FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 18, 2007

CONTACT:  Jeff Mammenga, (605) 773-6000, Jeff.Mammenga@state.sd.us

Vogt set to testify before House Appropriations Committee

PIERRE, S.D. – The preservation of historic properties and the federal funding to support the State Historic Preservation Offices throughout the country will be the focus of the testimony that Jay D. Vogt, Director of the South Dakota State Historical Society and State Historic Preservation Officer, will present Thursday before Congress.

Vogt, who is also president of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), was invited to serve as a public witness before the U.S. House of Representatives, Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. 

According to Vogt, the State Historic Preservation Officers are responsible with implementing the National Historic Preservation Act in their individual states.  The Act requires the states to perform ten specific activities, including finding every historic place, nominating significant places to the National Register, and reviewing every federal project for impacts on historic properties.

“Funding for this work comes largely from the Historic Preservation Fund, and the states are required to match the federal funding,” said Vogt, “and I will be asking Congress to increase federal funding to the states equivalent to the 2001 level adjusted for inflation.” 

In addition, as a result of the Preserve American Summit -- a national gathering of preservation experts held in New Orleans this past fall -- Vogt will be supporting competitive grants for SHPOs to help create electronic databases tied to a geographic information system (GIS).  

“The SHPO offices are great resources for public and private agencies,” said Vogt, “and the financial resources made available to the states make a huge difference in the services the SHPOs can provide to the people and agencies in their states.”

Vogt was recently re-elected to his second term as president of the NCSHPO.  Vogt has been the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Officer since 1996 and director of the State Historical Society since 2003.