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If you missed yesterday's webinar on data preservation and access in the digital age of CRM, it is now available on demand for you to watch on your own schedule!
In this presentation, our expert presenters provide an overview and specific examples of the ways digital repositories can be used to improve your own operations, as well as enhancing research across broader archaeological contexts.
As with the live session, this webinar is available to ACRA members at a discounted price. Members can get the discount code to access the presentation here.
Watch Data Preservation and Access in the Digital Age of CRM Now
As expected, legal challenges to the changes to the NEPA regulations unveiled in July have been filed by various groups. Three major actions have been filed in (follow links to see full complaints):
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) issued a press release last week regarding the suit filed in New York:
A broad coalition of justice and environmental groups sued the Trump administration today over its regulations that would gut environmental reviews and silence community input. The rules from the Council on Environmental Quality would eliminate environmental reviews for many projects, curtail the harmful impacts that are considered when reviews do take place, and hinder public participation. The parties filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. “We are standing up today to ensure each of us is guaranteed the right to a healthy and safe community,” said Michele Roberts, national co-coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance. “The Trump administration’s assault on democracy undermines our ability to fight egregious projects and gives industry free rein to put pipelines through our backyards or incinerators near our schools.”
A broad coalition of justice and environmental groups sued the Trump administration today over its regulations that would gut environmental reviews and silence community input.
The rules from the Council on Environmental Quality would eliminate environmental reviews for many projects, curtail the harmful impacts that are considered when reviews do take place, and hinder public participation. The parties filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“We are standing up today to ensure each of us is guaranteed the right to a healthy and safe community,” said Michele Roberts, national co-coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance. “The Trump administration’s assault on democracy undermines our ability to fight egregious projects and gives industry free rein to put pipelines through our backyards or incinerators near our schools.”
Read the full release from the NRDC here. ACRA and its partners at the Coalition for American Heritage are reviewing the challenges and determining whether and how adding our voice would be appropriate. Stayed tuned to the ACRAsphere for more information on these lawsuits and the implementation of the new NEPA guidelines.
Cultural resource practitioners usually look to the past for our data—searching historical records, looking at old buildings, gathering oral histories from community elders, or digging important sites. Like many organizations in 2020, though, we’re taking our conference to the future instead. Using the most up-to-date technologies, we will be hosting our 2020 conference virtually over two half days on September 24 and 25.
A combination of webinars and interactive round tables will be presented from 1:00 pm–5:00 pm EDT both days. Many of this year's sessions will focus on diversity and inclusion, both within the cultural resource management industry and the larger historic preservation field. Sessions will range from an update from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to in-depth dialogues on diversity in historic preservation. You can view the full schedule here.
You will still also get the benefits you enjoy at the in-person conference: special presentation software will allow you to directly network with other attendees and ACRA sponsors. You can sit at a virtual table with colleagues to catch up, discuss the conference content, and more!
As a special thank you to ACRA members, we have provided a discount to the (already low!) standard registration rates. Members can attend for $85 for both days, and non-members can attend both days for $100. Register today!
Register NOW for the Virtual ACRA Conference
In June President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) directing federal agencies to waive environmental regulations to speed up infrastructure projects under the auspices of responding to the “economic emergency” presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than 50 Democratic lawmakers have requested that the Administration turn over documents relating to that EO, including information on the shortlist of construction projects under consideration to be expedited.
From The Hill:
Agencies had 30 days to report which projects will be expedited under the order, but there was no requirement for that list to be publicized. “By keeping these reports from the public, this administration is concealing its own response to the economic crisis brought on by the COVID pandemic. If the administration is confident that this Executive Order can legally and legitimately provide economic relief, it should disclose which projects and decisions it is advancing under the auspices of the order,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the White House spearheaded by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.), House Transportation Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), and House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-A.Z.) The order would slash the requirements in a number of landmark environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires rigorous environmental review before building new infrastructure like highways or pipelines. But the lawmakers warn the White House is subject to “a myriad of federal laws that require transparency and public accountability” that it cannot legally sidestep.
Agencies had 30 days to report which projects will be expedited under the order, but there was no requirement for that list to be publicized.
“By keeping these reports from the public, this administration is concealing its own response to the economic crisis brought on by the COVID pandemic. If the administration is confident that this Executive Order can legally and legitimately provide economic relief, it should disclose which projects and decisions it is advancing under the auspices of the order,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the White House spearheaded by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.), House Transportation Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), and House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-A.Z.)
The order would slash the requirements in a number of landmark environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires rigorous environmental review before building new infrastructure like highways or pipelines.
But the lawmakers warn the White House is subject to “a myriad of federal laws that require transparency and public accountability” that it cannot legally sidestep.
Read the full article from The Hill here, and stay tuned to the ACRAsphere for additional information.
