*June 2013 Archeology E-Gram*
*This month the Archeology E-Gram is focusing on informational resources on
the Web about climate change. Scroll down to learn more.*
*Erika Stein Selected as Superintendent of Kalaupapa National Historical
Park*
Erika Stein is the new superintendent of Kalaupapa NHP in Hawai`i. She
replaces Steve Prokop who was selected as superintendent of Redwood
National and State Parks. Stein is currently the acting superintendent at
Kalaupapa NHP. Prior to working for the NPS, she was a contract
archeologist in Hawai`i and California. Stein holds a BA in Cultural
Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a MA in
Maritime Archaeology from James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. As
part of her graduate education she participated in a field program in
ethnography and marine sciences in the Solomon Islands.
Stein has worked at the park for more than five years, first as an
archeologist, then as the Cultural Resource Program Manager. Stein has been
instrumental in growing the park’s cultural resource program, and
interpretation and education program. She has worked with the Hawaiian
Legacy Foundation to perpetuate traditional knowledge and skills and with
cultural resource education with local student groups. Stein was also part
of the planning team for events celebrating the canonization of Saints
Damien and Marianne.
Stein will transition into the permanent position in late June.
*Melissa Memory Selected As Fort Pulaski Superintendent*
Melissa Memory is the new superintendent of Fort Pulaski NM. She is
currently Chief of Cultural Resources at Everglades and Dry Tortugas NP.
Memory earned a BA in anthropology from the University of Georgia, and an
MA in anthropology with a concentration in public archeology from the
University of Arkansas. Memory’s first job with the NPS was as an
archeological technician at the Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC) in
1991-1992. She left that position to attend graduate school as an intern
with the Arkansas Archaeological Survey. After graduate school, she worked
for the Payette NF in Idaho and several private consultants before
returning to Florida to work as a public lands archeologist for the Florida
Bureau of Archaeological Research.
Memory rejoined the NPS in 2001 as an archeologist at Navajo NM. From there
she moved to Moab, Utah, where she started the Vanishing Treasures program
for Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, Natural Bridges NM, and Hovenweep NM. She
worked with the Hopi Foundation to establish a cooperative ruins
preservation program with Hopi youth, and also led the first comprehensive
ruins and rock art archeological survey of the Colorado and Green River
Corridors in Canyonlands NP.
In 2006 Memory left the Southeast Utah Group to establish the first
integrated cultural resource program at Everglades and Dry Tortugas NP,
completing many baseline studies of historic architecture, cultural
landscapes, and ethnographic resources; and improved stewardship of
archeological resources. She worked closely with the Florida Public
Archaeology Network, the South Florida National Parks Trust, the Artist in
Residency in the Everglades Program and the National Parks Conservation
Association on numerous public programs to create more awareness and
appreciation of cultural resources in the parks. She also coordinated with
the U.S. ACE, the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes, and the Florida SHPO to
ensure that cultural resources were addressed in Everglades’ restoration
planning efforts.
In addition, she re-instituted the Dry Tortugas/Everglades dive team,
served as the chair of the parks’ wilderness committee, and served as
acting site manager for Dry Tortugas NP.
Memory has represented cultural resources on the National Wilderness
Leadership Council and the Wilderness Character Integration Team, which
received the 2013 Group Wes Henry Award for wilderness stewardship, and is
a founding member of the Southeast Regional Cultural Resource Advisory
Council.
She will take over her new duties at Fort Pulaski on July 28, 2013.
*By Marianne Mills*
*Site Restoration at Bandelier National Monument Facilitated By Helicopter*
Alcove House, a significant but difficult to access cultural site within
the park, is being repaired through the efforts of NPS staff members with
the assistance of a contract helicopter. Alcove House is a 14th century
alcove site that includes a kiva and the partial remains of a two-story
complex of twenty cavate and masonry rooms. The kiva structure is
significant for its pre-Hispanic origins; as a historic structure
representing the development of archeology as a discipline; early
preservation efforts initiated under the Antiquities Act; and the
development of Bandelier NM.
