<P> The program is administered by the National Park Service (NPS), a branch of the Department of the Interior . The National Park Service determines which properties meet NHL criteria and makes nomination recommendations after an owner notification process . The Secretary of the Interior reviews nominations and, based on a set of predetermined criteria, makes a decision on NHL designation or a determination of eligibility for designation . Both public and privately owned properties can be designated as NHLs . This designation provides indirect, partial protection of the historic integrity of the properties via tax incentives, grants, monitoring of threats, and other means . Owners may object to the nomination of the property as a NHL . When this is the case the Secretary of the Interior can only designate a site as eligible for designation . </P> <P> All NHLs are also included on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), a list of some 80,000 historic properties that the National Park Service deems to be worthy of recognition . The primary difference between a NHL and a NRHP listing is that the NHLs are determined to have national significance, while other NRHP properties are deemed significant at the local or state level . </P> <P> Most landmark designations are in one of the 50 states . New York is the state with the most (270), and New York City, with 114 designations, is the city with the largest number of designations . Of the states, North Dakota has the fewest designations with seven . Three cities (New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston) have enough listings to warrant lists separate from their respective states . </P> <P> A small number of designations have been made outside the 50 states . Most of these appear in United States possessions . The Virgin Islands have five listings, Puerto Rico has four, and island possessions in the South Pacific have six . Five listings are found in Pacific island nations with which the U.S. has established a free association agreement, and one listing, the American Legation in Tangier (the nation's first foreign public property), is found in the unaffiliated Kingdom of Morocco . </P>

Landmarks in the western region of the united states