Historic Preservation Players

This list of the most active players in Minnesota's preservation community includes agencies and organizations at the national, tribal, state and local levels as well as individuals. Website addresses or links to additional information are given where appropriate.

National

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
www.achp.gov
An independent federal agency, the ACHP promotes the preservation and productive use of the nation's historic resources and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy.

National Park Service
www.cr.nps.gov
Part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the NPS provides important oversight for the nation's historic preservation programs, including responsibility for the National Register of Historic Places. It is through the NPS that the Minnesota SHPO receives its annual federal appropriation from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). This fund supports the full range of programs administered by the SHPO and includes monies regranted to cities through such programs as the Certified Local Government Program.

National Trust for Historic Preservation
www.nthp.org
This nonprofit organization provides national leadership in historic preservation, working through a network of statewide preservation organizations and local preservation programs.

National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
www.ncshpo.org
This is a professional association of the state government officials who carry out the nation's historic preservation program as delegates of the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act.

National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC)
www.sed.uga.edu/pso/programs/napc/napc.htm
Representing the nation's local preservation commissions, the NAPC provides technical support and manages an information network to help local commissions accomplish their preservation objectives. It also serves as an advocate at federal, state and local levels of government to promote policies and programs that support preservation commission efforts.

Preservation Action
www.preservationaction.org
Since 1974 this nonprofit organization, the only national 501 (c) (4) preservation lobby, has coordinated a network of community activists, preservation professionals, historians, commercial investors and civic leaders working together to advocate for our architectural heritage.

Federal Agencies
www.achp.gov/fpo.html
All federal agencies have historic preservation responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act. The U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service are among federal agencies that own and maintain historic sites in Minnesota of national and state significance.

Tribal

National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
www.nathpo.org
Professional association of the tribal historic preservation officials who have assumed certain SHPO responsibilities within their reservation boundaries in carrying out the nation's historic preservation program pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act.

Tribal Historic Preservation Offices
www2.cr.nps.gov/tribal/thpo.htm
The Mille Lacs, Leech Lake and White Earth bands of Ojibwe play a role parallel to the SHPO in administering national preservation programs on their reservations. They focus on archaeological sites and traditional cultural properties.

Indian Tribes
Amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act in 1992 provided for expanded participation by Indian tribes in the national preservation program, particularly regarding resources on tribal lands. Many of Minnesota's American Indian tribes, longtime advocates of preserving cultural resources, now incorporate historic preservation in tribal planning.

State

Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office
www.mnhs.org/shpo
The SHPO plays a lead role in preserving the state's historic properties, implementing a statewide preservation plan with the participation of many preservation partners.

State Agencies
www.state.mn.us
Agencies of the State of Minnesota play an important role in historic preservation through ownership of historic properties and through considering historic properties as they carry out their work. The cultural resource staffs at the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation work with the many programs of their agencies to protect historic resources. The State Archaeologist and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council have specific responsibilities in preserving archaeological resources.

Preservation Alliance of Minnesota
www.mnpreservation.org
The nonprofit Alliance works to preserve Minnesota's cultural resources through preservation advocacy, education and a preservation easement program.

Local

Local Heritage Preservation Commissions
www.mnhs.org/preserve/mho/heritage.html
To date, 43 Minnesota communities have enacted local preservation ordinances and 30 of them participate in the Certified Local Government Program, administered by the SHPO and the National Park Service.

Local Governments/Agencies/Organizations
A number of city and county governments own historic properties. Local planning and development agencies are responsible for implementing municipal policies that may affect historic properties. In addition, many neighborhood and business organizations advocate for preserving historic structures and landscapes.

County and Local Historical Organizations
www.mnhs.org/mho/chsclo.html
Minnesota is home to more than 500 historical organizations, including county historical societies in each of the state's 87 counties. Many of these organizations are stewards of historic properties, some administered as house museums, others as general history museums.

Individuals

Preservation Professionals
Contract Historians | Contract Archaeologists
Independent historians, architectural historians and archaeologists throughout the state do contract work for federal and state agencies, local governments, private developers and the SHPO.

Architects, Builders, Contractors, Lenders, Real Estate Agents and Related Professionals
The preservation community includes a wide range of professionals and trades people whose fields have a significant impact on historic resources.

Owners and Developers of Historic Properties
The majority of the state's historic resources are in the hands of private property owners and developers.