The kiva has outstanding value and importance to the general public,
culturally affiliated Native American tribes, and special interest groups
who visit the monument. On a typical year, some 220,000 visitors come to
see and study the cultural resources in Frijoles Canyon; this site is among
the most visited in the canyon. Kiva walls, however, had begun to
deteriorate.
The site is located 140-feet above the canyon floor and is accessed through
a series of wooden ladders. Resource managers settled on helicopter supply
of materials to the site as the preferred method. On June 13, 2013, a
helicopter delivered building materials with a 150-foot long line. Ten
loads were delivered to the site, totaling 7,500 pounds of material, which
will be used to repair the kiva masonry walls. Helicopter work was
completed smoothly and safely over the course of one hour.
This collaborative effort included contributions by a number of people:
- Chief of resources Barbara Judy, Bandelier NM;
- Vanishing Treasures staff members Sarah Stokely, Jonathan Holdsworth,
Rachel Adler, Molly Ray, and Steve Matt, Bandelier NM;
- Archeologists Rory Gauthier and Stewart Robertson, Bandelier NM;
- Student Conservation Association Interns Amy Washuta, Luke Gommermann,
Josh Jojola, and Emily Polansk, Bandelier NM;
- Trail crew leader Derek Beitner, NPS Southeast Arizona Group;
- Trail crew members Reed Kennard, Paul Irby and Chris Beitner,
Canyonlands NP;
- NPS Zone safety officer Rita Causby;
- Aviation project manager Josh Brookshire, helitack crew members Bonnie
Bolser and Jim Dotson, and pilot Zaron Welch, Bandelier NM.
Special thanks to colleagues in Intermountain Region’s safety program who
helped plan this project and to Intermountain Region cultural resources
colleagues who cheered the park on, saying that this project could be done.
*By Barbara Judy, Chief of Resources
Bandelier National Monument*
*Vandals Inflict Major Damage On Petroglyphs at Lava Beds National Monument*
On May 17th, rangers discovered vandalism in an area of Lava Beds NM known
as Petroglyph Point. Damage included over 50 occurrences in which
individuals had carved over prehistoric and historic petroglyphs (a form of
rock art) across a 300 foot stretch of the west face of this important
cultural site. Petroglyph Point contains thousands of culturally
significant petroglyphs, the most concentrated number in the state of
California, which may date as far back as 4,000 years and are important to
members of The Klamath Tribes. A temporary site closure has been enacted
and additional security measures have been taken while a long term
protection plan is established. Rangers are currently conducting an
investigation into this incident of vandalism.
*By Mike Reynolds, Superintendent*
*NAGPRA Repatriation Completed at Natchez Trace Parkway*
Natchez Trace Parkway and Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC) recently
completed the second largest NAGPRA repatriation in the NPS Southeast
Region's history. The project involved repatriating human remains
representing 63 individuals, 1,809 associated funerary objects, and 462
unassociated funerary objects from three different sites – Boyd, Gordon and
Emerald Mounds, the last a National Historic Landmark.
After consulting 20 tribes over a two year period, the NPS legally
transferred custody of the collections last month to the Muscogee (Creek)
Nation and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. This repatriation follows the
2011 joint Natchez Trace Parkway/SEAC Mangum repatriation project, which
was the largest in both the region's history and that of the Choctaw Nation
of Oklahoma.
Several key people deserving special recognition are Emman Spain, THPO,
Muscogee (Creek) Nation; Ian Thompson, THPO, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma;
Margo Schwadron, NAGPRA coordinator, SEAC; Kathryn Miyar and Ian Pawn,
SEAC; Gregory C. Smith, landscape architect, Natchez Trace Parkway; Yvonne
Noble, district maintenance supervisor, Natchez Trace Parkway; and
Christina E. Smith, cultural resource specialist, Natchez Trace Parkway.
*By Tom Berryhill*
*Historic Cannons Return to Fort Moultrie*
Four Civil War cannons returned to public display at Fort Moultrie, part of
Fort Sumter NM, South Carolina, on June 10, 2013, after undergoing
conservation treatment. Weighing about 15,000 pounds each, they were lifted
by crane onto their new bases by Parker Rigging Company. Placement will
complete the rehabilitation of Fort Moultrie’s Cannon Row.
