The city of Boonville, a Certified Local Government, will receive a $24,500 grant through the federal Historic Preservation Fund, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced today. The city will use the grant to plan and produce the Annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference to be held in the fall of 2013. The conference will focus on a variety of current preservation issues and efforts. It will feature a keynote speaker, three tracks of educational sessions, exhibits, tours and networking receptions. Tours and reception venues will highlight the unique cultural and historic treasures of the Boonville area.
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 authorizes a program of federal matching grants, known as the Historic Preservation Fund, to assist the various states in carrying out historic preservation activities. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and in Missouri, is administered through the Department of Natural Resources' State Historic Preservation Office.
Under changes made to the act in 1980, each state is required to earmark a minimum of 10 percent of its Historic Preservation Fund monies for exclusive use by Certified Local Governments. CLGs are communities that have established, under their local government, a historic preservation program that meets certain standards set by the state and the National Park Service. Local governments that maintain CLG status are considered to be partners with the SHPO and the NPS in the nation's historic preservation program. Missouri currently has 53 local governments that have attained CLG status.
CLG grants are awarded based on a competitive scoring process and the direct relation of the projects to the identification, evaluation, or protection of historical, architectural or archaeological resources. Grant-funded projects must pertain to the accomplishment of the State Historic Preservation Officer's responsibilities as outlined in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, must be carried out in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's "Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation" and must meet requirements of the National Register Programs Guideline (NPS-49).
For more information about the CLG program, visit the department's website dnr.mo.gov/shpo/certifie.htm or contact the State Historic Preservation Office at 573-522-2473.