Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)

The New York State Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) is the State Historic Preservation Office’s online cultural resources data management and GIS tool. CRIS supplies individuals and communities with information and tools to support the preservation and revitalization of New York State’s rich heritage and culture.

CRIS was developed by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Division for Historic Preservation with funding in part from the Federal Highway Administration.

CRIS supports historic preservation programs administered by the Division for Historic Preservation, including:

• State and federal tax credits for historic properties
• Nominations to the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places
• Environmental reviews under Section 106 (National Historic Preservation Act), Section 14.09 (New York State Historic Preservation Act), and SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act)
• Certified Local Government (CLG) Program
• Architectural and archaeological surveys

CRIS provides access to:

• New York State’s vast historic and cultural resource databases
• A statewide map of historic properties, projects, and surveys
• More than 1.5 million pages of scanned paper records
• Photographs, forms, and reports pertaining to historic properties and programs

You can use CRIS to:

• Submit project documentation for federal (Section 106), state (Section 14.09), or SEQRA environmental review
• Search for historic buildings, sites, and districts
• View historic resource inventory forms, National Register nominations, and survey reports
• Submit properties for an evaluation of eligibility or potential nomination to the National Register of Historic Places

CRIS Support

For questions or technical support regarding CRIS, please visit the CRIS Online Help System or email CRISHelp@parks.ny.gov.

CRIS Trekker

CRIS Trekker is a supplement to CRIS and includes a free suite of additional field survey applications. These applications allow members of the public and historic preservation consultants to interact with CRIS’s geospatial and inventory data in the field. Users can view, submit, and manage historic above-ground resource data using both mobile and desktop devices.

From individual building submissions to large-scale municipal surveys, the CRIS Trekker applications open a channel for anyone to contribute to New York State’s shared cultural heritage record.

Survey123 for ArcGIS

Esri’s free Survey123 for ArcGIS app allows members of the public and historic preservation consultants to submit building, structure, and district data to the SHPO using a mobile device. Through photographs, location points, and text fields, CRIS Trekker users can employ Survey123 to record a historic resource’s existing conditions in a simple form-based interface.

The general public can:

• Submit new building records one at a time using the public CRIS Trekker form
• Launch Survey123 from CRIS Mobile and submit updates to existing building records

Historic preservation consultants can:

• Collect, edit, and submit new building records as part of a CRIS Trekker survey project
• Launch Survey123 from CRIS Mobile Pro and submit updates to existing building records as part of a CRIS Trekker survey project

Trekker Manager

For larger building surveys, historic preservation consultants can administer their field-collected building records in Trekker Manager. To use Trekker Manager, you will need to request CRIS Trekker user privileges by contacting Trekker Help.

Key functions of Trekker Manager include:

• Expandable map and grid interfaces
• Advanced sorting, filtering, and selecting
• Linking field-collected inventory forms to existing CRIS records
• Assigning team members to survey projects
• Batch submitting inventory forms to the SHPO
• Exporting records to tables, annotated building lists, or inventory form reports

By integrating the CRIS database with Esri’s data collection and mapping tools, Trekker Manager provides a versatile platform for greatly expanding New York State’s inventory of historic and cultural resources.

CRIS Trekker Support

For questions or technical support regarding CRIS Trekker, please visit the Trekker Online Help System or email TrekkerHelp@parks.ny.gov.

CRIS Mobile

CRIS Mobile is a simplified web map version of CRIS that can be used to:

• View historic building, structure, and district locations
• Open historic resource inventory data
• Select a building record and launch CRIS Trekker’s Survey123 app to submit updates
• Collect building records for a CRIS Trekker survey project

For the general public, CRIS Mobile is a web map that displays building and structure locations across New York State. These records are updated in real time from the CRIS database. You can tap these points to view more information and open each building record in the CRIS Trekker Survey123 app to submit updates

For historic preservation consultants, CRIS Mobile Pro allows you to collect historic resource inventory forms for a survey project, which you can administer through the CRIS Trekker Survey123 and Manager applications. To use CRIS Mobile Pro, you will need to request CRIS Trekker user privileges by contacting Trekker Help.