The preservation project began in 2012 when Fort Sumter NM and Clemson
University’s Warren Lasch Conservation Center (WLCC) evaluated the 17
cannons at Fort Moultrie for their condition and historical significance.
Six were sent to Phillips Industrial Services for conservation treatment.
Under the care of a WLCC conservator, many layers of deteriorating paint
were removed from the cannons and replaced with a new type of paint
selected for its long term durability. These guns were reinstalled inside
the fort on Battery Bingham, and outside the fort on new bases at Cannon
Row. In early May of this year, an additional four guns were sent to
Phillips Industrial Services and returned on June 10, 2013.
According to NPS historian Rick Hatcher, the park’s collection of cannons
at Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter represents the best grouping of seacoast
artillery from the period 1830-1890 in the U.S. This collection is
comprehensive in terms of type and size, and includes extremely rare
examples of Confederate manufactured ordnance.
*By Bill Martin
*
*Whiskeytown NRC holds California Site Stewardship Program*
On April 20-21, 20123, 25 new archeological site stewards were trained and
assigned their duties through the California Site Stewardship Program.
Working with archeologists, the volunteers learned about the cultural
resources in their local area and were trained to protect archeological and
historic resources by regularly visiting sites and recording changes. The
workshop was held in partnership with the Society for California Archeology
and the Shasta-Trinity NF. The students learned how to read site forms and
to apply that knowledge in the field. In conjunction with Law Enforcement,
cultural resources laws such as NHPA, ARPA, and NAGPRA were discussed and
students had the opportunity visit sites that had been previously looted to
better understand sign of looting and site disturbance. The site stewards
have now been assigned sites and are actively monitoring for changes and
vandalism.
*By Danica Willis, Archeologist
Whiskeytown NRA
*
*Park NAGPRA Program Presents Training for Alaska Region via
Videoconference*
The NPS Park NAGPRA program successfully presented a 12-hour training
session (NAGPRA in the Parks) about the Native American Graves Protection
and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) for the Alaska region in May 2013. The
session took place over the course of two days and was delivered via
videoconference. Nineteen participants signed in from six locations -- the
Alaska Regional Office, Denali NP & P, Gates of the Arctic NP & P, Glacier
Bay NP & P, Sitka NHP, and Western Arctic NP. For some located in remote
parks, the videoconference format was the only way to participate.
The attendees received a comprehensive overview of NAGPRA and its
requirements for dealing with cultural items subject to NAGPRA in
collections, responding to inadvertent discoveries, and planning for
intentional excavations. Other topics discussed included determining
cultural affiliation, evaluating claims, and reburial of human remains on
park lands.
Park NAGPRA’s program manager, Mary S. Carroll, led the training with
contributions from Lucas Hoedl, Park NAGPRA’s Pathways intern. Jennifer
Pederson Weinberger, Alaska’s Cultural Resources Team Manager, led a
discussion among the participants about NAGPRA topics of special interest
to the Alaska region.
Additional information about this session, including course materials, can
be found at Park NAGPRA’s SharePoint site (
http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASOCR/WCR/nagpra/default.aspx).
*Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Hosts Jicarilla Apache
Cultural Youth Camp*
Great Sand Dunes NP&P hosted the Jicarilla Apache Cultural Youth Camp
during the first week of June. Jicarilla Apache chaperones and twelve
Apache girls from Dulce, New Mexico, celebrated their tribal traditions
during the five-day camp out.
Their campout started with the construction of a large tipi. During the
five days, the girls learned about traditional language, music,
preservation of traditions, beadwork, and cooking. They visited significant
natural and cultural sites such as local museums that interpret the
Jicarilla Apache story. The participants also participated in interpretive
activities, climbed to the top of the dunes, and explored their sacred
lands.
The week concluded with a public performance of a tribal dance performed by
girls dressed in Jicarilla tribal costumes and a traditional singer and
drummer.
Great Sand Dunes NP&P will continue to work closely with tribal partners to
identify additional opportunities to make the Cultural Youth Camp an annual
event.
