MNA Turns 80, Freeway Construction May Impact South Mountain Park Petroglyphs Near Phoenix

Archaeology Making The News - A Service of the Center For Desert Archaeology

- Museum of Northern Arizona Celebrates 80th Anniversary and Restored Accreditation: On Saturday, Sept 6th, at 4:30 Pm, Dr Dr. Dave Wilcox will present "Seizing the Moment - Collaboration and Cooperation in the Founding and Growth of the Museum of Northern Arizona" Dr. Dave Wilcox, MNA's senior research anthropologist and recent recipient of the Arizona Archaeological Society's 2008 Professional Archaeologist of the Year Award and the 2007 Byron S. Cummings Award for Outstanding Contributions in Archaeology, Anthropology, or Ethnology. Additional Events Available for Museum Members.
http://www.musnaz.org/events/80anniversary.html

- Confusing Public Meeting Downplays Possible Impacts of New Road Construction on South Mountain Park (Phoenix): The advisory team was also told there were remains of six Hohokam villages on the west side of the proposed path, along with lithic quarries where Indians collected rocks used to make tools, and a petroglyph site and trails in the Ahwatukee Foothills area would also be affected and would require some kind of mitigation. But the big issue, both literally and figuratively, is South Mountain Park, which has both historic and pre-historic elements. SMCAT members were told construction of the freeway through 32 acres, cutting hundreds of feet deep through three ridges, wouldn't be a problem.
http://www.ahwatukee.com/news/advisory_4235___article.html/school_adot.html

- Gila Cliff Dwellings Reopen: Superintendent Steve Riley of the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico, today reopened the National Park after successful temporary repairs to the road bridge leading to the Cliff Dwellings were made yesterday Wednesday September 3, 2008. The park, in southwestern New Mexico 40 miles north of Silver City, was forced to close early Sunday morning when heavy rain eroded a highway bridge on the only vehicle access to the site. New Mexico Department of Transportation highway crews finished temporary repairs late Wednesday evening on the New Mexico State Highway 15 Gila West Fork Bridge. The road will be closed to overnight use between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., to permit continued monitoring of bridge and road conditions.

- Polynesians and the New World is the Topic of the Next Meeting of the Pacific Coast Archaeology Society: Pacific Coast Archaeological Society's September 11th meeting will feature Dr. Kathryn A. Klar and Dr. Terry L. Jones speaking on "Polynesians to the New World: The Chumash Connection and Beyond." Meeting information: Thursday, September 11, 2008, 7:30 pm at the Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine, CA. Meeting is free and open to the public.
http://www.pcas.org

- Arizona Senic Byways Program Seeks Public Input: The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), in cooperation with the Arizona Office of Tourism, Arizona Highways Magazine and the Federal Highways Administration, is developing a statewide series of marketing brochures for Arizona’s Scenic Byways. Studies have identified informational brochures as a useful supplement for byway visitors – both to get potential visitors interested in visiting a byway and also to enhance the experience of visiting the byway itself. The goal is to provide useful, accurate and understandable information to the Arizona traveler. As part of this effort, ADOT wants your opinion! By participating in our survey, you can help determine which of the many attractions along Arizona’s scenic byways we should highlight in the brochures. The survey is brief and takes only a few minutes to complete. Please click to complete the survey located online here: http://www.cdarc.org/page/95vj - AZ Dept, of Transportation via Survey Monkey

- Public Input Sought on Management Plan for Chiricahua National Monument: The National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of a Wilderness Management Plan for Chiricahua National Monument. You may be part of this planning effort by assisting us in identifying issues to be addressed and later by reviewing and providing comments on the draft document. At this time, we are soliciting information to include in the plan and issues that should be considered. Public open house sessions will be held and opportunities for on-line comments are available.
http://www.willcoxrangenews.com/articles/2008/09/04/news/news16.txt

- Travelogue, Utah's Grand Gulch: Over the next five days, we'd hike north 40 miles to Collins Canyon through the Gulch's winding chasms, where at almost every turn lie the homes, tools, and art of the ancient Anasazi, or Ancestral Puebloans, as scientists now call them.
http://www.backpacker.com/august_08_canyon_confidential/destinations/12497