An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities (Antiquities Act) was signed into law on June 8th, 1906. The Act was the first U.S. law to provide general legal protection of cultural and natural resources of historic or scientific interest on federal lands.

The Historic Sites, Buildings and Antiquities Act (Historic Sites Act) was signed into law on August 21, 1935. The Historic Sites Act established that “it is a national policy to preserve for public use historic sites, buildings and objects of national significance for the inspiration and benefit of the people of the United States.”

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was signed into law on October 15, 1966. It establishes a national preservation program and a system of procedural protections. These encourage the identification and protection of historic resources, including archeological resources, at the federal level and indirectly at the state and local levels. NHPA represents the most extensive preservation legislation ever enacted in the U.S.

This section triggers regulatory review for federal undertakings. Visit our Review section for further reading.

This section of the NHPA governs our own Data Use and Distribution Agreement. It describes when to restrict data about the location, owner and nature of historic properties.

The New Jersey Register of Historic Places Act allows historic properties to be nominated and entered in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, which is maintained by our office. Once a property is listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, any public undertaking that would “encroach upon, damage or destroy” the registered historic property must receive prior authorization from the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. Strictly private undertakings are not reviewable under the law.

The Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) authorizes the Department to regulate a wide variety of residential, commercial, public or industrial development within the CAFRA area, such as

• Construction, relocation, and enlargement of buildings and structures
• Associated work such as excavation, grading, site preparation and the installation of shore protection structures within the CAFRA area

What is the CAFRA area?

• Coastal: The CAFRA area begins where the Cheesequake Creek enters Raritan Bay in Old Bridge, Middlesex County. It extends south along the coast around Cape May, and then north along the Delaware Bay until it ends at Kilcohook National Wildlife Refuge in Salem County.
• Inland: The inland limit is an irregular line that follows public roads, railroad tracks and other features.
• Width: The width varies from a few thousand feet to 24 miles.

How is the CAFRA area regulated?

The CAFRA area is divided into zones with different regulatory thresholds for each zone. Rules adopted for the administration of this law include provisions for the identification, evaluation, and treatment of historic and archaeological resources.

The Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act was passed by the New Jersey Legislature on July 1, 1987, to “preserve the purity and integrity of freshwater wetlands from random, unnecessary or undesirable alteration or disturbance.” Prior to this act, only coastal and navigable waters were protected. This statute extended state and federal protection to inland waterways and freshwater wetlands. This provided a safeguard for both water quality and wildlife habitats and helped mitigate flooding risks.

Rules adopted for the administration of this law include provisions for the identification, evaluation and treatment of historic and archaeological resources.

The Pinelands Protection Act, passed by the New Jersey Legislature in June 1979, recognizes the New Jersey pinelands area (Pinelands or Pine Barrens) as a relatively undeveloped and ecologically unique area in need of protection. It required the development of a Comprehensive Management Plan, which in turn defined nine land use management areas with different characters and needs.

The rules include provisions for protecting archaeological and historic architectural resources.

Governor Thomas H. Kean signed Executive Order 215 on September 11, 1989. This affects major construction projects by New Jersey departments, agencies and authorities. They must submit an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) to DEP.

• Level 1 projects with anticipated construction costs in excess of $1 million shall be subject to the preparation of an EA.
• Level 2 projects with both construction costs in excess of $5 million and land disturbance in excess of five acres shall be subject to the preparation of an EIS.

Consideration of historic and archaeological resources is part of this environmental review process.

The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, signed on August 10, 2004, established the Highlands as a protected region that requires a consolidated permitting process for major development projects. It also established the Highlands Council, which maintains a regional master plan to govern land use, water quality and other environmental concerns.

The rules include provisions for protecting archaeological and historic architectural resources.

The Reservoir Salvage Act was signed into law on June 27, 1960. The Act is a salvage law. It directs federal agencies conducting reservoir projects to conduct archeological survey and recovery in areas to be impacted by dam construction and in areas to be flooded.

The Archeological and Historic Preservation Act (AHPA) — also known also as the Moss-Bennett Act, the Archaeological Recovery Act, or the Archaeological Data Preservation Act — was signed into law on May 24, 1974. AHPA is a salvage bill. It addresses the preservation of historical and archeological data that might otherwise be lost or destroyed through federally funded or licensed activities or programs.

The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) was signed into law on October 31, 1979. ARPA was enacted “to secure, for the present and future benefit of the American people, the protection of archaeological resources and sites which are on public lands and Indian lands, and to foster increased cooperation and exchange of information between governmental authorities, the professional archaeological community, and private individuals having collections of archaeological resources and data which were obtained before October 31, 1979.”

The Abandoned Shipwreck Act (ASA) was signed into law on April 28, 1988. ASA aims to protect historic shipwrecks in United States waters from treasure hunters and unauthorized salvagers.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was signed into law on November 16, 1990. NAGPRA addresses the repatriation and disposition of Native American …

• Human remains
• Funerary objects
• Sacred objects
• Objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations

The regulations, “Curation of Federally Owned and Administered Archaeological Collections” (36 CFR 79) were first issued in 1990 and updated in 2022. Authorized by NHPA, the Reservoir Salvage Act and ARPA, the regulations apply to excavations done under the authority of these laws, as well as the Antiquities Act. They establish procedures and guidelines to manage and preserve both new and preexisting archeological collections and generated data as permanent records.

The Sunken Military Craft Act (SMCA) is the common name for Division A, Title XIV of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, which was signed on October 28, 2004. The primary purpose of SMCA is to preserve and protect from unauthorized disturbance all sunken military craft that are owned by the United States government wherever located around the world, as well as foreign sunken military craft that lie within U.S. waters.

The Anti-Looting Law was signed into law on December 7, 2004. The law enhances the protection of archaeological sites on state, county, and municipal lands.  The law makes it illegal to destroy, disturb, remove, sell, or receive archaeological artifacts from public property.  The law also establishes penalties for violations of the law.

These penalties include

• Fines
• Confiscation or forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, or equipment used in the commission of the activity
• Additional monetary compensation to cover the remediation of the violation