State Historic Preservation Office

The state historic preservation office (SHPO) is a state governmental function created by the United States federal government in 1966 under Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The purposes of a SHPO include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing nominations for properties to be included in the National Register of Historic Places, reviewing undertakings for the impact on the properties as well as supporting federal organizations, state and local governments, and private sector. States are responsible for setting up their own SHPO; therefore, each SHPO varies slightly on rules and regulations. To link these differences with the SHPOs, the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) was created as a “point of contact” according to the National Historic Preservation Act.

In 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was put into effect. As part of the Congressional Act, Section 101 implemented the designation of the State Historic Preservation Program. State Liaison Officers, which later became known as State Historic Preservation Officers, were established to manage historic preservation grants for the National Park Service (NPS). In the 1970s, these SHPOs experienced a growth in power as they became more organized, efficient and professional, and clarified their relationships with NPS. They also formed a National Conference of Historic Preservation Officers to represent them on a National level, particularly in Washington. The SHPO continued to gain an increasingly specific role, taking on the position of the advising consultant for the Section 106 review process. In 1980 with the amendment to the NHPA, the SHPO’s exact duties were finally identified, defining its role, which remains today.

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