Utah SHPO Leaves State History on May 4th

In 2022 the Utah legislature passed House Bill 350, which removes the Utah State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) from under the umbrella of the Utah Division of State History (UDSH) and creates its own office within the Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. The SHPO will continue to oversee all of its current programs such as the Utah Cultural Site Stewards, archaeology records, ancient human remains, state and federal tax credits, etc. House Bill 350 also created a new National Register Review Committee to make recommendations to the National Register of Historic Places. 

The Utah Division of State History will continue to oversee programs such as National History Day, the Library and Collections program, the Utah Historical Quarterly, and others, while planning for the new Museum of Utah. 

Both the SHPO and Utah Division of State History are excited to take advantage of this opportunity to narrow their respective foci and to amplify the good work happening across both teams. As such, we will continue to closely collaborate; the public and our partnering organizations will not have their services nor contacts at our organizations changed and should expect the same quality service and communication from both SHPO and UDSH. 

Please direct any SHPO questions to Chris Merritt at cmerritt@utah.gov or Division of State History questions to Jennifer Ortiz at jenniferortiz@utah.gov.