June 2010 Archeology E-Gram

Stephanie Toothman Named NPS Associate Director, Cultural Resources
Stephanie Smith Toothman is the new NPS Associate Director, Cultural
Resources. She will be responsible for NPS history, historic preservation,
and cultural programs. Toothman will establish and oversee policies for
management of historic and cultural properties in all 392 national parks,
including 27,000 historic structures; nearly 70,000 known archeological
sites; the largest system of museums in the world holding more than 100
million objects, artifacts and archives; and the historical research
required to share the stories preserved in national parks.


Outside of parks, Toothman’s responsibilities include support for
community-based efforts to preserve and share local history, including
grants programs that award millions of dollars annually, a tax credit
program that incentives $5 billion a year in private investment, and
programs that document and recognize history-   National Historic
Landmarks, National Register of Historic Places, Historic American
Buildings Survey, Historic American Engineering Record, Historic American
Landscapes Survey, and the Cultural Resources GIS program. She will manage
the National Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and
National Heritage Areas Program, and an extensive national system of
standards, guidance, and technical assistance that is the foundation of
historic preservation work across the country. In addition, Toothman will
also oversee award-winning outreach programs like Teaching with Historic
Places, an online series of more than 100 classroom-ready lesson plans, and
the Discover Our Shared Heritage online travel itineraries.

Toothman comes to her new position from the NPS Pacific West Region where
she is Chief of Cultural Resources. There, she led an interdisciplinary
team of cultural resource specialists that supported the region’s 58 parks
and partnership programs, providing technical assistance for National
Historic Landmarks and National Register properties. She led efforts to
designate National Historic Landmarks as diverse as Forty Acres in Delano,
California, established by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers of
America; the Kam Wah Chung Museum in John Day, Oregon; and the Tule Lake
Segregation Center in Newall, California. Toothman has participated in more
than 30 park planning efforts, most recently as a team leader for the
Manhattan Project Sites (Hanford) Special Resource Study and the Bainbridge
Island Japanese-American Memorial.

Toothman was recognized this year by the Washington State Historic
Preservation Office with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her role in
promoting partnerships such as the Maritime Heritage task force for
Washington’s Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest Field School, a 15-year
partnership of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon state parks and historic
preservation offices coordinated by the University of Oregon. She received
the DOI Meritorious Service Award in 2008 and the Washington State
Historical Society’s “Robert Gray Medal” in 1999.

Prior to joining the NPS, Toothman worked as a curatorial assistant at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art. She graduated magna cum laude from Smith
College and went on to receive her M.A. and Ph.D. in American Civilization
from the University of Pennsylvania. Toothman will begin her new job July
4.

Milford Wayne Donaldson New Chairman of Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation
President Obama has named Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA, to be the next
chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). Donaldson
currently serves as the California State Historic Preservation Officer
(SHPO) and Executive Secretary of the State Historical Resources
Commission.

Prior to his appointment as SHPO in 2004, Donaldson was president of the
historic preservation firm “Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA.” He is
a past president of the California Preservation Foundation and past chair
of the State Historical Building Safety Board, the State Historical
Resources Commission, and the Historic State Capitol Commission. He holds a
B.Arch. and a B.S. in engineering from California Polytechnic State
University. Donaldson received an M.Arch. from the University of
Strathclyde, Glasgow, and a M.A. in public history and teaching from the
University of San Diego.

Donaldson will serve a four-year term as chairman of the ACHP. Donaldson
succeeds John L. Nau, III, who served two full terms as ACHP chairman.

Stephanie Meeks New President of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation
Stephanie Meeks will become the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s
eighth president. Meeks currently serves as president and CEO of
Counterpart International, a $110 million development organization
operating in 25 countries. She earlier spent 18 years at The Nature
Conservancy, where she held a number of leadership positions including
chief operating officer and, for nearly a year, acting president and CEO.
Among other things, she led the three largest capital campaigns in the
history of the conservation movement, one of them raising $1.6 billion.
Meek’s academic background includes a B.A. from the University of Colorado
and an M.B.A. from George Washington University.

