War Room for Threats to Section 106

The Trump administration is threatening America’s historic and cultural heritage—and we must act immediately.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order Declaring a National Energy Emergency (EO)—a manufactured crisis designed to bypass critical permitting reviews. Under this EO, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is directing federal agencies to sidestep Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, a cornerstone of preservation law that has safeguarded our tribal, community, and national heritage for decades.

This order means that agencies can suspend consideration of historic properties for any project an agency claims is related to energy production—regardless of its actual necessity. We are concerned that agencies will fast-track projects without public input, meaningful consultation with Tribes, or any obligation to avoid or mitigate damage to historic sites, sacred places, and cultural landscapes. If left unchallenged, these directives could result in irreversible destruction to the places that define our history and identity.

Latest Lists of Projects Subject to the Emergency Provisions

• See the petition that CTIA, the trade association of the wireless communications industry, submitted to the Federal Communicatons Commission (FCC) requesting a rulemaking that would create an exemption from NEPA for all FCC-licensed infrastructure that doesn’t require construction of a new tower. Public comments are DUE BY APRIL 30th.
• Review the list of projects that federal agencies have submitted to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) in February and March subject to President Trump’s Executive Order Declaring a National Energy Emergency and the ACHP’s Advice on Using Emergency Procedures. We will continue to provide any publicly available information we can on projects that federal agencies are fast-tracking.

• Watch the replay of the ACHP’s March 19th business meeting on Facebook or YouTube. Get additional details on how the ACHP is complying with other executive orders. Hear what their latest actions mean for the future of America’s preservation policy.   

How Can You Help?

• Sign up for our email distribution list to receive urgent updates.

• Submit notices or calls to action for posting to our community.

• Contact us confidentially on Signal (marionchp.106) or by email (fightback@culturalheritagepartners.com) to alert us to potential cases to defend cultural heritage and to let us know what you are seeing and hearing in your preservation work. 

Source Documents

• Executive Order Declaring a National Energy Emergency (EO)—a manufactured crisis designed to bypass critical permitting reviews (January 20, 2025)

• Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Advice on Using Emergency Procedures (February 25, 2025)