*By Katherine Faz*
*NPS National Capital Region Launches Archeology Website*
The NPS National Capital Region’s Archeology Program (RAP) has launched a
new website. This web site provides an opportunity to learn more about the
role the NPS plays in the excavation, preservation, and management of
archeological resources in the Washington, D.C. area. It contains much
information about archeology at individual parks in the region. The website
also links to numerous reports that were developed for the Archeology
E-Gram – an effective way to make available archeological information
developed for the public.
The National Capital Region (NCR) administers 88,000 acres of parklands in
portions of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and all of the District of
Columbia. The parks in and around our nation's capital contain an
incredible variety of archeological remains representing more than 13,000
years of changing human lifeways and different cultures — prehistoric
workshops, stone quarries, campsites, and villages; sites of seventeenth-
through nineteenth- century plantations, houses, kilns, mills, forges, and
foundries; numerous Civil War sites such as battlefields, fortifications,
and campgrounds; and the ruins of nineteenth-century canal structures.
The NCR Archeology Program provides for the study, protection,
preservation, and interpretation of archeological sites located in NCR's
parks and their collections. The major activities of the RAP include
conducting archeological surveys; evaluating the relative significance of
specific sites for possible nomination to the National Register of Historic
Places; caring for archeological collections; supervising volunteer
participation in field and laboratory work; public interpretation; and,
protecting archeological resources through enforcement of Federal historic
preservation laws.
To explore the website, go to http://www.nps.gov/rap/archeology/index.htm
*Significant John Smith Trail Site Preserved*
On June 21, 2013, nearly 300 people gathered to celebrate the protection of
the site of Werowocomoco, the principal residence and headquarters of
Powhatan, the influential Indian leader when Jamestown was settled in 1607.
Captain John Smith visited Werowocomoco twice, and recorded that it was the
place where he and Powhatan met, and where he befriended Powhatan’s young
daughter Pocahontas. The site is identified on Smith’s maps of 1608 and
1612, and is about 15 miles from Jamestown.
The site was identified through archeological investigations in 2002.
Archeology continues at Werowocomoco today under the leadership of the
Werowocomoco Research Group, formed by VDHR in partnership with the College
of William and Mary, other scholars, and with Virginia Indians.
Archeologists have identified the footprint of a 72-foot longhouse, and
have found that the town was settled by 1200 A.D.
Werowocomoco lies along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT, which
interprets Smith’s voyages and American Indian societies then and
descendant communities today. The NPS is collaborating with VDHR to produce
an illustrated book designed for visitors and the general public on the
story of Werowocomoco. At Friday’s dedication celebration, NPS Associate
Director for Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science, Stephanie
Toothman, described this upcoming project as a collaboration of NPS, VDHR,
the Virginia Indian Advisory Board, the Werowocomoco Research Group, and
the Ripleys.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell also spoke at the ceremony, as did
representatives of seven Virginia Indian tribes, Lynn and Bob Ripley, VDHR
Director Kathleen Kilpatrick, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Doug
Domenech, and other dignitaries.
*By Cindy Chance*
*Government Affairs and International Government Affairs Update From SAA*
The Society for American Archaeology’s monthly governmental update has been
restructured to contain three sections: (1) domestic issues, reported by
the Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC); (2) international issues,
reported by the International Governmental Affairs Committee ( IGAC); and
(3) a section devoted to analysis and opinion by the SAA president or
his/her designee.
SAA president Jeffry Altschul reports that earlier this year, House
Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) argued that Federal funding for
social science research should be curtailed, with the funds diverted to
support medical research. Cantor’s speeches were followed by Senator Tom
Coburn’s (R-OK) amendment to the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, which prohibited NSF from funding political science
research unless a project promoted the national security or economic
interests of the U.S. More recently, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of
the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, requested
information on five specific grants in the social sciences, including
access to the scientific/technical reviews, so that the committee could
evaluate whether NSF was adhering the agency’s intellectual merit
guidelines. Archeology grants were not included, although grants in
anthropology were among those chosen to be reviewed.
