Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office

Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Name	Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Formed	1966
Jurisdiction	Wyoming
Headquarters	Cheyenne, Wyoming
Parent agency	Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails

Contents

Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office is the state-level office responsible for administering National Historic Preservation Act programs in Wyoming. Established in the wake of federal preservation initiatives such as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and influenced by national organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service, the office coordinates surveys, nominations, and reviews across counties including Laramie County, Wyoming, Natrona County, Wyoming, Teton County, Wyoming, and Park County, Wyoming. It works with tribal governments such as the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe and interfaces with institutions like the Wyoming State Museum and the University of Wyoming.

History

The office traces its roots to federal acts including the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and to collaborations with the National Park Service and the Historic American Buildings Survey. Early projects documented landmarks tied to national narratives such as Fort Laramie, Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole, and trails like the Oregon Trail and the Bozeman Trail. Influential figures and organizations that shaped its formation include the National Trust for Historic Preservation, preservation advocates linked to the Historic American Landscapes Survey, state leaders in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and university scholars affiliated with the American Antiquarian Society and the Smithsonian Institution. The office expanded during eras influenced by legislation such as the National Environmental Policy Act and programs funded by the Economic Development Administration and the United States Department of the Interior.

The office’s mission echoes standards established by the National Park Service and the National Register of Historic Places to identify, evaluate, and protect historic and archaeological resources across Wyoming. Core functions include processing National Register of Historic Places nominations for sites like county courthouses, frontier forts, transportation corridors, and vernacular districts; conducting Section 106 reviews under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 for federal undertakings; providing technical guidance based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties; maintaining archaeological oversight consistent with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act; and supporting cultural resource management in contexts linked to agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Forest Service, and the Federal Highway Administration.

Programs administered include historic surveys, architectural inventories, archaeological reconnaissance, and nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. Major projects have documented Fort Bridger, Fort D.A. Russell, Medicine Bow, Shoshone National Forest sites, and Wind River Indian Reservation cultural landscapes. The office facilitates preservation tax incentives tied to the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit and manages grant programs coordinated with the National Park Service and the Wyoming State Legislature. It collaborates on interpretive projects with museums and cultural centers such as the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, the Cody, Wyoming historical institutions, and the Teton County Library. Survey initiatives often intersect with research from the University of Wyoming–Rocky Mountain Herbarium and partnerships with archaeological firms that have worked on resources related to the Missouri River migration corridors, Overland Trail camps, and railroad towns along the Union Pacific Railroad.

The office partners with federal agencies including the National Park Service, the Federal Highway Administration, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency for compliance and grant funding. State-level partnerships include the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, Wyoming Main Street, and Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. It engages tribal authorities such as the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, municipal governments in Casper, Wyoming and Lander, Wyoming, and nonprofit organizations like the Wyoming Historical Society, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and regional heritage alliances. Funding sources have included grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Historic Preservation Fund, state appropriation through the Wyoming State Legislature, and private philanthropy from foundations such as the Gates Foundation-backed initiatives in other states and corporate donors tied to industries like Union Pacific Railroad historic mitigation.

The office has overseen or assisted with nominations and surveys for numerous properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including Fort Laramie National Historic Site-related properties, Chief Theater (Lander, Wyoming), Cody Mural, and historic districts in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Rock Springs, Wyoming. It documented resources tied to western expansion such as segments of the Oregon Trail, Lincoln Highway alignments, stagecoach stations, irrigation works connected to North Platte River developments, and homesteads in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Archaeological surveys addressed prehistoric and historic Native American sites associated with the Plains Indians, petroglyph panels in Fremont County, Wyoming, and paleoindian assemblages investigated in coordination with researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History.

Administratively housed within Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails, the office is staffed by preservation specialists, architectural historians, archaeologists, compliance coordinators, and grants administrators. Staff collaborate with legal counsel familiar with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, policy experts versed in the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and outreach professionals who liaise with stakeholders including the Wyoming State Legislature, local preservation commissions in Laramie, Wyoming and Jackson, Wyoming, tribal historic preservation officers from the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, and academic partners at the University of Wyoming. Training and professional development are often pursued through conferences hosted by the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and workshops sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Category:State historic preservation offices in the United States Category:Historic preservation in Wyoming