Block the Section 106 Rewrite — It Guts Historic Preservation

Block the Trump administration's proposed rewrite of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation — stacked with 21 of 24 Trump appointees — is rushing this through with a one-week email vote. The changes would gut the law that protects over 100,000 properties and 1.8 million historic structures, sites, and districts across the country. The proposed rules are sweeping and reckless. They would make public comment optional, strip the requirement to consult with Native American tribes, exclude "significant landscape features" like the Grand Canyon from historic consideration, and narrow "adverse effect" so narrowly that construction noise near Arlington National Cemetery wouldn't even qualify. Critics are right that this appears designed to fast-track the administration's own D.C. projects, including a proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers all oppose this. A 30-day public comment period still stands between this draft and implementation. Use that window. Push for legislation to strengthen Section 106 and make these protections permanent. These aren't bureaucratic technicalities — they're the guardrails that keep irreplaceable places from being bulldozed for political vanity projects.