CaseStudy:Programmatic Agreement for Aviation Stationing at Fort Wainwright

The Department of the Army is reorganizing and augmenting its aviation assets in Alaska to create a front-line, combat-ready aviation unit. Currently, this aviation function includes about 490 personnel and 32 helicopters. The increase will include stationing additional soldiers and helicopters, construction of a number of facilities within existing U.S. Army Garrison, Alaska cantonment areas, and increased aviation training on Army lands and within airspace in Alaska. Collectively, this activity is called Aviation Stationing.

The Ladd Field National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Ladd Air Force Base Cold War Historic District is eligible for listing. Based upon the results of the building survey, the boundaries of the Ladd Air Force Base Cold War Historic District would include the entire NHLD as well as additional buildings and structures immediately adjacent to the NHLD and south of the flight line.

The identified adverse effects include
 * 1) infill construction in the NHLD dissimilar in scale or massing to nearby historic properties;
 * 2) a proposed new hangar impeding the viewshed between Hangars 2 and 3 and North Post;
 * 3) a potential change-in-use of Hangars 2 and 3;
 * 4) construction of a barracks near the Ladd Air Force Base Cold War Historic District affecting the viewshed;
 * 5) construction of a fence that will affect the setting of the airfield.

Under the Programmatic Agreement executed September 28, 2009, the Army will complete necessary future actions through a contracting process known as design/build. This means that a single contract will be awarded for the design and construction of each new aviation station element. Typically, federal agencies do not start the Section 106 review process until after the design/build contract has been awarded, meaning the historic integrity of impacted properties is not necessarily taken into account by the firm bidding for the contract. The unique difference with this undertaking, and with these future contracts, is that the Department of the Army will ensure that the firm awarded the contract acknowledges the historic properties of Fort Wainwright and adheres to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Properties to the maximum extent possible. If the proposal does not do those things, it cannot be accepted. The Programmatic Agreement allows for the continued involvement of consulting parties who wish to participate in further design review.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation became involved in the consultations on March 27, 2009. Other consulting parties included the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office, Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service, the Upper Tanana Intertribal Coalition, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society. The Programmatic Agreement is an example of how a federal agency can ensure that the integrity of historic properties is taken into account early in the project’s planning, so a broad range of alternatives may be considered during the planning process.

Ladd Field was designated an NHLD in 1985 for its significance at the national level from 1940 through 1945, and for its association with aviation and the changing role of the United States in the world community during World War II. Specifically, Ladd Field was nominated for the following three themes: cold weather aviation research, support during the World War II Aleutian Campaign, and Alaskan headquarters for the Lend-Lease program.