Meeks will assume office at the Trust in July.

What's that in the sky? Is it a bird? A plane? No - It's an Archeologist!
Yosemite NP Fire Archeologist Jun Kinoshita is learning to be a
smokejumper, through a detail to the USDA Smokejumper Program in Missoula,
Montana. Jun's goal is to gain a better understanding of this elite program
and use the knowledge to further protection of cultural, natural and
wilderness resources in fire situations. His detail is supported by an
Albright Wirth grant and the National Interagency Fire Center. In addition
to his role as Fire Archeologist, Jun is also the co-coordinator of
Yosemite's Resource Advisor (READ) program.

See Jun’s blog at
http://npsfam.blogspot.com/p/about-blogger-jun-jumper.html.

Nominations Solicited for the 2009 Appleman-Judd-Lewis Award
The NPS Director’s Appleman-Judd-Lewis Awards recognize expertise and
outstanding contributions to cultural resource stewardship and management
by permanent full-time employees of the NPS. Offered annually, the three
national awards—one for a park superintendent, one for a facility
maintenance specialist, and one for a cultural resource specialist —were
developed to encourage creativity in cultural resource stewardship and
management practices and projects, particularly those that may serve as
examples or models for programs service-wide.

Winners of the national awards are drawn from a pool of regional winners.
Nominees must be current, full-time permanent National Park Service
employees who have made outstanding contributions to cultural resource
stewardship and management during the award year. Grade and length of
service are not factors in the selection of recipients. Winners of regional
Appleman-Judd-Lewis awards are eligible for the national awards.

Any employee may nominate a candidate for these awards. The nominee’s
supervisor must review and sign each nomination, certifying that the
nominee is eligible, and that the nomination provides a true and objective
assessment of the candidate’s work and achievements. If nominating someone
outside your own region, you may send the completed nomination to the
region where the nominee is duty-stationed, to your own region or, if
appropriate, to another region where the nominee did significant work.
There is no limit on the number of nominations that a single park, office,
or center may submit. Once the regional office has selected its regional
award winners, it will forward the winning nominations (one per category)
to the Associate Director, Cultural Resources, NPS.

Recipients of the national awards will each receive an engraved award and
$2,500 at the banquet held at the George Wright Society meeting in 2011.
The Associate Director, Cultural Resources, will fund the national awards
and recipients’ travel expenses to attend the ceremony.

The Appleman-Judd-Lewis award was originally established in 1970 to honor
Roy E. Appleman, a long time and highly respected NPS historian who joined
the NPS in July 1935 and retired as Chief of the Washington Office Branch
of Park History Studies in July 1970. In 1979, Henry A. Judd's name was
added to the award upon his retirement as Chief Historical Architect, to
recognize his long-term efforts to preserve park historic structures. In
2006, Ralph H. Lewis' name was added to honor and commemorate his
pioneering contributions to museum management within the NPS and to the
museum profession at large.

Archeology Students Document Immigrant Trails
Ten archeology students from Central Wyoming College are mapping 19th
century wagon trail swales, river fords, and possible emigrant graves
associated with the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express
National Historic Trails in west-central Wyoming. Field school students,
instructed by Central Wyoming College archeologists Todd Guenther and James
Stewart, are identifying and documenting trail remnants and associated
features along the Sweetwater River in the South Pass area.

In this second season of the project, the crew will assist the Wyoming
state archeologist with recording trail ruts, setting up magnetometer
surveys, and conducting archeological excavations at Fort Laramie NHS. The
participating State and Federal agencies benefit by receiving full
documentation of trail resources, while students learn trail history,
archeological field methodology, data analysis, and mapping skills. Over
the next academic year, they will finalize site documentation, prepare
project reports, and present their findings at professional symposia.

The multi-year field school is a partnership of the NPS National Trails
Intermountain Region office, which administers the four National Historic
Trails; the Central Wyoming College Foundation; and the BLM Lander Field
Office. Funding for this youth project is provided by the NPS Trails
Program.

