Cultural and Natural Resource Consultation

Wilderness managers work closely with cultural resource specialists, archeologists, and Section 106 coordinators to ensure that undertakings in wilderness areas comply with Federal laws and regulations, policies, and Executive Orders that relate to cultural resources and ongoing human connections to land. Disregard of the laws can result in legal proceedings. Many legal mandates require consultation with individuals and groups associated with a park unit.

The importance of early and sustained consultation during the development of cultural resource content in wilderness studies and management plans cannot be over-emphasized. Initiation of consultation in the early stages of project development may help to identify significant cultural resources that should be afforded consideration in planning.

Differences in wilderness size, cultural resource types, individual preferences of traditionally associated peoples, and public concerns result in varied consultation procedures. No single set of consultation procedures will identify concerns for all specific undertakings. Federal agency consultations, however, should be sufficient for consulting parties to understand the direction that the wilderness manager will follow in considering cultural resources. Consultation protocols maintain a respectful environment that facilitates the meaningful exchange of information and opinions.

This section of Archeological and Other Cultural Resources and Wilderness provides resources to aid in successful consultations for compliance with legal and policy mandates.

Cultural Resource laws, regulations, Executive Orders and Policies requiring consultation

• NEPA and NHPA allow all stakeholders to voice concerns about effects of Federal undertakings on cultural resources.
• Tribal government-to-government consultations are required by E.O. 13175 and DOI policies to provide Indian tribes, Alaska Native organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations and individuals with opportunities to share information about cultural resources outside of the NHPA Section 106 process.
• Consultations required by NAGPRA create a context for developing protocols for appropriately responding to inadvertent discoveries of Native American human remains and other objects covered by the Act during archeological investigations and other circumstances.

Government-to-Government Consultation with Indian Tribes

NHPA Section 106 and NEPA require consultation between Federal agencies and State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs) and appropriate tribal government officials, including Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs). Executive Order 13175 and the DOI Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes require that park units conduct government-to-government consultations with federally-recognized Indian tribes when undertaking any Federal action that may have a direct impact on tribes or tribal lands. Appropriate tribal officials are contacted at the earliest possible point in the planning process so that tribal input can be incorporated into planning documents.

A first step in successful consultation is to contact appropriate Indian tribes who may have ancestral homelands within the park unit. Consultation may vary according to the circumstances of the specific park and the relationships that the park already may have with groups or individuals to be involved in consultation. A number of Federal agencies maintain contact lists of federally-recognized Native American groups (for example, HUD's Tribal Directory Assessment Tool and the NPS National NAGPRA Program's list of tribal contacts.

Government-to-ANCSA Corporation Consultation

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) established Native corporations to provide for the economic and social needs, including health, education, and welfare, of Alaska Native shareholders. Congress also required that "(t)he Director of the Office of Management and Budget [and all Federal agencies] shall hereafter consult with Alaska Native corporations on the same basis as Indian tribes under Executive Order No. 13175."

When taking Departmental Action that has a substantial direct effect on Alaska Natives, the Department will initiate consultation with Native Corporations (DOI Policy on Consultation with Alaska Native Claims Settlement (ANCSA) Corporations (2012)).

Consultation with Native Hawaiian Organizations and Individuals

There are two park units in Hawai`i that currently have designated wilderness, Haleakala National Park and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Because Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs) are not federally recognized, consultation is an integration of existing law and the application of current knowledge of Native Hawaiian communities.

NHPA Section 106 and NEPA require consultation between Federal agencies, and State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), NAGPRA requires consultation with specific NHOs. A small number of NHOs were recognized and listed in NAGPRA. However, in most cases, the NHOs listed in NAGPRA have no direct association with specific park lands. Consequently, the NPS has approached consultation in Hawai'i in an inclusive manner. The identified NHOs are included in consultation, but knowledgeable individuals and families (ohana) that have a direct association with a particular location or land within the park unit are also invited to consult.

View the Department of the Interior's Native Hawaiian Organization Notification List.

View the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation guidance Consultation with Native Hawaiian organizations during the Section 106 Review Process: A Handbook.

Consultation with Traditionally Associated Peoples

Traditionally associated peoples have significant and unique ties to park resources through burial sites and memorials, migration routes, subsistence resources and activities, ceremonies, and group origin sites and other cultural resources, and generally differ as a group from recreational visitors. Consultation can assist in identification of sites not considered eligible for the National Register but that are significant to a traditionally associated group, and must be considered during planning and management.

Consultations with Stakeholders

Consultation with individuals and organizations concerned about the undertaking and its effects on historic properties is an essential part of compliance with NHPA Section 106. Initial consultation with organizations is usually by letter. Once contact has been established, the park may post documents for comment by these organizations on the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website. For particularly complex or controversial undertakings, these organizations should also be invited to consultation meetings.

Consultation with the Interested Public

Consultation with the public is an important element of NHPA and NEPA compliance. Consultation may be carried out through a variety of communication media; posting documents for comment on the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website is recommended. In addition to using PEPC, letters, posters, public meetings, and other opportunities for comment may also be needed.

Consultation with SHPOs and THPOs

The wilderness manager must determine the appropriate State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) or Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for consultations concerning wilderness. A meeting with the SHPO and the THPO can facilitate the manner in which future consultations will take place.

A current list of contact information for State Historic Preservation Officers is available on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation website.

A current list of contact information for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers is available through the NPS Tribal Preservation program.