Social, historic, ethnohistoric and archaeological values increasingly are considered in (US) federal decision-making which affects land use and modification. The laws and policies which govern historic preservation challenge archaeologists to engage in regional planning, participate in agency decision-making, emphasize conservation over excavation, develop explicit state ments of research potential, and perform in a businesslike and professional manner. Dangers lie in particularism on the part of archaeologists and procedural fossilization on the part of agencies.