Mission 66 Campgrounds: Consensus Determination of Eligibility Process Guidelines

The National Park Service’s Mission 66 initiative (1956-1966) modernized and reinvented the national park system after decades of decreased funding, deferred maintenance, and soaring postwar visitation. Over the course of the Mission 66 program, the National Park Service (NPS) spent over $1 billion (equivalent to more than $7 billion today), transforming the national park system and influencing the way the public experiences the national parks today. Improvements under the program included visitor centers, roads, park housing, and campgrounds. It was the largest construction program in the history of the agency to date. Promoted as a conservation effort, Mission 66 also focused on protecting park resources. The “comprehensive program” aimed to provide “facilities and adequate staffing to permit proper protection, interpretation, maintenance, and administration” as a way to accomplish “enjoyment-without-impairment.” To effectively manage the cultural resources of the United States, Section 110 (a)(1) [16 U.S.C. 470] of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), as amended, directs the heads of all federal agencies to assume responsibility for the preservation of historic properties that are owned or controlled by such agency. Unless exempted, each agency shall establish a preservation program for the identification, evaluation, and nomination of historic properties to the National Register of Historic Places, and for the protection of historic properties (S110 (a)(2)). Section 110 also directs that properties that are listed in or eligible for the National Register are managed and maintained in a way that considers the preservation of their historic, archeological, architectural, and cultural values in compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA and gives special consideration to the preservation of such values in the case of properties designated as having National significance. The identification and evaluation of resources managed and under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and the nomination of these resources to the National Register is led by cultural resource personnel meeting the Secretary of the Interior Professional Qualifications Standards for Historic Preservation as defined in Section 112 of the NHPA. These evaluations and subsequent determinations of eligibility for listing in the National Register provide management with critical resource data about park properties worthy of preservation and allows park managers to give full consideration for preservation during planning. The NPS has Mission 66 campgrounds and associated cultural resources that are unevaluated for listing in the National Register. In an effort to fulfill obligations under Section 110 of the NHPA and to prepare for planning of undertakings to modernize Mission 66 era campgrounds as part of the Great American Outdoors Act, Legacy Restoration Funding, and in cooperation with the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, the NPS has created this guide to promote and execute a consistent and efficient methodology for determining the eligibility of Mission 66 campgrounds and associated resources across the agency in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs). The guidelines also provide information to NPS staff on how to achieve a Consensus Determination of Eligibility (DOE) and will provide staff with the information they need for pursuit of any additional documentation efforts that are beyond the scope of a Consensus DOE.

Mission 66 Campgrounds: Consensus Determination of Eligibility Process Guidelines

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