An interest in preserving sites of great historical importance in the U.S. perhaps began with the frantic efforts to protect Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s home, in Alexandria, Virginia. By the mid 1850s, Mt. Vernon was crumbling. Rather than allow it to be torn down, preservationists bought the land and restored it to its original splendor. Today, Mt. Vernon is one of the most popular tourist attractions for visitors to Washington, D.C.
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was passed by Congress in 1966 to preserve historical and archeological sites in the United States. It is the most far reaching historic preservation legislation ever enacted in this country. The NHPA created The National Register of Historic Places, which is a list of important historic buildings and archeological sites. The NHPA requires an assessment of the impact of any proposed federally funded project on historic sites (either on or eligible for the National Register) before the project can be approved. The “106 review process” requires that every effort be made to minimize or mitigate potential damage to historic properties.
Four Arizona counties in the Sonoran Desert (Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise) share a border with Mexico. There are 384 properties in these counties that have been designated as historic sites and are under the protection of NHPA. Waiving NHPA removes all legal protections for historic sites near the border wall; in other words, neither analysis of the impact of wall construction, nor mitigation of potential damage to historic properties, will be required before construction commences. Click here for a list of all 48 federal laws waived for construction of a border wall.
Please contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members) and let them know that you oppose waiving The National Historic Preservation Act to expedite construction of a border wall. Click here if you would like to make a donation to help us fight the border wall.