Section 106

What We Do

We help our clients get their voices heard and their resources valued during federal permitting reviews pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. We advocate for location and design changes to avoid and minimize impacts of development on historic and cultural resources. When agencies permit projects that unavoidably will adversely affect historic and cultural resources, we negotiate for meaningful mitigation for the communities who value those resources.

Our firm is particularly experienced in negotiating creative mitigation agreements that put tribes, local governments, and stewards of historic places in the driver’s seat to interpret their own history and direct funds to advance self-determination. We have secured tens of millions of dollars from developers in mitigation payments for our clients, in addition to meaningful non-monetary investments in archaeology and historic interpretation.

With years of experience working with federal agencies, state and tribal historic preservation officers, and national advocacy organizations, we have deep insight into the needs and goals of the various Section 106 stakeholders before consultation even begins–giving our clients an advantage from Day 1.

Each client, consultation, and historic resource are unique. We work with our clients to craft strategies that draw on our deep understanding of the regulatory process, our community organizing and political advocacy experience, our media and public relations savvy, and our expertise in historic preservation litigation to achieve meaningful successes for our clients.

Notable Engagements

• We secured the preservation of Rassawek, the historic capital of the Monacan Indian Nation, by securing the change of location of a planned water pump station that would have destroyed the site and disturbed the burials of the tribe’s ancestors.
• We negotiated for the Town of Nantucket a Good Neighbor Agreement with Vineyard Wind to address harms to historic properties from the construction of the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm and create long-term benefits for the community.
• We demanded that agencies hold a real estate developer accountable for commitments made during the Section 106 permitting review, resulting in the developer abandoning the project. As a result, portions of the New Market Heights Battlefield, where US Colored Troops demonstrated exceptional valor, are permanently preserved.
• We advised a real estate developer on effective engagement with federally-recognized tribes. We helped draft a programmatic agreement to promote predictable, efficient resolution of adverse effects to historic properties and robust consultation with tribes. 

Questions?

Please contact our team leader: Marion Werkheiser.