On July 24, 2026, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation announced they had voted to approve revised Section 106 regulations of the National Historic Preservation Act.
While Heritage Ohio supports thoughtful efforts to improve Section 106 for clarity, effectiveness, and streamlining, what is proposed is not streamlining. The revisions would devastate our ability to protect and preserve historic places and would dramatically curtail public participation in federal decisions that affect local communities. Every American, every Ohioan, has a place that tells their family’s story. These rules put those places at greater risk by stripping the requirements for meaningful consultation, eliminating the requirements for “avoidance, minimization, and mitigation,” and imperiling thousands of significant cultural and historical sites who will not meet the new definition of “historic” and the requirements that protected sites be geographically compact (i.e., endangering large urban and rural historic districts).
Once the proposed revisions have been published in the Federal Register we will have a 30-day public comment period. Heritage Ohio is preparing a comment letter and is strongly advocating now to uphold Section 106 provisions that have meant so much to the preservation movement in Ohio.
What You Can Do To Protect Your Right To Save The Places That Matter
Contact your elected officials in the House of Representatives and Senate and help them understand the adverse effects of the proposed rulemaking with a personal message that highlights your concerns or the concerns of your community or organization.