NSF’s budget has been cut 5 percent by the sequester. Much of the cut will
be felt in future awards. In the NSF Archeology Program, it is expected
that the number of awards will be reduced to between 80 and 90 percent of
those made the previous year. Every attempt is being made to maintain the
Doctoral Research Improvement Grant Program so that there will no decrease
in these awards. The cuts, then, will fall heavily on senior grants. The
Archeology Program has chosen not to reduce each grant 10 or 20 percent,
but to reduce the number of total grants awarded.
*From report by David Lindsey*
*NPS Mather Training Center and WASO Learning and Development Offer NHPA
Training*
The NPS Stephen T. Mather Training Center and the Office of WASO Learning
and Development are sponsoring opportunities for National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 and National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)/Section 106 training. These courses count toward the required
training under the 2008 NPS Section 106 nationwide Programmatic Agreement
(PA). All NPS employees are welcome to attend. There is no tuition. Travel
scholarships are available to help you and your park defray travel
costs/ceiling.
These offerings reflect a larger effort being undertaken by Learning and
Development to provide professional development opportunities to NPS
employees through the NPS Career Academy. The NPS Career Academy for
Cultural Resources is currently under development.
* Fundamentals of Section 106*
(July 31-Aug. 1, 2013)
Training focuses on the fundamentals of Section 106 in the NPS and
particularly the PWR. Training will include practical, real-world
approaches for completing the Section 106 process, with emphasis on
documentation and consultation. The course will cover the 4-step and
streamlined review processes as well as placing Section 106 in context with
the NHPA and other applicable laws. Course Goals:
• Learn the NPS requirements for NHPA Section 106
• Learn how to use the four-step Section 106 process
• Learn how to use the NPS Section 106 nationwide PA
• Learn strategies for consultation
• Learn the roles and responsibilities of parties in the Section 106 process
• Learn about the relationship of NHPA Section 106 and other applicable
laws such as the NEPA,ARPA, and NAGPRA.
Target Audience: Park Section 106 Coordinators.
Location: WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument Visitor Center,
Honolulu, Hawaii
Registration closes July 12, 2013. To register, contact Cari Kreshak,
808-228-5334.
*Compliance with Section 106*
(August 6-8, 2013)
The NPS SER, Cultural Resources Division, is sponsoring training in the
fundamentals of compliance with NHPA Section 106 along with an overview of
the NEPA. The standard, four-step compliance process will be covered as
well as alternatives to that process that can streamline the compliance
process. You will learn:
• Regulations and NPS policy supporting the compliance process
• How compliance with NHPA and NEPA can be coordinated;
• Roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the compliance process;
• Case studies illustrating the compliance process;
• Requirements of the 2008 nationwide PA and how it can streamline
the compliance review process;
• Information on the CRM program in the SER, how it relates to NHPA and
Section 106 compliance, and how it can help your park better manage its
cultural resources;
• An overview of the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC)
system and its use
in documenting the compliance process.
Target Audience: Park Section 106 Coordinators, Superintendents, Resource
Managers, and other park staff, especially those with collateral duties in
CRM.
Location: Southeast Regional Office, 100 Alabama St. SW, Atlanta, Georgia.
Registration closes July 1, 2013. To register, contact Tommy Jones,
404-507-5783.
*NEPA/NHPA Section 106 Workshop*
(Sept. 10-12, 2013)
This 3-day classroom course teaches you how to comply with NEPA and NHPA
Section 106 and includes overviews on compliance for special status
species, floodplains, and wetlands. The classroom format allows
participants to learn and practice the material, as well as share their
experiences with other participants. More specifically, this course will
help you:
• Make resource-based decisions using the environmental compliance process;
• Determine the appropriate level of NEPA compliance;
• Conduct internal scoping with an interdisciplinary team;
• Evaluate the needs for basic inventory of park resources for compliance
purposes;
• Evaluate impacts on park resources and values;
• Write and format a NEPA document;
• Conduct NHPASection 106 consultation using a variety of methods;
• Determine the major steps in the environmental compliance process; and
• Conduct public and agency involvement and tribal consultation.
Target Audience: Anyone, from beginners to experts.
