galena, Illinois. Analyses by think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and reports from the National Trust for Historic Preservation indicate benefits in job creation, small business growth, and increased visitor spending in many participating communities. The law helped leverage state historic rehabilitation tax credits, public-private partnerships involving entities like the Main Street America program, and technical assistance from the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution. Long-term outcomes include enhanced inventories in the National Register of Historic Places and strengthened local capacity for preservation planning comparable to model programs in Williamsburg, Virginia and Salem, Massachusetts.
Criticisms and controversies
Critiques have focused on funding limitations, uneven geographic distribution of benefits, and concerns about over-commercialization in historic districts such as Key West, Florida and parts of Savannah, Georgia. Scholars and advocacy groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Planning Association have noted that federal grants often require matching funds, disadvantaging resource-poor communities like some in Appalachia and on tribal lands including the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Debates have also invoked preservation conflicts seen in cases involving the Presidio Trust, tax-credit controversies in New York City, and tensions between development interests represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and preservation advocates. Questions remain about measuring long-term economic impact versus cultural preservation outcomes in analyses by the Government Accountability Office and independent researchers.