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Request Site File/Inventory Background Research
Please review updated Records Access information below while our records are being digitized. (Latest update February 27, 2025)
The SHPO maintains the most comprehensive files of previously reported or identified historic properties (buildings, districts, objects, archaeological sites, shipwrecks, and structures) in Michigan. Reviewing these files is fundamental to completing applications for Section 106 Review, planning surveys (above and/or below ground), initiating or revising National Register of Historic Places nominations, and other research initiatives. Since 2023, the SHPO has been working to build a new indexing database with a linked GIS and scanning the supporting documents. Beginning in early 2025, the SHPO will be making this system available for research, as the components become available.
We are now able to announce the next installment of making research materials available online.
The Michigan SHPO is pleased to announce that our Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) is ready for individual beta user access. CRIS is composed of an online relational database (Argus) and a Geographic Information System (GIS) service providing information on architectural/history surveys and above-ground historic sites in Michigan. Archaeological GIS is a work in progress, but we will be providing access to a Box folder with scans of the USGS topographic quadrangle maps until the GIS project is completed. We are in the process of digitizing our survey reports and the electronic files will be uploaded to the database records as they are processed. This online system will allow professionals who meet the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualifications to search the SHPO’s files online instead of submitting research requests to our staff or travelling to our office in Lansing.
Access to CRIS will be free of charge while the system is under development. We anticipate that we will charge a subscription fee for access to the system beginning in 2026. Until then, we are offering access to the system in exchange for feedback on any bugs, data errors, or potential future improvements.
In order to access the system, a signed Terms of Use Agreement is required. For instructions and a Terms of Use Agreement and detailed instructions for searching the database and using GIS, please contact SHPO Data Manager Diane Tuinstra by email: [email protected].
Please be advised that archaeological information is protected in Michigan, and therefore is available only to those meeting the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualifications for Archaeology (36 CFR Part 61) or to tribal cultural resource managers. SHPO must approve researcher qualifications in advance. If you are requesting archaeological data, and we do not have your CV/resume on file, please complete the Archaeologist Qualification New/Update Form available on our website here. If you have not previously been approved by our office, expect that additional time will be required for one of our archaeologists to vet your qualifications. When you send in your signed Terms of Use Agreement, please note clearly in the email if you are requesting access to archaeological data. If you are not a tribal cultural resource manager or do not meet the qualifications for archaeologist, you will be able to access only above-ground records.
Access to the system is tied to the individual user and accounts may not be shared, so if there are multiple people in a firm or agency that require access, each will need to complete the steps above.
Once again, access to this system is free, but we expect errors to be reported back so it can be improved. Questions and quality feedback on the CRIS must be directed to SHPO Data Manager Diane Tuinstra by email at [email protected].
We understand that projects may not have budgeted for research time, and the new system may take some getting used to, or may have issues of its own. Therefore the SHPO staff will continue to accept digital research requests for staff to fill until March 31, 2025. However, SHPO Staff will only provide information for Section 106 Compliance from the State Archaeological Site File to Federally Qualified Archaeologists. Information for State Reviews, Due Diligence Request, and above-ground research must utilize the new CRIS immediately.
Process to Request Site Information:
Please allow up to 45 days for fulfillment of your request by SHPO staff.
Section 106 Status Checks
If you submitted an application for Section 106 review and wish to check on the status, remember that under the National Historic Preservation Act regulations, SHPO has 30 days from the date we receive the complete application to offer comment. An ongoing staff shortage means we are often reviewing projects just before the deadline. As a result, it is difficult to estimate a time for completion. If in fact we surpass the 30 day comment period, it is up to the Federal agency as to how to proceed. Projects are reviewed fastest when they are fully complete upon submission and mailed to our correct address. Please contact SHPO if you have questions.
Note that all mail, including project applications, should be sent to our current address: Michigan SHPO, 300 North Washington Square, Lansing MI 48913. Mail sent to any prior address will be delayed or returned. If you are planning to visit our office for an in-person research appointment or to drop off a completed application package, consult the map below for nearby parking options.
