ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a snapshot of cultural resource management (CRM) industry that has developed since the 1970s and addresses how the industry's trade association, the American Cultural Resources Association (ACRA), has mobilized to address both business and historic preservation challenges facing CRM practice. A sustainable CRM industry obviously depends to a large extent on maintaining and minimizing erosion of the state and federal laws and regulations that provide the framework for historic preservation in the United States. In the United States, first- and second-generation CRM professionals are similar in terms of training to their academic cohorts. The starting premise was that the CRM industry has evolved significantly since ACRA's founding in 1995. The plan created for 2010–15 established that the association's vision was to be the voice of the CRM industry, its mission was to promote the professional, ethical, and business practices of the industry, and its values included integrity, professionalism, collaboration, leadership, and success.
