At Risk: Our Historic Places and Your Voice

How a change in Washington could reshape Moore County

Imagine CSX, using federal funds, wanted to run another rail line right through downtown Southern Pines or Aberdeen and they didn’t have to ask the town, the state, or even the property owners first. 

It’s not that far-fetched. A new change to federal regulations would rewrite Section 106, the law that guarantees you and your community a voice before a federally funded project can bulldoze or alter a historic place. It’s a decades-old process that has impacted real decisions right here at home, like how the widening of US-1 could have negatively impacted historic buildings in Cameron, Vass, and Aberdeen.

The rewrite makes it so that a conversation before a project is optional. Instead, the bulldozers would just show up. 

It would also let agencies set their own timeline, drop long-standing protections, and move projects forward with little to no input.  

This isn’t complicated and it isn’t about politics. It’s about whether the people who live here in Moore County still get to have a voice in what happens to the places we love. 

 You can read the redlined version hereand the draft here.

Here’s what you can do right now: 

  1. Forward this page to a neighbor. The more of us who are paying attention, the stronger our voice.

  2. Be ready to act. The public comment period could open any time. When it does, we need you to move fast.

    •  Watch your inbox. The moment the public comment period opens, we’ll send you a simple, step-by-step way to make sure you are heard. Not signed up for our newsletter? Join here.

  3. This is optional, but it helps. You can reach out to our Governor and members of Congress to express your concern about this rule. Our friends at Cultural Heritage Partners have made this easy by putting together some basic scripts you can find here.

This is the most significant change to these protections in decades. The best way to help right now is to spread the word.