[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 17 (Thursday, January 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4988-4989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01401]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NRNHL-23545; PPWOCRADI0, PCU00RP14.R50000]


Request for Comments on a Draft of Updated National Register 
Bulletin: Identifying, Evaluating, and Documenting Traditional Cultural 
Places (Draft TCP Bulletin)

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) is soliciting written comments 
from its Tribal, national, State, and local historic preservation 
partners, NPS regional offices and parks, other Federal agencies, and 
the public regarding the Draft TCP Bulletin.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: A Portable Document Format (PDF) copy of the Draft TCP 
Bulletin may be accessed at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/TCPBulletin.
    A printed copy of the Draft TCP Bulletin is available upon request.
    Comments may be submitted via email to [email protected]; via the 
project website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/TCPBulletin; or by U.S. 
mail or alternative carrier to Sherry A. Frear, Chief and Deputy 
Keeper, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic 
Landmarks Program, 1849 C Street NW, MS 7228, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry A. Frear, Chief and Deputy 
Keeper, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic 
Landmarks Program, 1849 C Street NW, MS 7228, Washington, DC 20240, 
[email protected], 202-913-3763.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NPS is the Federal agency tasked by the 
Secretary of the Interior with administering the National Register of 
Historic Places (National Register). The revision and reissue of 
National Register Bulletin 38: Guidelines for Evaluating and 
Documenting Traditional Cultural Places (TCP Bulletin) is in accordance 
with the authority provided by the National Preservation Act of 1966 
(54 U. S. C. 300101, et seq.)(NHPA), and National Register Program 
regulations (36 CFR part 60). Completion of the project will 
significantly assist the Federal Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation; Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Native Alaskans; 
Federal agencies; State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers; 
national, State, and local preservation organizations; preservation 
professionals; and the general public in the implementation of 36 CFR 
part 60, 36 CFR part 800, and environmental reviews pursuant to 54 
U.S.C. 306107 and 306108, and 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.
    With the release of the TCP Bulletin in 1990, the NPS provided 
guidance for evaluating and documenting places for inclusion in the 
National Register of Historic Places (National Register) for their 
historic relationships with traditional cultural communities. The TCP 
Bulletin was revised and reissued in 1992 to address changes in the 
NHPA providing that places of traditional religious and cultural 
importance to Native American Tribes or Native Hawaiian Organizations 
may be included in the National Register. It was revised and reissued 
again in 1998 to clarify that Traditional Cultural Places (TCPs) are 
not a new property type nor an additional level of significance. The 
TCP Bulletin as published in 1990, and revised in 1992 and 1998, has 
been an essential resource for evaluating and documenting TCPs. Over 
the past decades, there have been requests to the NPS for further 
clarification and expansion of this guidance from Native American 
Tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations, State and Tribal Historic

[[Page 4989]]

Preservation Offices, Federal agencies, preservation professionals, and 
preservation organizations.
    From 2011 to 2013, the NPS' National Register Program in 
Washington, DC, sponsored, attended, and participated in numerous 
meetings and workshops to solicit suggestions from the nation's 
preservation community on how to improve the guidance provided by the 
TCP Bulletin. As a result of this effort, the NPS received many verbal, 
written, and email comments about the TCP Bulletin from Native American 
Tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations, State and Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officers, Federal agencies, national and regional 
preservation organizations, and preservation professionals throughout 
the country. The purpose of this effort was to ensure that an updated 
edition of the TCP Bulletin addressed the needs of the preservation 
community to the greatest possible extent. A draft document was 
prepared and readied in 2017 for issuance for comment, but was not 
released for comment.
    In 2021, the NPS revived its efforts to revise and reissue the TCP 
Bulletin. The 2017 draft was further revised and titled National 
Register Bulletin: Identifying, Evaluating, and Documenting Traditional 
Cultural Places. In October 2022 the National Register Bulletin: 
Identifying, Evaluating, and Documenting Traditional Cultural Places 
(Draft TCP Bulletin) was publicly shared through the Draft TCP Bulletin 
project website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/TCPBulletin, from which 
the Draft TCP Bulletin could be downloaded and comments could be 
uploaded. As noted on the project web page, comments could also be 
submitted to the Draft TCP Bulletin Outlook email box at 
[email protected].
    From January through April 2023 the NPS conducted eleven (11) 
webinars directed to State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, 
Federal agencies, national and regional preservation organizations, 
preservation professionals, and the public, to present the Draft TCP 
Bulletin content, and answer questions regarding the revisions, and the 
revision and reissuance process. The webinars were attended by 402 
individuals from 185 organizations. The NPS conducted government-to-
government consultation through five (5) webinars, to present the Draft 
TCP Bulletin content, receive comments, and answer questions regarding 
the revisions, and the revision and reissuance process: four (4) for 
Native American Tribes; and one (1) for Native Hawaiian Organizations. 
These Tribal consultations reached individuals from 42 Tribes. The NPS 
further conducted consultation through one (1) webinar for Alaska 
Native Corporations.
    The Draft TCP Bulletin was released for comment from November 1, 
2022, through April 30, 2023. Eighty-five (85) submissions were 
received via letter, email, and the project website, totaling 
approximately 900 comments.
    From May through October 2023 the NPS reviewed all written comments 
and revised the Draft TCP Bulletin accordingly, as follows:
    Defined ``living community'' (pp. 22-23).
    Clarified the difference between ``family,'' ``extended family,'' 
and ``living community'' (p. 22).
    Expanded the discussion of cultural beliefs, customs, and practices 
(pp. 23-25).
    Expanded the discussion of community history and community identity 
(pp. 25-26).
    Clarified required TCP characteristics (p. 27).
    Added an analysis of a listed TCP nomination (pp. 30-32).
    Added an analysis of an unsuccessful TCP request for determination 
of eligibility (pp. 32-33).
    Moved ``Section III. Terminology'' to a new subsection within 
Section II ``What Is a Traditional Cultural Place,'' titled ``Notes on 
Terminology'' (pp. 33-37).
    Added discussion of adequacy of documentation submitted in a 
nomination, and the role of the Keeper in evaluating that documentation 
(p. 37).
    Added discussion regarding the listing animals (pp. 12, 53).
    Revised language regarding plants and animals as character-defining 
features (p. 53).
    Corrected language regarding the reach of Criterion D to 
ethnographic, archeological, sociological, folkloric, or other studies 
(p. 66).
    Added example to illustrate that information potential under 
Criterion D is not exclusive to archaeological data (p. 70).
    Expanded guidance regarding assessing the level of significance for 
a place (pp. 105-106).
    Clarified confidentiality issues and protections (pp. 39-45, 98-
100).
    Additional information added, old example removed, and new example 
added regarding determining a place's boundary (pp. 113-116).
    Clarified definitions as used within the Draft TCP Bulletin for 
``Native Americans'' and ``Native American Tribe'' (p. 125).
    Technical edits correcting grammar and punctuation, and for clarity 
and readability, were made throughout.

(Authority: 54 U.S.C. 302103; 36 CFR 60.4)

Sherry A. Frear,
Chief and Deputy Keeper, National Register of Historic Places and 
National Historic Landmarks Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-01401 Filed 1-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P