#5YP: New Hampshire's Five-Year Preservation Plan 2021-2025

From #executivesummary: "Over the last five years many preservation successes have been achieved making our small and large communities stronger and more resilient to some of the ills that come with 'progress.' This moment in our nation's history, however you are included to frame it, has forced us to re-evaluate the narrative that explains who we are and how we arrived at this place. It has been fifty-five years since the passing of the National Historic Preservation Act, legislation that was meant to stop the unwanted destruction of the fabric and history of our communities. The narrative laid out on these pages is a direct reflection on the past as well as a recognition about how we move forward into the future. The preservation successes highlighted throughout this five-year plan touch upon every possible cultural resource, from bridges, monuments and farms, to buildings, archaeology and artifacts. Tools for community planning such as Historic District Commissions, Preservation Easements and the use of Federal Historic Tax Credits and the Certified Local Government program, have been strengthened along with relationships with our stakeholder and partners. Thirty-six National Register of Historic Places listings were added in the last five years, of which, four were historic districts, including what is now the state's largest historic district, the Portsmouth Downtown Historic District. The State Register of Historic Places also gained in numbers, adding 111 new properties of significance. The New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources (NHDHR) also collaborated with its partners on the development and publishing of a second edition of Preserving of Old Barns, Preventing the Loss of a Valuable Resource, which has become a nationally recognized textbook on the repair and maintenance of historic agricultural buildings. Arguably the most important success story from the last five years, which will greatly enhance the next five years, was the creation of the Enhanced Mapping and Management Information Tool (EMMIT). Funded in part by the National Park Service and launched in 2019, EMMIT has greatly improved the public's ability to locate resources and research documents that were previously only available in paper form. During this pandemic influence ear, where virtually all research was conducted remotely, EMMIT proved to be one of most valuable preservation tools available to our stakeholders, agency partners and consultants. To put it simply, EMMIT allowed the work of preserving our state resources to continue without skipping a beat. Although the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions played an important role in the development of this document, its authors and contributors found inspiring ways to conduct outreach, polling, and information gathering. Questionnaire responses came from all 10 counties as well as from Maine, Vermont, New York, Florida, and California. Virtual gathering and outreach sessions were conducted with generous help from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, one of the NHDHR's most important partners. Through these efforts it has been made clear that the citizens of New Hampshire and others overwhelmingly continue to believe preserving historic resources and cultural sites is important to the state's identity and civic wellbeing. But there is more to do. Those that did not respond to the questionnaire helped identify those populations we need to reach. This includes realtors, developers, students, and main street organizations. These groups represent a knowledge base that is important to governance and the future of how we preserve our cities..." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the New Hampshire State Historic Preservation Office, Division of Historical Resources, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, administered by the State, Tribal, Local Plans and Grants division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (grant number P19AF00070).

#5YP: New Hampshire's Five-Year Preservation Plan 2021-2025

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