<P> The first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian . During the Register's earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded . However, funds were still being supplied for the Historic Preservation Fund to provide matching grants - in - aid to listed property owners, first for house museums and institutional buildings, but later for commercial structures as well . </P> <P> A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U.S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two "Assistant Directorates ." Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation . From 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service (HCRS) of the United States Department of the Interior . </P> <P> In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs . Jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate . He was described as a skilled administrator, who was sensitive to the need for the NPS to work with SHPOs, academia, and local governments . </P> <P> Although not described in detail in the 1966 act, SHPOs eventually became integral to the process of listing properties on the National Register . The 1980 amendments of the 1966 law further defined the responsibilities of SHPOs concerning the National Register . Several 1992 amendments of the NHPA added a category to the National Register, known as Traditional Cultural Properties: those properties associated with Native American or Hawaiian groups . </P>

What does it mean to be listed on the national register of historic places