USS Olympia, 2005 1966 (NHPA) is the m os t comprehensive preservation law. It established the National Register ofHistoric Places, Stare and Federal Historic Preservation Officers, and other assistance to help private grou ps, local government, and federal offices protect historic sires, structures and vessels. These programs helped protect examples of the Americanbuilr environment from som e dangers, bur there are still many hazards from which there is little protection. Today, there are more than 130 historic ships designated as National Historic Landmarks, and a larger number are listed on the National Register. State, tribal, and local governments, as well as private historic property owners, are m inimally constrained in their actions dealing with those properties, unless they intend to use federal funds or lands or opera re using a federal permit. They can perhaps be embarrassed bur not prosecuted for their actions. The area where the NHPA has "teeth" is in causing federal agencies engaged in actions, called "undertakings" under preservation law, to consider whether there might be a negative impact caused by their actions. If a property is a National Historic Landmark, the agency needs to avoid negative impacts entirely if poss ible. The listing, however, may cause more stringent local and stare regulations to kick in . One of many federal preservation programs under the law is run by rhe US Navy. 1he program helps groups that can demonstra te administrative competency and fundraising abili ty to adopt historic vessels if they can meet the criteria set by Congress and the law. The ship donation program's role is made more difficult by partially conflicting legal requirements. Like any Federal agency, they m ust comply with the National Historic Preservation Act and consider their actio ns and undergo public comment under Section 106, while complying with a requirement that they spend no federal funds on the process-so there is arguably no provision for the Navy to take back a histo ric ship if a new owner is unable to care for that ship. This is the situation the Navy has been handed by the Independence Seaport Museum's fai lure to raise suffic ient funding to care for the tremendo usly important National Historic Landmark cruiser Olympia. In this case, the museum wants to give the ship back to the Navy: the Navy has said essentially "no gives, no backs, no takes." SEA HISTORY 133 WINTER 2010-11
Instead, the museum has plans to destroy Olympia by removing the superstructure and sinking her as a reef. Once before, when the Olympia was threatened with scrapping afrer the owners at the time were underinsured and lost a slip-and-fall court case, the Navy did take the Olympia back and later awarded her to another owner in Philadelph ia. That action required the direct intervention of the Secretary of the Navy. The current impasse may result in the loss of one of the fo ur or five most important historic ships in the United States. For many years, the most acceptable thing to do with a ship that co uld not be saved was through a two-step process as the vessel was broken up. The first is photographic and drawing documenta-
tion before scrapping; and the second is salvage of important pieces of artwork and engineering components. This process has become standard practice with the Navy, the Coast G uard, and some other government agencies. The builder's plaques, the ship's bell, charts and paper records, bridge instruments, the ship's wheel, and some electronics might be removed. Classified devices, amm uni tion, fuel , and the smaller armament are removed, and large weapo ns are rendered inoperable (demilitarized). In the m erchant fleet, only a small number of vessels that could not be saved have been dismantled responsibly, using good p reserva tion practice. The m ost recent example is the three-mas ted schooner Wawona, broken up in 2009 in Seattle.
Wawona, 2007
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