Army -- Archaeology and Historic Preservation Program

The Army is dedicated to pursuing innovative policies, programs, and initiatives to improve cultural resources management. Responsibility for cultural resources management at the Army headquarters level resides in two offices: the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management’s Installation Support Directorate – Environment (ISE), and the US Army Environmental Command (USAEC). ISE is responsible for promulgating cultural resources policy and guidance, while USAEC is the center for technical expertise. Most Army installations also have qualified cultural resources personnel on staff.

The Department of the Army's official policy for management, care, and preservation of cultural resources can be found in Environmental Protection and Enhancement (AR 200-1). This document (AR 200-1) establishes broad preservation and operational policies for the Army by addressing the requirements of all major cultural resources laws, regulations, Executive Orders, and Presidential memoranda. In reference to 36 CFR Part 800. AR 200-1 establishes internal Army policy for compliance with ACHP's regulations and other laws and regulations. It is not designed to replace the Section 106 compliance procedures set forth in 36 CFR Part 800.

Recently, the Army has emphasized the need for integrated cultural resources management—this is a "cultural landscape" approach to planning and management, whereby the military installation is viewed as an integrated landscape of natural and cultural resources and processes including military operations. Rather than a strictly project-by-project, compliance-driven approach to cultural resource management, the Army is moving towards a comprehensive integrated planning concept.

For more information about the Army's technical documents and resources, refer to USAEC's Cultural Resources Management Program Web site.

Interagency Agreement Between the Army and ACHP

In March 1996, ACHP entered into an interagency agreement (IAG) with USAEC to provide technical expertise and support in implementing the Army's cultural resources management program. This partnership assists the Army in developing efficient and effective means to manage cultural resources on its lands. Under this arrangement, ACHP assigns one or more Liaisons to USAEC to implement the agreement and to serve as subject matter experts on historic preservation issues.

The ACHP and USAEC work cooperatively to enhance the state of cultural resources management on Army lands, particularly through the development of programmatic methods of compliance with the ACHP’s regulations at 36 CFR 800. The more notable accomplishments of the partnership include the Army Alternate Procedures and the Program Comments for four categories of World War II and Cold War era buildings.

Army Alternate Procedures to 36 CFR 800

Background

On July 13, 2001, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation approved the Army's alternate procedures, established under 36 CFR 800.14(b), the culmination of years of cooperative effort between the ACHP and Army. The Army Alternate Procedures (AAP) allow installations to work with consulting parties to develop a streamlined plan for its Section 106 compliance responsibilities.

The Alternate Procedure Process

The Army Alternate Procedures are designed to accomplish the following goals:

•Provide for more efficient, consistent, and comprehensive Army compliance with the goals and mandates of Section 106;

•Encourage more thoughtful consideration and planning for historic properties;

•Support the Army's ability to accomplish the critical mission of training soldiers for defense of the Nation; and

•Establish a proactive planning and management based approach to historic preservation and compliance to stand in place of the formal case-by-case review process prescribed in 36 CFR Part 800(B).

Installations may choose either to continue to follow ACHP's regulations in the implementation of installation undertakings or to follow the Army Alternate Procedures. Installations that follow the Army Alternate Procedures will prepare a Historic Properties Component, based on the installation's Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan (ICRMP) in consultation with State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs), Indian tribes, and other stakeholders.