On Thursday morning, Colorado Preservation, Inc. held a webinar to inform community members about the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation advancing major changes to the National Historic Preservation Act that could limit l ocal input and protections for historic properties and places.The changes to Section 106, which requires federal agencies to take into account how their actions impact historic properties and places, would allow federal agencies to move forward with construction projects with fewer considerations and oversight.This is really an existential threat that were facing here to our ability to protect the places that we care about, Katherine Sorrell, attorney at Cultural Heritage Partners said during the webinar.Colorado Preservation, Inc. Executive Director Jennifer Orrigo Charles said this wont just impact historic buildings.Its changing that definition of what's historic. That's a big one, you know, because right now, cultural landscapes, sacred places, all of those are considered historic, Orrigo Charles said.Orrigo Charles said from big issues to small, Section 106 has given the community a voice for what happens in their neighborhoods.For example, how it works now, and this is kind of a real world example Otero County is a certified local government, which means that they're one of the groups that would come to the table in an instance of a cell tower being proposed, Orrigo Charles said. Someone might say, Actually, there's a burial ground right here, so we would recommend putting it a little bit further away.' All that information triggers what the end result is, and you know, having that informed discussion. To take that away, you know, I don't see the meaningful reasons why you would remove the entire process.Former Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Cassandra Atencio said the change will diminish trust its taken decades to build between indigenous communities and federal agencies.We talk about due diligence. We come into the process early, and by doing that, we are able to minimize what could happen and figure out how to resolve those adverse effects. So, taking away those steps erodes tribal sovereignty, Atencio said.At some point there will be a 30-day public comment period, but its unclear when exactly that will be.Orrigo Charles said in the meantime, Colorado Preservation, Inc. wants to partner with communities to host community meetings and discuss the changes. ...read more read less