Support the Historic Preservation Fund

As the cornerstone of the federal historic preservation program, the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provides grants to states, tribes, and local governments to use for activities like education, preparation of National Register nominations, and development of comprehensive preservation plans. The HPF also provides critical bricks and mortar grants to historic sites and collection through the Save America’s Treasures program.

While federal law authorizes up to $150 million annually for the HPF, for decades, core historic preservation programs have only received one third to one half of that authorized annual amount, which hampers all our efforts to achieve the lofty goals set out in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

On Wednesday, July 14th, the House Committee on Natural Resources will consider H.R. 3534 – the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act of 2009. The discussion draft of the bill includes language that would fully fund the Historic Preservation Fund.

Members of the Natural Resources Committee need to hear from the preservation community. Please contact your member today and ask them to include language for fully funding the HPF in the final version of the House Bill.

BLM to host open houses on scenic values

The Bureau of Land Management is hosting five open houses to discuss the scenic values of our public lands and to help them understand which lands the public especially prizes for their scenic values. Of course, all lands have a certain scenic value but we all know that some are more important than others. For history buffs, the historic trails have their own special needs when it comes to protecting scenic values. You may be able to stand in the ruts of the old trails but if there is a wind turbine ten feet from you, dominating the view, you're not going to have the same experience that you will if the landscape is virtually undisturbed. This is usually referred to as the "viewshed" and it is something that AHW works hard to protect. Natural landmarks often require an undisturbed landscape to properly appreciate. And, of course, there are simply lands that are so breathtaking, none of us would want to see them trampled by industrialization.

The BLM Rock Springs and Rawlins Offices will use these public meetings to gather information for their Visual Resource Management System which assists the BLM in quantifying existing values, establishing goals and objectives and utilizing that information to determine whether a proposed activity conforms to the established goals and objectives. The BLM will be looking to the public at these meetings for input on what the public wants from their scenic lands across the southern tier of the state. All together, the Rock Springs and Rawlins BLM offices manage more than 7 million acres of lands in Carbon, Albany, Laramie, Sweetwater, Uinta, Lincoln, Fremont, and Sublette Counties.

We strongly encourage you to attend these open houses and let your voice be heard about the scenic values that you cherish on these public lands. The meetings will be held from 4-7:30PM at the following locations:

Monday, July 12, Baggs, Little Snake River Valley Ed Center, 360 Whipporwill
Tuesday, July 13, Rawlins, Jeffrey Memorial Community Center, 315 East Pine
Wednesday, July 14, Rock Springs, Western Wyoming Community College, 2500 College Drive, Room 1302
Monday, July 19, Saratoga, Platte Valley Community Center, 210 Elm Street
Tuesday, July 20, Laramie, Albany County Library, 310 South 8th St.

For more information, contact Sherry Roche, Project Manager for the BLM, at (307) 775-6484

Job Opening with AHW

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alliance for Historic Wyoming, a leading voice for the protection of Wyoming's built environment and cultural landscapes, seeks a part-time Executive Director to implement its strategic goals and objectives. We seek an intelligent, self-motivated individual with a familiarity with historic preservation, whose critical analysis, fundraising, and grassroots organizing will advance our mission and build our organization. If you want meaningful, challenging work exercising your leadership and education to save our cultural heritage, this job is for you!

DESCRIPTION

The Executive Director will work with the Board of Directors to fulfill its governance function and AHW's annual objectives. This position will start at 20 hours per week at $17 per hour and will be the first employee of the organization. This role is intended to increase over time with the successful applicant. Location anywhere in the state of Wyoming is acceptable; extensive travel throughout the state is required. Must be able to work from a home office initially; successful fundraising may later make an office available.

DUTIES

• Supporting operation of Board by advising and informing board members and attending quarterly Board meetings either in person or by phone.
• Overseeing design and execution of programs and services, including evaluating and critiquing projects on public lands which may impact Wyoming historic sites or cultural landscapes; working cooperatively with other groups to build coalitions and further preservation efforts; educating stakeholders and energizing the grassroots to take action to protect priority endangered sites; responding to requests for assistance with preservation projects in accordance with AHW’s intervention policy.
• Recommending annual budget to the board for approval and prudently overseeing AHW resources within budget guidelines and the law.
• Managing grants.
• Managing volunteers and any future employees in accordance with policy and the law.
• Assuring that AHW, its mission, program and services are consistently presented in a strong, positive light to all its current and potential stakeholders, including serving as a media spokesperson for AHW, writing press releases and opinion-editorial pieces, and performing interviews.
• Overseeing fundraising planning and implementation, including identifying needs, developing a fundraising plan for the board, researching funding sources, establishing strategies to approach current and potential funders, submitting grant proposals, developing membership, carefully stewarding resources, and administering records.
• Maintaining files and performing clerical duties as necessary.
• Traveling to meetings and conferences.

DESIRED QUALITIES

The successful applicant will have a suite of important qualities including some combination of the following:

• ability to create and execute a work plan from idea to fruition with little supervision
• confidence in commenting on federal projects that impact historic resources
• experience with grassroots activism in small towns and rural communities
• personal commitment to saving sites of cultural and historic import
• quality writing and research skills
• strong intellect, creativity, drive and initiative
• ability to track and meet multiple deadlines and responsibilities
• proficiency with technology, including database, power point, online research, basic general computer maintenance, and word processing
• flexible schedule and willingness to travel

DIRECTION

This position reports to the Board of directors.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Submit a cover letter, writing sample, resume and three professional references to Sarah Egolf, sarah (dot) egolf (at) gmail (dot) com, Alliance for Historic Wyoming, 1036 Monte Vista Drive, Casper, WY 82601 by September 1, 2010 Email submissions preferred.