Your Congress in Action is a series that highlights the Capitol Hill news that affects CRM firms the most. This information is sourced from the Coalition for American Heritage, news articles, and more. Be sure to subscribe to the ACRAsphere to ensure you don't miss an update.
While U.S. national elections are still three months away and inauguration day isn’t for well over six months, current national and battleground state polling suggests that a change in Administration seems more likely than not. Companies asking themselves how to maximize their readiness for a change should consider looking closely at their environmental compliance efforts. The challengers’ presumptive nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, has offered expansive ideas on addressing climate change and on other environmental programs, most of which will take months or years to bring to fruition through legislation or regulation, if at all. One opportunity for pursuing enhanced environmental protection and a visible separation from the current Administration available to a new President on the day he takes office, however, would be a directive to acting officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal environmental agencies to ramp up their environmental enforcement efforts under existing environmental laws. Numerous articles have pointed to a slowdown in new enforcement actions and to declining penalties and other enforcement metrics in recent years. And, indeed, presumptive nominee Biden has specifically criticized sharply declining criminal environmental prosecutions under the current Administration.
Read the full article here.
Join us for another FREE members-only virtual happy hour on Monday, August 17 at 6:00 pm EDT.
While there is no fixed agenda, ACRA President Nathan Boyless and Executive Director Amanda Stratton will be giving an update on the steps ACRA is taking to address diversity and inclusion, both within the organization and the CRM industry as a whole. We can also talk about current industry trends, discuss ideas with your peers about continuing to operate in the current climate, or even just vent about the challenges you have experienced during the pandemic. All employees of ACRA member firms are welcome to join.
Simply sign up here and we will send you a link to join!
We wanted to quickly remind you about a previously announced member benefit: the ARCUS Leadership Program. We have partnered with the program to bring all employees of ACRA member firms FREE access to professional leadership development courses tailored to the opportunities and challenges of cultural heritage and historic preservation, including a culminating professional certificate.
ARCUS seeks to support emerging leaders in cultural resource and public history disciplines by providing online coursework and networking around core leadership skills and knowledge, with a special focus on supporting the growth of diversity, inclusion, equity, and access.
The full program normally costs $2,500, but until November 1, all employees of ACRA member firms are eligible to partake in this new resource at no additional cost.
ARCUS courses cover a broad array of leadership topics, including community outreach, public speaking, financial management, fundraising, team building, advocacy, and many more.
This offer is available to firms with an active ACRA membership, including students. Check out the full course list here, and click here for the discount code.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Chairman Aimee Jorjani, ACHP Tribal Member Reno Franklin, and ACHP Member and National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers President Shasta Gaughen have issued a joint statement about the importance of federal agencies working with Indian tribes to protect cultural resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement stresses that ACHP continues to encourage federal agencies to consult early and often with Indian tribes and invest in developing relationships with them not only to improve the efficiency of the Section 106 process but to honor their government-to-government relationship with and trust responsibility to tribal nations.
From the statement:
The spread of COVID-19 led to the closure or disruption of many governmental offices nationwide including those of Indian tribes. At the same time, however, this unprecedented event has demonstrated the benefit of developing and maintaining close working relationships between federal agencies and Indian tribes. Where such relationships existed, consultation has largely been able to continue pursuant to Section 106. Many federal agencies invested in developing relationships with Indian tribes prior to the pandemic. As a result, their Section 106 consultation efforts seem to be progressing despite the obstacles presented by COVID-19. One example of a formal federal-tribal relationship that includes a state agency is the Tribal Consultation Committee established through a Section 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA) among the North Dakota Federal Highway Administration, North Dakota Department of Transportation, and eight Indian tribes. The PA was amended in 2014 and now includes 19 Indian tribes. Having prior experience and knowledge of tribal governmental processes allows for efficient and effective use of time and resources to the benefit of all parties and can help move projects through the Section 106 process. This is particularly important as the nation moves into economic recovery phases and accelerates critical projects.
Read the full ACHP statement here.
Stay tuned to the ACRAsphere for registration and session information!
Over the past decade, archaeology fieldwork, lab processing, and analysis has changed dramatically, driven primarily by developments in technology, computing, and the internet. Online digital repositories are one tool that can help in the integration and successful analysis of data in this changing environment. To better facilitate data-use in the internet/Big-Data era, it is recommended that CRM practitioners incorporate digital archiving into their daily workflows.
Join us on August 13 at 2:00 pm EDT for Data Preservation and Access in the Digital Age of CRM. In this workshop, our expert providers will provide an overview and specific examples of the ways digital repositories can be used to improve your own operations, as well as enhancing research across broader archaeological contexts (i.e., “Grand Challenge” research). Case studies and examples using archaeological projects and collections in tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record) will be used as illustrations.
Space is limited, so register now to reserve your spot. As a reminder, we have implemented a firm-wide registration fee for ACRA members during the pandemic - once one person from a member firm registers, others can register for free. Contact us for information on subsequent registrations.
Register Now
