Montana Preservation Plan

Number of Pages:  70
Approval Date:  December 9, 2002
Planning Cycle:  5 years

Contact Information:

Mark Baumler, PhD
State Historic Preservation Officer
State Historic Preservation Office
Montana Historical Society
P.O. Box 201202
Helena, Montana 59620-1202
(406) 444-7715; fax (406) 444-6575
Web site:  http://www.his.state.mt.us/shpo/surveyplanning/HistPresPlan.asp

Mission/Vision Statement:
Working together with all Montanans to preserve our state's significant historic, prehistoric, and traditional cultural places.

Table of Contents:

Public Summary

1. Introduction
2. Development of the 2003-2007 Montana Historic Preservation Plan
3. Montana's Heritage Properties: An Overview and Assessment
4. Issues and Challenges in Montana Historic Preservation
5. A Vision for Montana Preservation 2003-2007: Goals and Objectives
6. Planning Cycle: 2003-2007
7. Bibliography & Supporting Documents
Appendix A. Montana 2001 Historic Preservation Planning
     Questionnaire #1: Results &: Discussion
Appendix B. Montana 2001 Historic Preservation Planning
     Questionnaire #2: Results & Discussion

PLAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
Public Participation Strategies:

• Solicited comments on previous plan during its 5 year cycle;
• Circulated two public opinion questionnaires: one to preservation professionals and others involved in preservation projects; and the second to a broader public audience distributed at meetings and conferences, included with the 2001 Montana Historic Preservation Poster, and enclosed with SHPO correspondence.
• Draft plan goals and objectives were circulated for public comment by including with the 2002 Montana Historic Preservation Poster, distributing at conferences, and enclosing with SHPO correspondence;
• Meetings with preservation officers of Montana's CLGs and tribes, and with the State Preservation Review Board, the Montana Preservation Alliance board, and the Montana Archaeological Society's Committee for Conservation Archaeology.

• SHPO staff annually monitored accomplishment of previous plan's goals and objectives;
• SHPO staff prepared and distributed annual report on successes in achieving previous plan goals, inviting comments;
• SHPO staff reviewed plans of other states.

ISSUES, THREATS, & OPPORTUNITIES

• Not all known cultural resources have been recorded in state's inventory;
• Small proportion of state has been surveyed to identify and record cultural resources;
• Increasing federal agency "Section 110" surveys resulting from streamlined "Section 106" reviews;
• Condition of historic properties generally viewed as negative or threatened, due to deterioration, vandalism, changing land use, lack of local monetary support, loss of oral history, sheer number of resources in need;
• Archaeological resources threatened by residential development in rural area, recreational use of open space, vandalism, natural resource extraction, and land reclamation;
• Anonymity of archaeological sites makes it difficult to rally support for their protection;
• Risks facing cultural resources include inappropriate commercial or resource development, urban sprawl, neglected maintenance and repair, mismanagement, changing population needs, lack of public awareness, and limited financial resources and/or incentives for preservation at federal, tribal, state, local, and private levels;
• Questionnaire respondents, Montana Preservation Alliance, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation noted top endangered properties include rural agricultural buildings, downtown buildings/Main Streets, railroad features, roads and trails, National Park and Forest Service buildings, schools, archaeological sites (especially rock art that has traditional cultural value), Pompeys Pillar, remnants of Montana's agricultural heritage, Many Glacier Hotel, Broadway Apartment Building in Lewistown, Valley of the Shields Rock Art, Broadwater School, county churches, Red Bluff Stage Stop, religious school buildings, Story Mansion in Bozeman, county courthouses, historic structures in Glacier National Park, Flathead Indian Reservation, Travelers Rest NHL, Missouri River Cultural & Sacred Sites (Fort Peck Reservoir);
• National and state economic uncertainty while Montana's economy transitions from natural resource extraction to service-based industries;
• Growth in heritage tourism, encouraging preservation-sensitive economic development;
• Continued strong statewide interest in resource preservation and interpretation;
• Preservation has been considered an afterthought or a luxury;
• Need to consider cultural resource issues in the formulation of public policy in land use planning, economic development, natural resource conservation, affordable housing, etc;
• Top three major issues and challenges identified by Montanans were limited availability of financial resources, local ability to preserve resources; and public awareness of culture/preservation issues;
• Need to strengthen tribal participation in preservation;
• New state tax credit for rehabilitation of significant properties placed into preservation easement provides preservation opportunity;
• Federal 2002 Farm Bill includes provisions for resource preservation;
• Local pressures compete with preservation, such as urban sprawl, general lack of available expertise, ineffectiveness of regulation in controlling local and private developments;
• Commercial and residential development on city/town outskirts results in deterioration of historic central business districts and urban residential neighborhoods;
• Subdivisions spread into surrounding agricultural landscapes and neighboring small communities;
• Ongoing loss of working ranches to out-of-state buyers who are not interested in historic properties;
• Knowledge of preservation is limited, preservation assistance is short-handed, and little legal recourse;
• SHPO rarely has means or opportunity to make on-site visits to provide assistance;
• Counties authorized to review of impact of subdivision development, but rarely address cultural resources;
• Increased public awareness of preservation and historic resource value;
• Misperception that preservation is too expensive or restrictive when measured against benefits;
• Increase in numbers of tribal preservation offices authorized to assume certain SHPO responsibilities on tribal lands, reflecting increased tribal interests in resource preservation and management;
• Tribal cultural resource interests extend to traditional tribal territories beyond reservation boundaries;
• Discovery and disposition of human remains and associated funerary objects are primary issues for Montana tribes;
• Continued loss of culture and traditions due to passing generations;
• Need for legal framework for protecting cultural resources on private land.

1. Foster a preservation ethic for Montana's heritage properties.
2. Identify, evaluate, and recognize Montana's heritage properties.
3. Create and support a statewide comprehensive source for information about Montana's heritage properties and historic preservation.
4. Encourage the involvement of Montana's tribes in historic preservation.
5. Work effectively with all agencies, organizations, and individuals for good stewardship and sensitive treatment of Montana's heritage properties.

1. Preservation ethic.
   • Instill awareness and appreciation for Montana's heritage and heritage properties.
   • Integrate preservation in planning and policy-making.
   • Promote benefits of preservation.
   • Provide leadership and vision in preservation.
2. Identify, evaluate, and recognize properties.
   • Survey un-inventoried properties.
   • Develop and use historic contexts.
   • Help owners list properties in National Register.
3. Statewide information source of information.
   • Acquire, organize, and share data on cultural resources.
   • Gather, develop, and disseminate preservation guidance and standards.
   • Identify financial and human resources for preservation.
4. Tribal involvement.
   • Meet with tribal cultural representatives to discuss issues and tribes.
   • Sponsor forums that include Native Americans.
   • Consider tribal perspectives on treatment of heritage properties.
5. Work effectively with others for good stewardship.
   • Apply preservation programs, strategies, techniques, laws, and information to property preservation.
   • Solidify existing partnerships and form new consensus for preservation's benefit.
   • Strengthen local and private preservation efforts.
   • Develop programs for preservation of resources at risk.

FEATURES OF NOTE
SHPO used the plan as an opportunity to encourage others to consider how and make use of SHPO information management efforts (databases for sites, reports, significance findings) to directly contribute to their definition and development of historic contexts (see "A Word About Historic Contexts" in Chapter III).