September 2006
NPS guidance on permits for archeological investigations available
The first module of the NPS Archeology Guide, Permits for Archeological
Investigations is available on the NPS Archeology Program website. The
Archeology Guide describes operational requirements, activities, standards,
and provides guidance on the responsible management of archeological
resources under the stewardship of the NPS. The Guide supplements more
general directions in Director's Order #28A: Archeology, the NPS CRM
Guideline, and Directors' Order 28: Cultural Resource Management.
The Permits for Archeological Investigations module provides information
for applicants, and NPS archeologists and managers about applying for
archeological permits, reviewing such applications, issuing of permits,
monitoring of permitted activity, and related activities. The Permits for
Archeological Investigations module replaces the Technical Manual for the
Issuance of Archeological Permits, which was issued by the NPS Director on
5 October 1984.
The NPS Archeology Guide and Permits for Archeological Investigations can
be accessed on the Archeology Program web site at:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/npsGuide/
Contact: Karen Mudar, [log in to unmask]
Updates to the Antiquities Act Centennial 1906-2006 web pages
Seven new National Monument profiles have been added to the Antiquities Act
Centennial web page (
http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/sites/Antiquities/index.htm): Cinder Cone
NM and Lassen Peak NM (both now part of Lassen Volcanic NP), California
(1907); Gila Cliff Dwellings NM, (1907), Navajo NM (1909), Gran Quivira NM
(1909), New Mexico; Mukuntuweap NM and Zion NM (1909), Utah;
.and the newest national monument, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine NM,
Hawaii (2006). Each profile describes the monuments and quotes visitors’
impressions of these extraordinary places. This update also includes five
new lists (national monuments created by Congress, to date; national
monuments that have been incorporated into other public lands or whose
names have changed; national monuments that have been ‘abolished;’ total
number and acreage of national monuments established by each president; and
national monuments that are managed by agencies other than the NPS). These
lists can be found in a "Frequently Asked Questions" document in the "About
the Act" section of the web pages.
Contact: Barbara Little, [log in to unmask]
BLM Celebrates America’s Priceless Heritage
“America’s Priceless Heritage: Snapshots in Time” a photography exhibit
featuring archeological and historic resources found on BLM lands opened on
September 1, 2006, in the Smithsonian Institution Ripley Center. The
exhibition, celebrating the centennial of the signing of the Antiquities
Act, features 21 photographs of cultural and natural resources. “This
intimate and beautiful photo exhibition is a wonderful way to celebrate the
100th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s Antiquities Act, a very futurist
thought at the time,” said Ellen Dorn, director of the SI International
Gallery.
“America’s Priceless Heritage” shares with visitors a photographic sampling
from this “outdoor museum,” including photographs of 170 million-year-old
dinosaur tracks in Utah, Navajo dwellings in New Mexico, William Clark’s
signature on a rock in Montana 200 years after the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, and a roadhouse on Route 66. “These irreplaceable resources
found on public lands tell an incredible story of the western landscape and
our history,” said Kathleen Clarke, BLM director. ”I believe visitors to
this exhibit will be inspired to honor these fragile archeological and
historic resources and be involved in their preservation.”
“America’s Priceless Heritage: Snapshots in Time” will be on display until
November 30, 2006, in the concourse gallery of the S. Dillon Ripley Center
at the Smithsonian Institution. Located on the National Mall at 1100
Jefferson Drive, SW, the gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily.
Admission is free.
Devil’s Tower NM celebrates 100th anniversary
Devils Tower, America’s first national monument, celebrated its creation
September 23-24, 2006, with presentations, music, and exhibits. Centennial
activities included presentations on Theodore Roosevelt by Mark
Klemetsrud, a Theodore Roosevelt enactor; exhibits in the visitors center;
presentations; and music and dance.
September 24 marked the park’s official centennial; the national monument
was created by President Theodore Roosevelt on September 24, 1906. Special
guests at the commemoration ceremony included Rodney Bordeaux, president of
the Rosebud Sioux Tribe; Senator Craig Thomas; Senator Mike Enzi’s state
director, Robin Bailey; Representative Barbara Cubin; Deputy Director Steve
Martin; and Governor Dave Freudenthal. Theodore Roosevelt IV,
great-grandson of President Roosevelt, gave the keynote address. Local
singer Lorrie Redfield and by band students from Hulett, Moorcroft and
Sundance provided music.
On June 8, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act
into law to safeguard archeological and historic properties on federal
lands from haphazard digging and looting. The Act authorized the president
to protect landmarks, structures, and objects of historic, archeological,
or scientific interest by creating national monuments.
For more information about Devil’s Tower NM, visit www.nps.gov/deto.
Contact: Dorothy FireCloud, [log in to unmask]
Antiquities Act Centennial Commemorations
A number of organizations are commemorating the centennial of the
Antiquities Act in a variety of ways. At the University of Colorado, The
Natural Resources Law Center and the Center for the American West have
organized a day-long symposium, "Celebrating the Centennial of the
Antiquities Act." The event, which will be at the Wolf Law Building, is
scheduled for 9 October. Included among the presentations and discussions
by archeologists, historians, and legal scholars is a keynote address by
former Secretary of the Interior, the Honorable Bruce Babbitt. Information
about this symposium can be found at
http://www.colorado.edu/law/centers/nrlc/events.htm
Several State Archeology Months themes include commemoration of the
Antiquities Act centennial. Oregon's celebrations are scheduled to run
between 16 September and 15 October with the theme, "Centennial of the
American Antiquities Act of 1906: 100 Years of Preservation." To download
a calendar of events go to
http://www.oregonheritage.org/OPRD/HCD/cultural_education.shtml.
