Administrative Action to Protect Nantucket Sound as a National Historic Landmark
The Alliance is seeking administrative action through the U.S. Department of the Interior to permanently protect and preserve Nantucket Sound as a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of protection possible.
In May, the Alliance submitted a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) to Interior to formally seek designation of Nantucket Sound as an NHL. The LOI leverages the Administration’s policy directive to protect sacred lands, support from key tribal groups including the National Congress of American Indians, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, and United South and Eastern Tribes, and Interior’s 2010 determination that the Sound is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a “Traditional Cultural Place”. NHL status would elevate this designation, aligning it with surrounding NHLs such as the island of Nantucket, the Kennedy Compound, and Wesleyan Grove in Oak Bluffs.
