We are reaching out to our federal, state, and local partners who consult with the State Historic Preservation Office under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and applicable Minnesota statutes. As you may know, SHPO’s Environmental Review Program Manager, Sarah Beimers, is no longer with the Minnesota SHPO. There will be an interim vacancy as we take steps to fill this position.
The Environmental Review Team has experienced a high volume of project submissions, and most review times continue to take between 45-60 days to complete. During this interim period with reduced staff, some reviews may take longer, including our response time to questions and inquiries. As your agencies prepare to submit projects for review, we ask you please plan for a longer response time from SHPO.
We value and appreciate the partnerships we have with you and understand the impacts when there is uncertainty around project timelines. We have made strides recently with the launch of Minnesota’s Statewide Historic Inventory Portal (MnSHIP) allowing greater online access to historic inventories, and we continue to accept electronic project submissions, a change made in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Please continue to send project review requests to ENReviewSHPO@state.mn.us. General project inquiries should be directed to MNSHPO@state.mn.us where your request will be redirected to the appropriate SHPO team member.
Thank you for your understanding during this transition period,
| Amy Spong |
Curt Yoakum |
| Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer |
Assistant Commissioner |
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