The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has green-lit funding to SHPOs and THPOs for the current fiscal year, ending a three-month delay that threatened the ability of preservation offices to function.

OMB has approved a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) that the National Park Service (NPS) has now issued, which enables S/THPOs to apply for the funding. These monies, drawn from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), are essential for historic preservation offices at the state and Tribal levels to facilitate Section 106 reviews and a host of other federally mandated activities.

Congress had approved the funding for the fiscal year back in March, but the release of the NOFO was delayed at OMB, raising fears that the administration would try to block sending the money out. At least one SHPO had to lay off staff due to the lack of funding, and others faced similar straits.

A concerted advocacy campaign by preservation groups, including ACRA, plus calls from supportive members of Congress, helped put pressure on OMB to move forward with the funding.

While this development is good news, the work to ensure that S/THPOs have funding they need in the future continues, as Congress gets set to begin debating appropriations for fiscal year 2026. The President’s budget proposal envisions zero S/THPO funding from the HPF in FY26 – and the legal authority for the HPF to receive royalties from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas drilling expired last fall.

Stay tuned to ACRASphere on updates as the effort to fully fund S/THPOs continues.