Proposed Federal Rule Changes Endanger National Register of Historic Places Listings: Voice Your Opposition by the April 30 Deadline! The National Park Service (NPS) is currently proposing rule changes which seek to significantly weaken the implementation of the National Historic Preservation Act  (NHPA) of 1966.  These changes seek to diminish the NHPA in several ways, including by: significantly limiting listings of federal properties to the National Register  reducing the availability of the federal historic tax credit for restoration work on National Register listed properties  giving large property owners greater rights than their neighbors by allowing them to veto the listing of entire historic districts on the National Register.  Please make your voice heard in opposition to this anti-preservation proposal by the April 30 deadline.  See here for rule changes.    To register your objection, you can copy and paste the sample letter below into the NPS form, HERE, with whatever edits you’d like to make, or you can write your own comments.  Thank you!  I am writing to strongly OPPOSE the National Park Service’s proposed rule changes in docket #NPS-2019-0001, which are intended to significantly weaken the implementation of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966.  These changes seek to diminish the NHPA in several ways: by limiting nominations of federal properties to the National Register; reducing the availability of the federal historic tax credit for restoration work on National Register listed properties; and giving large property owners the right to thwart listing of entire historic districts on the National Register. Giving federal agencies with limited if any expertise in historic preservation effective veto power over new National Register listings subverts the intention of the NHPA.  The proposal’s call for abolishing time limits on listing new National Register sites endangers tax credits for historically sensitive rehabilitations of historic sites. Granting large landholders veto power over National Register historic district designations is contrary to the statutory language of the National Historic Preservation Act, and counter to the democratic principle of one person, one vote.  Furthermore, Native American tribal communities, which were left out of this process, must be consulted as the proposed rule changes are likely to impact them as well. For more than half a century the National Register of Historic Places has served to protect and preserve our nation’s shared  historic architecture and culture.  There is no justifiable reason to undermine the highly successful NHPA.  The NPS needs to scrap the proposed rule changes and instead look at ways to strengthen the NPS’s role in preserving our country’s invaluable and irreplaceable historic resources.