BEDFORD – Indiana is rich in cultural history. Starting with Native Americans some 13,000+ years ago, humans have long occupied and influenced the landscape that now makes up the Hoosier National Forest. Encompassing 204,000 acres in southern Indiana, the Hoosier National Forest has thousands of historic and pre-historic sites, also sometimes referred to as cultural resources or historic properties, which the Forest Service stewards on behalf of the American people.
There are many federal laws that guide the preservation of cultural history on public lands. As managers of federal public lands, prior to any ground-disturbing actions taking place on the National Forest, the Forest Service must ensure compliance with these laws which includes extensive surveying to identify cultural sites. Once identified, significant sites are most often protected from ground disturbing activities, or else project effects must be mitigated in other ways such as data recovery. Prior to any actions, the Forest Service also must consult with all tribal governments who have indicated an interest in the land and resources of this part of Indiana. At the Hoosier National Forest, we take these responsibilities very seriously. We understand that the cultural sites we manage are irreplaceable if damaged or destroyed and the preservation of cultural resources is a high priority within the Forest Service’s mission.
Among the laws protecting historical and cultural resources are – the American Antiquities Act of 1906, the Historic Sites Act of 1935, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA), and the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). The process the Forest Service follows for planning projects and protecting cultural resources from project impacts is laid out in Section 106 of the NHPA.
NHPA Section 106 Process
NHPA requires federal agencies to consider the effects on historic properties of projects the agency carries out, assists, funds, permits, licenses, or approves. That means cultural resource inventories (surveys) must be conducted prior to the implementation of any ground disturbing projects in order to locate the cultural resource sites within the project area. NHPA defines the term “historic properties” as all cultural resource sites (prehistoric or historic) that are either listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), as well as those that are unevaluated for NRHP eligibility. Sites that are evaluated as ineligible to the NRHP will be well documented during the evaluation process, but will no longer be considered historic properties under NHPA, and the law does not require effects to them to be considered. Federal agencies make determinations of NRHP eligibility in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and the Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) of interested Tribal Nations.
NHPA requires that all historic properties (which includes eligible and unevaluated sites) must be protected from project effects, or else the effects must be mitigated in some way, such as data recovery. A determination that the project will have no effect, no adverse effect, or adverse effects on historic properties must be made in consultation with the SHPO and THPOs before a project can proceed. If a finding of adverse effect to a historic property is reached, then a mitigation, such as data recovery, will be required in order for the project to proceed. Data recovery for an archaeological site means that a full archaeological excavation would be conducted so that all of the information from a site would be recovered before an adverse effect occurs. For a historical structure, data recovery could mean detailed architectural drawings and other forms of documentation. Findings of adverse effects and full data recovery are extremely rare on the Hoosier National Forest. In almost all cases if significant cultural resources are found projects will be dropped or modified to avoid causing any adverse effects to historic properties. For more information about the Section 106 process please visit https://www.achp.gov/protecting-historic-properties.
A forest restoration project recently proposed in Orange County has spurred concern from some that cultural resources, such as the Lick Creek African American Settlement and the Buffalo Trace, will be destroyed by timber harvest or prescribed fire. This is not the case. The Forest Service will implement what are known as design criteria – requirements that must be followed during project implementation. Following these design criteria will ensure that the Buffalo Springs Restoration Project will have no effect or no adverse effect on all historic properties. The Hoosier National Forest has used this same process to protect historic properties from adverse effects during past projects for decades.
If historic properties are located within units designated for ground disturbing treatments or prescribed fire, design criteria will be used to protect the sites during project implementation. The design criteria typically used to protect historic properties during project implementation are as follows:
- Ensure the area has received cultural resource survey prior to implementation of prescribed burning or ground disturbing activities.
- Cemeteries will be avoided by establishing a minimum 30-meter buffer zone.
- All other cultural resource sites that require protection will be avoided by establishing a minimum 20-meter buffer zone.
- Cultural resource sites that require protection from fire will have a buffered fire line laid in with foam, chainsaw, or a leaf blower. Heavy downed fuels located on-site will be hand removed when possible.
- Motorized vehicle/machine work will be limited in duration and occur in favorable weather conditions to avoid ground disturbance.
- Near protected sites, trees will be cut so they fall away from site features and boundary.
- All personnel implementing the project will be educated on protective measures for cultural resources and have adequate map reading and navigational skills.
- If cultural materials or human remains are discovered during project implementation, immediately cease work and notify the Heritage Resource Specialist.
The Forest Service is currently establishing a Programmatic Agreement in consultation with the Indiana SHPO, interested Tribal Nations, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and other interested parties. This agreement will outline the procedures the Forest Service will take to ensure that surveys are conducted, and that the NHPA Section 106 process is completed, prior to any project activities occurring on the ground at a given location. The agreement can be viewed on the Forest website at this link: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/hoosier/home/?cid=fseprd872762.