Locations: Regional Office, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Denver, CO 80225
Registration closes July 31. To register, contact Cheryl Eckhardt,
303-969-2851.
Please provide your name, title, and date of your last compliance training.
*Introduction to Section 106 of the NHPA*
(Sept. 10-13, 2013)
The NPS NER Resource Planning and Compliance Division is offering
Introduction to Section 106. Course participants will learn the basics of
project review under NHPA Section 106.This seminar emphasizes the NPS
methodology for complying with Section 106. It will provide in-depth
guidance and discussion on the step-by-step 106 process, include recent
changes in regulations and procedures, and emphasize coordination with NEPA
and other laws. Course topics will include:
• What is Section 106?
• When does Section 106 apply?
• How to apply the Advisory Council Regulations (36 CFR 800).
• NPS 2008 nationwide PA.
• Myths about Section 106.
• How to identify an “undertaking” under Section106.
• How and when to consult (with SHPO, tribes, ACHP, public, others).
• Determining the Area of Potential Effect (APE).
• Resolving adverse effects.
• Use of agreement documents (PAs, MOAs).
• Coordinating Section106 with other laws/regulations (NEPA, NAGPRA, etc.).
• Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic
Properties.
Target Audience: Park Section 106 Coordinators, park and regional cultural
resource staff, compliance specialists, planners, and park
managers.Location: NER Northeast Regional Office, 200 Chestnut St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19106.
Deadline for Registration is August 9, 2013. To register, contact Cheryl
Sams O’Neill, 215-597-5822
*NPS Mather Training Center Offers Cultural Resources Preservation and
Treatment Class*
The NPS Stephen T. Mather Training Center is offering Preservation and
Treatment of Park Cultural Resources at Apostle Islands NL on September
9-13, 2013. This 40-hour field-based course includes a competency-based
curriculum designed specifically for facility managers, cultural resource
managers, and other managers with cultural resource responsibilities. It
focuses on the critical knowledge and skills for essential direction and
oversight pertaining to the preservation, treatment, and maintenance of
park cultural resources. The course takes place in a park setting, as a
laboratory and test case for applying the knowledge and skills presented in
the classroom. Encouraging an interdisciplinary team approach, the course
emphasizes collaboration across disciplines and building a shared
understanding and appreciation of resource stewardship in the evaluation,
documentation, and treatment of park cultural resources.
The course includes a one day field-based case study which will require
transport by boat with exposure to possibly rough water on Lake Superior,
and field work on a remote island in a wilderness setting.
Competencies. This course addresses the following cultural resources
stewardship competencies: preservation law, philosophy, and practice;
research and inventory; preservation planning and compliance; preservation,
treatment, and maintenance; and project and program management.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this training participants will be able to:
1. Apply the steps in the planning process to research, assess, develop,
and implement short- and long-term preservation and treatment strategies
specific to park cultural resources.
2. Develop and execute preservation and rehabilitation treatments within
the framework of laws, regulations, policies, standards, and documents that
govern work on cultural resources.
3. Integrate compliance timelines into the planning process, integrating
NEPA and NHPA processes to reduce or eliminate decisions whose results
expose management to controversial or legal actions.
4. Ensure that all preservation, treatment intervention, and maintenance
work accomplished is evaluated, documented, and preserved.
5. Utilize databases, such as the Facility Management Software System
(FMSS), in the assessment, tracking, funding, and documentation of
treatment work on cultural resources.
Tuition is paid for by NPS Learning & Development. The benefiting account
pays for participants’ travel and per diem. Travel scholarships may be
available to defray costs. Registration deadline is August 9, 2013. Apply
in DOI Learn. Select Search the Catalog> Continue to Catalog> In the
Search box, type: Preservation and Treatment> Scroll down the page to the
course listing.
Contact: Roger Anderson, Cultural Resource Training Manager, Mather
Training Center, 304-535-5051 (office); 240-446-7256 (cell).
*It’s Time to Register for the Pecos Conference!*
The Pecos Conference 2013 is quickly approaching; it’s now just 2 months
away. This year the conference will be held August 8-11 at Coconino NF,
outside of Flagstaff, AZ.