Volunteers Needed for Archeology Project at Valley Forge NHP
During the summer of 2009, over 60 volunteers joined archeologists at the
park, excavating behind Washington’s Headquarters to look for evidence of
the log dining structure that was erected during the encampment. These
excavations provided exciting information on the use of the site from
pre-contact times until the present. Of particular interest was the
discovery of two refuse pits that date to the last quarter of the 18th
century, at least one of which was almost certainly in use during General
Washington’s occupation of the Potts House.


The remaining unexcavated 18th century ground surface holds great potential
for containing intact features, including, perhaps, evidence of General
Washington’s dining cabin. This is the area where the archeologists will be
concentrating their work in 2010, and they are seeking volunteer
assistance.

This summer’s project will run Tuesday through Saturday from June 8th
through July 17th. Potential volunteers are asked to contact Liza Rupp at
[log in to unmask] to sign up.
For more information about the results of the 2009 archeological field
season at Washington’s headquarters at Valley Forge NHP, see Project in
Parks report “Meeting at Headquarters: Public Archeology at Valley Forge”
at www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/valleyForge.htm.

Cultural Objects Returned to National Park of American Samoa after Tsunami
Wood and bone artifacts and examples of Samoan art and tools that were
damaged in the tsunami of last September have now returned to their home in
American Samoa. The tsunami of September 29, 2009, inundated the visitor
center and offices of the National Park of American Samoa, located on the
first floor of Pago Plaza, Pago Pago Harbor.

It was feared that the tsunami destroyed these important cultural resources
displayed in the visitors center. Luckily, however, the objects were later
found. Some items, particularly the bone and wood carvings, were sent to a
museum conservation team at the World War II Valor in the Pacific NM,
Honolulu. The items were then stored in the NPS Pearl Harbor collection
facility. The siapos (tapa) and fine mats were given to local artisans to
repair and conserve in American Samoa. NPS curators from Volcano, Hawaii,
and Seattle, Washington, escorted the objects back and worked with National
Park of American Samoa employees to ensure the continued preservation of
these important examples of Samoan culture.


The National Park of American Samoa was established in 1988 to preserve the
coral reefs, tropical forests, and archeological and cultural resources of
American Samoa, to maintain the habitat of fruit bats, and to provide
educational opportunities for visitors and residents. National Park lands
and waters are leased from villages and the American Samoa Government
through a long term agreement.



For more information about visiting the National Park of American Samoa, go
to www.nps.gov/npsa.

Defense Department Legacy Management Program Competition Open
The Department of Defense Legacy Management Program is accepting
pre-proposals for Legacy Program funding until July 16, 2010. The Legacy
Program funds cultural resource projects with national, regional, or other
wide-scale DoD applications to support overall DoD conservation goals and
military readiness.

Cultural resources areas of emphasis for funding include:
   Economics of historic preservation
   Cultural resources data management
   Model and context development
   Readiness and range sustainment
   Communication, partnerships, and public awareness
   National and international initiatives.

Any individual, organization (public or private), institution, or other
entity can apply for Legacy Program funding, if requirements are met. A
pre-proposal initiates the funding request and can be submitted
electronically via a website, the Legacy Tracker.

More information about Legacy Resource Management Program funding for may
be found in Cultural Resources Update June 2010 (Volume 7(5)). To submit a
pre-proposal, go to www.dodlegacy.org.

Contact Peter Boice (703-604-0524 with questions or for more information.


NPS Develops Oral History Directory
The NPS Park History Program has completed "A Directory of Oral History in
the National Park Service." This directory is a first comprehensive effort
to describe the oral history projects that have been completed or are under
way throughout the NPS and to illustrate the ways that parks use interviews
to document their own histories, augment archeological research, enhance
interpretation, and inform management decisions. This compilation showcases
oral history research within the NPS, encourages communication among oral
history practitioners, and generates support for the work.

