President Trump has appointed seven new members to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), who were sworn in by Vice Chairman Travis Voyles last week.
The new Council members are:
Public members
Michael Boos, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Citizens United
Jaime Gardner, Executive Vice President at Novitas Communications in Denver and owner of High Plains Communications, LLC.
Expert members
Margaret Everson, founder and principal of Mill Run Strategies and a former acting director of both the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Rick Gonzalez, AIA, president of REG Architects in Palm Beach, Florida, who previously served as an ACHP Expert Member, including a period as Vice Chairman, from 2020 to 2023.
Kyle Scherer, a partner in the Environmental and Natural Resources Group at Venable LLP.
Mayor Member
Meridian, Idaho, Mayor Robert Simison, who previously served as the ACHP Mayor Member from 2020 to 2023.
ACHP Indian Tribe Member
John Tahsuda III, a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, and Principal with Navigators Global LLC, a full-service issues management, government relations, and strategic communications firm located in Washington, DC.
Voyles indicated that the ACHP anticipates swearing in two additional Council members before the end of January. To date, the President has yet to nominate a Chair, who would be subject to Senate confirmation. Until that happens, Voyles continues to carry out the functions of chairman.
The appointment of seven new members to the Council has raised speculation that it may soon take more policy-related actions, which could potentially include changes to the 800 regulations that implement Section 106 of NHPA. To date, however, there have been no indications, official or unofficial, that such actions are under discussion. Nonetheless, ACRA continues to engage with the Council, its congressional champions and allies in the preservation community to closely monitor ACHP actions to ensure that the letter and spirit of the law are upheld.