Monitoring Period Report: Year 2 Forest Service National Programmatic Agreement Regarding Phasing of Large-Scale Multi-Year Undertakings (Phasing NPA)
Report of comments received during the second monitoring period (12/6/2022 – 12/6/2023), pursuant to Section XI.B.
June 2024
Introduction
The Forest Service’s (FS) “National Programmatic Agreement Regarding Phasing of Large-scale Multi-year Projects” (Phasing NPA) was developed to allow for long-term management of Forest Service projects and maintain compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for large-scale multi-year Projects. On December 6th, 2021, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), and the Forest Service (Signatories) executed the Phasing NPA with a two-year monitoring period (Section XI.B). Throughout the first two calendar years of the Phasing NPA (the monitoring period), the Forest Service was required to seek input and accept comments on any aspect of the Phasing NPA, or its use, from Signatories, State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs)/Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs), Tribes, consulting parties, and the public. At the end of each year during the monitoring period, the FS synthesized comments and responses and makes them publicly available. The end of the monitoring period was 12/6/2023. This monitoring report will be the final report regarding the comments received during the monitoring period. The Forest Service will continue to provide information on the undertakings reviewed under the Phasing NPA separately in annual reports.
Summary
During the second year of the Phasing NPA monitoring period (12/6/2022 – 12/6/2023), the FS invited comments seeking feedback on Phasing NPA implementation and minor technical changes proposed in an amendment. Between 12/6/2022 – 12/6/2023, the FS received no formal comments regarding the implementation of the Phasing NPA. However, the FS observed potential opportunities for improvement and has made suggestions to provide technical assistance for individual Forests with informal ACHP coordination. The FS also received two requests to meet regarding the proposed amendment. The following report addresses FS observed opportunities for improving implementation and the requests received regarding the proposed changes to the amendment.
Implementation of the Phasing NPA
Between 12/6/2022 – 12/6/2023, the FS received no formal comments regarding the implementation of the Phasing NPA. The FS engaged with individual Forests to provide technical assistance. Additionally, the FS discussed observations with the ACHP, who also provided technical assistance through their participation in select cases. Based on review of the first year of the monitoring period’s comments received (available here) and observations made the second year, there remains an opportunity to provide more clarification on the following topics: Cultural Resource Stewardship Opportunities (CRSOs); timing of when FS units should initiate consultation under the Phasing NPA; agendas for kick-off meetings; and HIP timeline/milestones with consulting parties. The following table provides additional observations made this year.
| Observation Summary | FS Response |
|---|---|
| Forests may benefit from additional clarification on Cultural Resource Opportunities to address inconsistent understanding of Cultural Resource Opportunities and how they should be documented in the HIP [documented as optional vs. mandatory; considered a S106 step (such as monitoring effects) vs. considered a separate Section 110-like activity] | The development of guidance or clarification on this would be beneficial. |
| Forests demonstrate different levels of familiarity with drafting documents and different level of attention to what language can be modified, based on Appendix C. | The WO may begin to offer office hours, webinars, or other interactive learning options to Forest Service staff to provide technical assistance on such issues. |
| Forests may benefit from developing best practices for agendas for kick-off meetings, PowerPoint templates for presentations explaining the Phasing NPA, Cultural Resource Stewardship examples, etc. | The WO acknowledges that the Phasing NPA requires the development of best practices and/or case studies to assist with HIP development and consultation by providing example or sample HIP materials. |
Proposed Amendment
Following the results of the first monitoring period, the Forest Service proposed an amendment to the Phasing NPA in June 2023. The proposed amendment included the following changes: allow activities at 36 CFR § 220.6(d) to qualify for use of the NPA as long as such activities have a corresponding project or case file and decision document developed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (Section IV.C.5.); allow Forest Service to accept non-written communications from HIP consulting parties who respond to initial HIP invitations (Section V.C); and clarify the Tribal Signatory process to identify which agency official may accept a Tribal Signatory page (Section V.D).
In response to the proposed amendment, the Forest Service received two requests from Tribes to meet. The FS was successful in meeting only with one Tribe due to scheduling challenges. Neither Tribe participated in a HIP development process nor suggested any specific changes to the amendment. Signatories reviewed the draft and expressed no concerns. The WO continues to work on executing the amendment.