REPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES – In its latest report to the National Park Service (NPS), the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) noted it is on track in meeting the NPS Corrective Action Plan (CAP).
The NPS has oversight of SHPD under the National Historic Preservation Act. In March 2010, SHPD was placed on High Alert Status and issued a CAP to be completed within two years. SHPD continues to make progress and has completed a number of areas identified in the CAP including:
· Developing Standard Operating Procedures for Survey and Inventory and Review and Compliance
· Developing procedures for the Hawai’i Historic Places Review Board
· Certifying the County Certified Local Government programs
· Developing a Historic Preservation State Plan
· Hiring adequate staff including a Geographic Information Specialist
“We are grateful that the current Administration has enabled us to meet the CAP to this point through support of our funding requests and support of our staff,” stated Pua Aiu, SHPD administrator. “There is still work to be done and we plan on meeting all elements identified in the CAP.”
SHPD has until February to finalize details of the CAP requirements, at which time NPS will do a site visit and determine whether the State has satisfactorily met all elements of the CAP.
Elements of the CAP that SHPD is still making progress on include:
· Securing a Maui Archaeologist, Hawai’i Archaeologist, IT specialist and Librarian. Two other positions (Kauai Archaeologist and CLG Specialist) will require a change of funding. These positions must be hired by June 30, 2013. For the time being the functions of those positions are being met by existing staff.
· Digitizing SHPD Inventory and Intake. SHPD and State Parks have developed a plan to implement Docushare’s tracking system for all documents in the SHPD system. SHPD will start with incoming documents and work on inputting existing files and documents over time. Full implementation of Docushare is expected by February 2013.
· Upgrading the Graphic Information System (GIS) to make it available to all staff and to the public. NPS detailed staff to assist SHPD with this goal and SHPD hired a GIS specialist to work on implementation and maintenance of the GIS. NPS also approved the purchase of 12 new computers with GIS capacity so all reviewers will have access to GIS information. SHPD is requesting funding for 11 additional computers so all staff can have GIS access.
A draft of the State Plan has been submitted to and reviewed by the Washington Office of NPS. It is on track to be final by October 30, 2012. The draft included input from the public and was made available for public review in early September.
A copy of the Narrative Report submitted to NPS will be available on the SHPD https://hawaii.gov/dlnr/shpd.
The State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources works to preserve and sustain reminders of earlier times which link the past to the present. SHPD’s three branches, History and Culture, Archaeology, and Architecture, strive to accomplish this goal through a number of different activities. The division’s statewide Inventory of Historic Properties contains information on more than 38,000 historic sites in Hawai’i.