September is Illinois Archaeology Awareness Month with the theme,
"Celebrating a Century of Preservation: Antiquities Act of 1906." The
September issue of Illinois Antiquity (Volume 41(3)) presents information
about publicly owned archeological properties in Illinois that are open for
public visitation. More information about Illinois Archaeology Month can
be obtained at http://www.illinoisarchaeology.org/
In Idaho, May was Idaho Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month and the
theme was, "A Vision for American: The Antiquities Act of 1906." The
poster created for Idaho and information about the events that were
featured during the month still can be viewed at
http://www.idahohistory.net/archmonth.html.
In May, New Mexico also celebrated its Heritage Preservation Month by
recognizing the centennial of the Antiquities Act. The calendar of events
and poster created for the celebration can be viewed at:
http://www.nmhistoricpreservation.org/OUTREACH/outreach_histpresmonth.html
NPS Archeology Program staff assist delegation from Qatar
Mr.Ghanin Mohammed, Director of Wildlife Conservation, and colleague Mr.
Sultan al-Jammali, from Qatar met with NPS International Affairs, Natural
Resources, Cultural Resources, and Planning staff on September 12 to learn
about management strategies and processes for establishing a new national
park. The NPS has been providing technical assistance to Qatar, located on
the Arabian Peninsula, since 2000 on a project to create nationally
protected areas. The first to be established will be Khor al-Adaid, at
Qatar’s inland sea. Terry Childs, NPS Archeology Program, provided a
Powerpoint presentation about management, preservation, and protection of
NPS cultural resources. After meeting with WASO staff, Mr. Mohammed and
Mr. Sultan al-Jammali visited several parks and the Denver Service Center
to discuss conservation policies and preparation of general management
plans.
More information about NPS assistance to Qatar is available at
http://www.nps.gov/oia/around/middleeast.htm
Contact: Terry Childs, [log in to unmask]
NPS acquires 1000 new archeological sites
The Trust for Public Land and the NPS announced on September 7, 2006, that
the NPS had acquired 238 acres with more than 1000 archeological sites on
Hawaii Island. This acquisition will more than double the size of Puuhonua
o Honaunau NHP. The trust purchased the tract surrounding the park in 2001
to give the NPS time to find funding for the land. Senators Daniel Inoye
and Daniel Akaka secured the $4.6 million in federal money to preserve the
acreage, and Senator Akaka and the late Representative Patsy Mink
introduced bills that became law in 2001 to include the land within an
expanded park boundary. The new boundaries expand the park from 182 to 420
acres, and include an ancient agricultural field system in the highland
area.
The coastal unit of Puuhonua o Honaunau NHP features a restored sacred
compound and receives about half a million visitors each year. For more
information about the park go to http://www.nps.gov/puho/
Illegal Digging in Harpers Ferry NHP
Last month, Jefferson Utilities Company bulldozers dug two 1,900-foot
trenches in Harpers Ferry NHP, laying water and sewer pipes under land
where Stonewall Jackson launched his greatest military victory in 1862.
Four developers plan to build 3,400 houses on 500 acres of rural land near
School House Ridge Battlefield, located in Harpers Ferry, WV., but have not
received the park service's permission to install utility lines through the
agency's land. "They had begun the permit process, so they were well aware
that they needed a permit," says Jim Campi, spokesman for the Civil War
Preservation Trust.
Mike Cassell, a Charles Town lawyer who represents Jefferson Utilities and
its owner Lee Snyder, said no laws were broken. Cassell said Snyder bought
an easement to build the line before the National Park Service acquired the
land. All but 75 acres of the School House Ridge Battlefield are within
the national park, thanks to the recent work of preservationists. Last
year, the Trust for Public Land and the National Park Service acquired a
70-acre piece of School House Ridge known as the Ott property, saving that
part of the battlefield from development. In 2003, the Trust for Public
Land bought the 99-acre Murphy Farm, also part of School House Ridge, and
transferred it to the park service. Now the National Trust, along with the
Civil War Preservation Trust and the National Parks Conservation
Association, are working to "encourage the Interior Department to apply the
most severe penalty possible under the law," Campi says.
Projects in Parks: Archeology and History in Rock Creek Park
Fieldwork has recently been completed for the third year of a four-year
archeological survey and inventory of Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC,
funded by the NPS, National Capital Region (NCR). The finds to date
include a series of extraordinarily rich Native American camp sites used
repeatedly between 2500 BC and AD 1400, colonial tenancies,
nineteenth-century dwellings, and Civil War military artifacts from the
Battle of Fort Stevens in 1864. Documentary research has uncovered many
interesting details about the history of the park, and many of the
archeological sites can be associated with known historical characters,
from John Carroll of Annapolis to African-American tenants of the 1890s.
NPS employees who can access the NPS intranet can learn more about this
project by going to Projects in Parks <
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3670> on
InsideNPS.
“Projects in Parks” is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that serves to
inform others of interesting archeology-related projects in a national
park. Past reports are available on the Projects in Parks webpage,
accessed through the Archeology homepage, on InsideNPS.
Archeology E-Gram, distributed via e-mail on a regular basis, includes
announcements about news, new publications, training opportunities,
national and regional meetings, and other important goings-on related to
public archeology in the National Park Service and other public agencies.
Recipients are encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and
relevant mailing lists and new subscribers are accepted. Past issues of
the Archeology E-Gram are available on the Archeology E-Gram webpage,
accessed through the Archeology homepage, on InsideNPS. Contact Karen
Mudar, Archeology Program, NPS, at (202) 354-2103, [log in to unmask] to
contribute news items, stories for “Projects in Parks,” and to subscribe.
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