First inspired and organized by A.V. Kidder in 1927, the Pecos Conference
has no formal organization or permanent leadership. Somehow, professional
archaeologists find ways to organize themselves to meet at a new conference
location each summer, mostly because they understand the problems of
working in isolation in the field and the importance of direct face time
with colleagues. To make progress with objective science and with other
cultural matters, books and journal articles are important, but one still
must look colleagues in the eye and work out the details of one's research
in cooperative and contentious forums.
Open to all, the Pecos Conference remains an important opportunity for
students and students of prehistory to meet with professional
archaeologists on a one-on-one informal basis to learn about the
profession, gain access to resources and to new research opportunities, and
to test new methods and theories related to archaeology.
Early registration ends on June 30. Starting on July 1, the registration
fee will increase to $45 and any souvenirs you order must be mailed
(postage paid by you) rather than picked up at the conference.
To register, visit the website at
http://www.swanet.org/2013_pecos_conference/prereg.html.
* Informational resources on the Web about climate change:*
*Climate Change Threatens Historic Jamestowne*
Rising sea levels are threatening Historic Jamestowne, part of Colonial NHP
and site of the first permanent English settlement in North America.
Jamestown Island, where most of Jamestown is located, lies 3 feet or less
above the tidal James River. Scientists project that it will be underwater
by 2100 but flooding will increase long before then.
Storms and erosion already have taken their toll. The island was created by
an 18th-century storm that punctured a land bridge that once connected the
Jamestown peninsula to the mainland. Most of the 1,473-acre island lies
within the national park. A 22½ -acre area that includes the original fort
site and a 17th-century church tower is owned and managed by the nonprofit
Preservation Virginia. Much of the island was flooded in 2003 by Hurricane
Isabel, which damaged the NPS visitor center and caused $3.5 million in
damage to ceramics, metal tools, and other artifacts in the center.
"What we're seeing and what's being predicted is the sea-level rise is
going to exacerbate everything," Dorothy Geyer, natural resource specialist
at Colonial NHP. Geyer said the NPS is working to determine how to adapt,
looking at current studies, and planning additional research. In 50 to 100
years, lands that the colonists walked on "are not going to be there
anymore," said Carl Hobbs, a marine geologist with the nearby Virginia
Institute of Marine Science.
Two environmental groups, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the
Natural Resources Defense Council, warned in a 2010 report that Jamestown
is in danger of being inundated by the river. Historic Jamestowne was one
of 25 national parks at risk from climate change identified in the report.
The other 24 are Acadia NP, Assateague Island NS, Bandelier NM, Biscayne
NP, Cape Hatteras NS, Denali NP&P, Dry Tortugas NP, Ellis Island NM,
Everglades NP, Glacier NP, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Indiana Dunes NL,
Joshua Tree NP, Lake Mead NRA, Mesa Verde NP, Mount Rainier NP, Padre
Island NS, Rocky Mountain NP, Saguaro NP, Theodore Roosevelt NP, Virgin
Island NP, Virgin Island Coral Reef NM, Yellowstone NP, Yosemite NP, and
Zion NP.
To read the full report, go to
http://rockymountainclimate.org/website%20pictures/National-Parks-In-Peril-final.pdf
*Cultural Resources in the Climate Change Response Program*
The Climate Change Response Program (CCRP) includes a small staff who
serves the NPS in climate change science and modeling, interpretation and
education, resource management, landscape connectivity, monitoring,
planning, coastal hazards, cultural anthropology, and renewable energy use.
The CCRP embraces an emphasis on science in decision-making, enhancing
workforce climate literacy, and reaching youth and providing career
opportunities through internships and fellowships. CCRP has placed 100
students in parks and offices across the country in internship and
fellowship programs.
Marcy Rockman is the NPS Climate Change Adaptation Coordinator for
Cultural Resources. She is currently involved in cultural resource-related
projects, including the development of a comprehensive Cultural Resource
Adaptation program plan; the development of a handbook outlining the types
of impacts observed and anticipated from climate change to cultural
resources across the nation; and the development of management options for
vulnerable cultural resources in the coastal zones.
