10/09/2026
The Section 106 process is critical to all cultural heritage, including underwater cultural heritage!
Sweeping reforms pushed forward by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to the National Historic Preservation Act would strip protections from cultural heritage properties across the nation, damaging the fabric of our nation's past and current community connections.
One major change is a revised definition of "historic property." The revised definition would only include properties with "tangible human improvements" that are "geographically compact." This new definition would exclude most, if not all, underwater cultural properties, including shipwrecks, scattered fleets, debris fields, shipwreck graveyards, historic anchorages, naval battlefields, submerged aviation, drowned coastal plains, and traditional cultural properties.
Think about the coastal resources, or any cultural resource important to you and your family. What would it mean to lose it? Help us protect these places! Contact your Congress Members today and stay connected with us as the process moves forward.
