The Natural and Cultural Resources Team addresses long-term environmental and cultural resources needs and impacts to create a healthy, adaptable environment and protect the cultural resources that make the community unique.
The NCR RSF facilitates the integration of capabilities of the Federal Government to support the protection of natural and cultural resources and historic properties through appropriate response and recovery actions to preserve, conserve, rehabilitate, and restore them consistent with post-disaster community priorities and in compliance with applicable environmental and historical preservation laws and Executive orders.
Coordinating Agency: Department of the Interior
Primary Partner Agencies: Department of the Interior; Environmental Protection Agency; Federal Emergency Management Agency
Supporting Partner Organizations: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; Corporation for National and Community Service; Council on Environmental Quality; Delta Regional Authority; Department of Agriculture; Department of Commerce; Department of Homeland Security/National Protection and Programs Directorate; General Services Administration; Heritage Emergency National Task Force; Institute of Museum and Library Services; Library of Congress; National Archives and Records Administration; National Endowment for the Arts; National Endowment for the Humanities; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Objectives:
- Coordinate and facilitate the sharing and integration of NCR impact data to help understand the recovery needs and support good decision making for NCR recovery stakeholders.
- Facilitate or provide funding and/or technical assistance in support of community recovery priorities to preserve, conserve, rehabilitate, and restore impacted NCR.
- Identify and leverage resources and programs that are available to support the development and implementation of sustainable recovery strategies.
- Provide technical assistance to help impacted communities develop recovery planning, establish recovery task forces, develop cultural and natural resources protection organization networks, and enhance their recovery capability and readiness for future disasters.
- Integrate environmental staff knowledgeable in natural resources and environmental regulatory requirements early in a disaster recovery planning process.
- Coordinate environmental and historic property (EHP) issues across the RSFs and with local, State, Tribal, Territorial, and Insular Area governments and provide expertise in support of the Unified Federal Review (UFR) process to help ensure EHP compliance in recovery.
- Integrate sustainable planning elements to provide a multi-disciplined effort that includes consideration of longterm environmental effects to natural resources, integration of open space and sensitive resources, and community well-being.
