The identification, evaluation, protection and preservation of
America's important historic and cultural properties depends
upon the participation of all citizens; however, certain
decisions must involve individuals who meet nationally accepted
professional standards in order to assure credibility in the
practice of historic preservation at the Federal, State, and
local levels, as well as in the private sector. The Secretary of
the Interior is responsible for establishing standards for all
programs under Departmental authority. In accordance with this
responsibility, the Secretary of the Interior's Professional
Qualification Standards were developed by the National Park
Service (NPS) 20 years ago to ensure that a consistent level of
expertise would be applied nationally to the identification,
evaluation, documentation, registration, treatment, and
interpretation of historic and archeological resources. The
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89-665) gave
the Secretary authority to set criteria