Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation
DAHP Logo
Motto: Protect the Past. Shape the Future |
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| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1967 |
| Preceding Department |
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| Jurisdiction | Washington State Government |
| Headquarters | Olympia, WA |
| Employees | 18.3 FTE |
| Department executives |
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| Website | dahp.wa.gov |
The Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) is an independent government agency in Washington state which serves several functions, including regulatory functions. The agency inventories and regulates archaeological sites; houses Washington's State Historic Preservation Officer, State Archaeologist, State Architectural Historian and State Physical Anthropologist; maintains the Washington Heritage Register and Heritage Barn Register; provides expertise on environmental impacts to cultural resources; administers historic preservation grants for heritage barns and historic county courthouses; encourages historic preservation through local governments; provides technical assistance for historic rehabilitation and using historic preservation tax credits; and maintains extensive GIS databases to catalog the state's historic and prehistoric cultural resources.
DAHP reviews an impressive number of projects. In Washington's 2008 fiscal year (July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008), DAHP reviewed 4911 projects through the Section 106 process, 2688 projects through the State SEPA process, and 1336 reviews through the EO 0505 process.
Washington's State Historic Preservation Office was first created by Washington State Bill 363 in 1967. Within a year, the State Advisory Board convened for the first time, and it was staffed by the State Parks Department. Funding for the program was not secured until 1973, and coincided with the creation of the Washington Heritage Register. In 1975, the first Washington SHPO was appointed. The office bounced around for a time, cycling between independent agency and housed within another state agency. Most recently, DAHP became an independent agency after leaving the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (now the Washington State Department of Commerce, formerly the Department of Community Development and the Department of Trade and Economic Development) as the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
DAHP was made into a state agency by the Washington State HB 1706-2005, and was codified into the Revised Code of Washington, 43.334.
DAHP houses Washington's State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a position created by the National Historic Preservation Act. The SHPO conducts reviews of the impacts to historic resources caused by construction funded by federal dollars under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act, section 101. Governor Christine Gregoire's 2005 executive order, EO 05-05, further extended the Washington SHPO's authority to include the review of capital projects using state dollars.
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