*NPS Climate Change Response Program Resources*
Climate Change Response Program website
http://www.nature.nps.gov/climatechange/
Climate Change Brochure
http://www.nature.nps.gov/ClimateChange/docs/NPSClimateChangeBrochure.pdf
Climate Change Response Program Newsletter
http://www.nature.nps.gov/ClimateChange/assets/newsletters/2010/December_2010_CCRNews.pdf
*Contact*: Marcy Rockman (202) 354-2105
*NPS Climate Change Response Program Offers Cultural Resource Webinars*
The NPS Climate Change Response Program presents a monthly climate change
webinar series in collaboration with the Alaska Regional Office. The
purpose of the series is to connect NPS employees, volunteers, and partners
with scientists and experts in the field of climate change research. The
webinar series is a Service-wide forum where researchers can share credible
up-to-date information and research materials about the impacts of changing
climate in national parks and provide participants the opportunity to
engage with presenters in discussion.Webinars that focus on cultural
resources include:
* Out of Thin Ice: An Unparalleled Archaeological and Paleobiological
Record from Our Nation’s Parks and Forest*s Craig Lee, Research Scientist,
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)
*Climate, Forests, and Fire in Olympic National Park: Dynamics of the Last
14,000 Years*
Dan Gavin, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of
Oregon
*Déjà Vu All Over Again: Comparing Opposition to Evolution and Opposition
to Anthropogenic Global Warming* Eugenie Scott, Executive Director,
National Council for Science Education
*How do we manage cultural resources in the face of climate change?: A
Framework for Collaborative Management * Cheryl Anderson, Director of the
Hazards, Climate, and Environment Program, University of Hawai’i Social
Science Research Institute
*The Many Roles of Archaeology in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
Planning*
Marcy Rockman, Science & Technology Policy Fellow, AAAS
*Ancient Cultures and Climate Change*
Robert Griffin, Environmental Archeologist, Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Alabama
*Tribal Resilience in the Face of Climate Change: SAFE Homes and
Distributed Generation*
Bob Gough
*Impacts of Climate Change on Indigenous Communities in Western Alaska*
Don Callaway, Senior Cultural Anthropologist, Alaska Region, National Park
Service
For more information about this webinar series contact: Melanie Wood, (970)
267 2198
*Climate Change on YouTube*
The Frontier Scientists YouTube channel has a number of videos – short and
long – about archeology, prehistory, and climate change. Several have been
sponsored by the NPS. Check them out!
*A Zooarchaeologist's Take on Climate Change*, sponsored by Lake Clark
National Park and Preserve.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR9AU6a6l0Q
*Modeling Climate*
Very cool graphics!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zExRvlaLZbU
*3TimeTravel in the Alaskan Arctic*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_o_9wW-Ag
*Julie Brigham-Grette presents Lake El' gygytgyn Research*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxbOSB7zDgY
*Fire In Alaska*
Scott Rupp, University of Alaska and Jennifer Barnes, NPS discuss fire
trends from climate change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JREVf8iDc
*The Permafrost Twisted House*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxvlK1obqcc
*Permafrost Patterns*
Ronald Daanen and Vladimir Romanovsky, University of Alaska, explain
patterns that permafrost has created in the Arctic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j_n7QMKDYc
You can view these and other videos at www.frontierscientists.com
*TEDtalks on Climate Change*
TEDtalk speakers are talking about climate change!
*
*
Climate change: Oh, it's real. (8 talks)
http://www.ted.com/playlists/78/climate_change_oh_it_s_real.html
The first talk is by former Vice President Al Gore.
Additional TEDtalks about climate change include:
* Let the Environment Guide our Development*
http://www.ted.com/talks/johan_rockstrom_let_the_environment_guide_our_development.html
* Four environmental 'heresies'*
http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_proclaims_4_environmental_heresies.html
* Projects in Parks*: is taking a break this month.
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 Projects in Parks web page
http://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/index.htm or through individual
issues of the Archeology E-Gram.
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
pagewww.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on the NPS Archeology Program
website.
Contact: Karen Mudar at [log in to unmask] to contribute news items, stories for
Projects in Parks, and to subscribe.
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