The directory contains brief descriptions of oral history projects, listed
by individual park. Also included are a list of published oral histories
and web sites where one can listen to interviews and read transcripts.
Scores of NPS personnel contributed entries. Have projects in your park
been overlooked? If so, please send a description of the project to Lu Ann
Jones, NPS historian, at [log in to unmask] The directory will
be updated after July 1.

Explore the Oral History Directory on the NPS History Program website at
www.nps.gov/history/history/oh/index.htm.

Volunteers Help Reestablish Minute Man NHP Cultural Landscape
On May 18, 2010, 25 employees of Timberland, an outdoor gear manufacturer,
volunteered at Minute Man NHP in support of the park’s efforts to increase
working agriculture and restore more of the park’s active cultural
landscape. As part of its efforts to restore the scene of the first day of
the American Revolution, the park preserves a tradition of agriculture
dating back to the 17th century. Here are the actual fields shaped by the
“embattled farmers” who fought to defend their rights. Some of the fields
are still actively farmed through the park’s leasing program, but many
areas have become overgrown with brush, invasive plants and new growth
forest.

The park is restoring much of the agrarian landscape through a project made
possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as well as
through park partners such as the Farm School and Battle Road Farms. This
latter organization is a collaborative of educational farms which is
working to increase traditional agricultural activity within the park and
expand the agricultural interpretation and education that is offered to
park visitors.

The volunteers installed fencing and built an animal shelter. Timberland
has a commitment to performing service projects that support the
environment.

To learn more about Minute Man NHP, go to www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm.

New Noncompetitive Hiring Authority in Place
Do you want to hire an archeologist who is a Public Land Corps (PLC)
alumnus? The NPS has announced a new hiring authority for PLC alumni, which
became effective on April 28, 2010. The hiring authority grants
noncompetitive hiring status to former PLC members who have served a
minimum of 960 hours of satisfactory service on an appropriate conservation
project that included at least 120 hours through the PLC.


The Public Land Corps was established by Congress in 1993, who recognized
that many facilities and natural resources located on public lands are in
need of rehabilitation. Using the nation’s young men and women to meet
these needs can benefit youth by providing education and work
opportunities, further their understanding and appreciation of the natural
and cultural resources, and provide a means to pay for higher education
while at the same time benefiting the nation’s economy and environment.

FLETC to Offer Training in Archeological Resource Protection
The Federal Law enforcement Training Center (FLETC) will offer
“Archeological Resources Protection Training” at Vandenberg AFB, Santa
Maria, CA, on August 23-27, 2010. This 37-hour FLETC course provides
training in all aspects of an archeological investigation and subsequent
prosecution of the crimes. The class culminates in a 12-hour archeological
crime scene practical exercise where law enforcement officers and
archeologists work as a team to investigate and document a crime scene.
Attendees will gather and process physical evidence, write incident
reports, executive summaries, search warrants, damage assessments, and
provide testimony in a courtroom scenario. Open to all sworn law
enforcement officers, prosecutors, and Federal archeologists. All
applicants should contact their national academy representatives at FLETC
for registration.

Contact FLETC senior instructor Charles Louke at 912-280-5188 for course
information.

America’s Great Outdoors
In April 2010, at the White House Conference on America’s Great Outdoors,
President Obama established the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to
develop a conservation and recreation agenda worthy of the 21st century and
to reconnect Americans with our great outdoors. The President directed the
Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to lead
this effort and to listen and learn from people all over the country.

Find more information on the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative and submit
comments on-line at www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/.

Projects in Parks: Projects in Parks is taking a break this month. We hope
to bring you a new report in July.

Projects in Parks is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that informs others
about archeology-related projects in national parks. The full reports are
available on the Research in the Parks web page
www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/index.htm or through individual issues
of the Archeology E-Gram. Prospective authors should review information
about submitting photographs on the Projects in Parks web page 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 NPS and other public agencies. Recipients are
encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and relevant mailing
lists. The Archeology E-Gram is available on the News and Links page
www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on the NPS Archeology Program web
site.

Contact: [log in to unmask]  to contribute news items, stories for Projects in
Parks, submit citations and a brief abstract for your peer-reviewed
publications, and to subscribe.