Puerto Rico

Abstract

Puerto Rico is the easternmost island of the Greater Antilles and includes Vieques, Culebra, and Mona Islands within its jurisdiction. Politically, the island is considered a commonwealth of the United States. Antiquities on Puerto Rico potentially may be protected by U.S. federal law or local commonwealth law, depending on such factors as land ownership, sources of project funding, and which agencies need to issue permits. If a construction project receives federal funds, is located on federal land, or is required to obtain a federal permit then U.S. historic preservation laws are executed. Historic preservation law in the United States has a long history, which is too extensive to review here. A number of excellent sources detail this history (Barkan and Bush 2003; Bell 1985; Hutt et al. 2004; King 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005; Neumann and Sanford 2001; Parker 1985). Implementing legislation most relevant today was approved by Congress on October 15, 1966, and over the years has been amended numerous times, most recently in 2006. Key phrases in the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) include:.