December 31, 2005

11 Most Endangered List

Nominations for the National Trust's 2006 America’s 11 Most Endangered Places list are due by January 18. The list is the National Trust's annual program to identify and raise awareness of historic sites at risk. Each year, the National Trust issues the list to identify and raise awareness of historic sites at risk from neglect, deterioration, lack of maintenance, insufficient funds, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.

Since 1988, the list has been one of the most successful tools in the fight to save America's irreplaceable architectural, cultural, and natural heritage. Sites selected for the list represent a wide range of threats - such as neglect, insufficient funding, in appropriate development and insensitive public policy - that endanger historic places. Listed sites also reflect the diversity of America's heritage, some are world famous while others are less well-known.

To ensure that the most threatened sites are chosen, the National Trust uses three primary criteria to decide the 11 finalists:

  • Significance;
  • Urgency; and
  • Potential Solutions

While nominations are accepted from any source; it is strongly recommended that a preservation professional or community advocate participate in the preparation of the nomination. It is suggested that nominating parties consider contacting a National Trust regional office representative for advice.

The entire 11 Most Endangered List nomination form, which includes both the guidelines and the nomination form, is available for download at: http://www.nationaltrust.org/11Most/11Most2006NominationForm.pdf.

The National Trust's 2005 list recognized the threatened Frank Lloyd Wright designed Ennis-Brown House in Hollywood, which was the only California property specifically recognized. Other resources listed included: the National Landscape Conservation System in 12 Western states, encompassing dozens of national monuments, historic trails, and thousand-year-old archaeological sites; native structures on Alaska's King Island; and a 175-mile-long swath of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania - the presidential homes, African-American historic sites, Civil War battlefields, and scenic roads and rivers - that make up the "Journey Through Hallowed Ground" Corridor.

A listing of all 11 Endangered Places from 2005, including detailed information on the history of each resource and their impending threats, is available online at the National Trust's website at: http://www.nationaltrust.org/11Most/2005/index.html



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