Utah Politicians Fighting Against Archaeological Law Enforcement

Southwestern Archaeology Making the News - A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

Utah Legislature Seeks to Limit Federal Law Enforcement
Kane County Sheriff Lamont Smith said the federal encroachment has been so broad that federal rangers have taken to writing tickets for everything from expired registrations to broken tail lights to violators stopped on U.S. 89 near Lake Powell. As an example of what they say is "encroachment," Noel and the sheriffs pointed to events like last spring's federal raid that led to more than two dozen arrests of people accused of stealing or possessing Native American artifacts and a May showdown between BLM agents and off-road enthusiasts at the Paria River corridor.
http://tinyurl.com/ygddzt3 - Deseret News

Utah Politicians Express Outrage over Potential Cedar Mesa National Monument Designation
A leaked memo from the U.S. Department of the Interior has raised the prospect that the Cedar Mesa area in San Juan County could be designated as a national monument. The monument could be designated without Congressional approval or public input through the Antiquities Act. The same course was used near San Juan County in the 1996 designation of the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument in adjacent Garfield and Kane counties and in the 1999 designation of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in adjacent Montezuma and Dolores counties in Colorado. While federal officials downplayed the document and stated that it is just a “draft memo”, the response was strong among Congressional, state and local officials.
http://www.sjrnews.com/pages/full_story/full_story?content_instance_id=6450758

Accused Artifact Trafficker Claims Federal Misconduct
The brother of a Utah sheriff accused federal agents Tuesday of misconduct when they arrested him last June for allegedly trafficking in ancient American Indian artifacts. David Lacy testified in federal court in Salt Lake City that heavily armed agents stormed his house and held him for hours while grilling him about his collection of artifacts -- all without reading him his Miranda rights against self-incrimination. Two agents earlier testified on Tuesday that they did everything properly.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9789863

Last Call for Nominations - Arizona Awards in Public Archaeology
Dear Friends of Archaeology: Just a reminder that the deadline for nominations for the 2010 Governor's Archaeology Advisory Commission's Awards in Public Archaeology is March 15, 2010. The Nomination Form is attached for your convenience. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thanks!, Ann Howard, SHPO
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/2010_gaac_award_nom.doc

March is Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month
The idea is to increase awareness of Arizona's remarkable history and prehistory, and to serve as a reminder of the importance of preserving and protecting these non-renewable resources. "Once they're gone, that's it; they're gone forever," said Ann Howard, the public archaeology programs manager for the State Historic Preservation Office, which sponsors the month. Dozens of parks - city, state and federal - as well as museums and other agencies are participating in the program, now in its 27th year.
http://tinyurl.com/yfd2h67 - Arizona Republic

Homol'ovi Village Cluster At Risk
Wandering across her parents' cattle ranch in the 1950s, Georgia Nagel often found pottery shards, petroglyphs and other remnants of an ancient Anasazi village along the Little Colorado River. Unfortunately for Homolovi Ruins and its treasures, so did a lot of people with less honorable intentions.
http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/b661729b-c38d-51cf-b17c-92dc3e99eef8.html

Introduction to Historic Preservation Class Offered at Arizona-Nevada History Convention
This "Introduction to Historic Preservation" workshop is offered as a
pre-conference workshop in conjunction with the Arizona-Nevada History
Convention. Registration for the workshop is separate from the conference. For more information about the convention please visit the website linked below. Please feel free to share this information with anyone you think would be interested. The class will be held Thursday, April 15, 8:00 a.m. – 11:45 p.m., at the Aquarius Casino Resort, 1900 S. Casino Drive, Laughlin, NV, 89029.
Http://www.arizonahistory.org

Ancient Technology Days at Pueblo Grande to Continue (Public Archaeology Opportunity)
Pueblo Grande Museum will be hosting its annual Ancient Technology Day at Pueblo Grande Museum on Saturday, March 13th from 10am to 3pm. I know that the Arch Expo is not a go for this year so PGM thought if anyone is interested in setting up a booth at our Ancient Technology event, you are more than welcome to. If you are interested please email me as soon as possible. You will need to provide your own table, chairs and canopies. We will have atlatl throwing, flintknapping, fire starting, shell jewelry, pottery firing, gourds, rock art, agave roast and kids craft activities. We will also have a frybread vendor. Contact Stacey Mays at stacey.mays@phoenix.gov

Tempe History Museum Reopens
It is a rare occasion when we can be a part of history making history. After nearly a year of demolition, reconstruction and installation, the newly renamed Tempe History Museum will be revealed for the first time. The history of the museum began with the Tempe Historical Society, formed in 1967, to "foster the preservation of historical items relating to the development of the city of Tempe."
http://tinyurl.com/yky6gb6 - Arizona Republic

ASU offers a Pair of Presentations on Virtual Reality and Cultural Heritage
On Wednesday March 3, the ASU School of Art will Present Jan de Rode and Geeske Bakker of DeRode 3D speaking on "Virtual Reconstruction and Artistic Tradition. 3:30 Pm, Coor Building, Arizona State University
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/virtual_historic_reconstruction.pdf

On Thursday, March 4th, a round table discussion with virtual (re)construction of the past will be held at 4:30 pm with Jan de Rode and Geeske Bakker, Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer Jim Garrison, and a variety of archaeologists and art historians. The discussion will be held in the Brickyard Building (699 S Mill Ave. Tempe).
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/roundtable_on_v_h_r.pdf

Lecture Opportunity (Glendale/Phoenix)
The Agua Fria Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society is offering a free lecture
on Across the San Juan: Rock Art and Murals of the Mesa Verde, Aztec and Chaco
areas, on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 7:00 PM at the Glendale Public Library
Auditorium, 5959 West Brown (south of Peoria Ave). Membership is not required.
Refreshments will be served. The speaker, Sally Cole, is a consulting archaeologist and author living in Dolores, Colorado. She has an M.A. in anthropology and has spent 30 years studying prehistoric rock art, murals and associated archaeology of the Colorado Plateau.

Lecture Opportunity (Phoenix)
Throughout history, the early people who lived here left paintings and drawings on stone. From Pueblo clans in the Four Corners to the Hohokam in the Valley, people felt the need to leave marks on canyon walls and stony passages. On Saturday, March 6th, Lyle Balenquah, a Hopi archaeologist, will talk about his experiences with rock art from 1-2 p.m. at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center in northwest Phoenix.
http://tinyurl.com/ygsmwwq - Arizona Republic

Tour Opportunity (Tumacácori)
Tumacácori National Historical Park is offering nature walks to the Santa Cruz River through April 2010. A park volunteer will lead the walks on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m. in February, and at 10 a.m. in March and April. The last tour is scheduled April 18. There will also be two Friday tours, at 1 p.m. on March 12 and 26. The River Walks will last approximately one hour.)Tumacacori National Historical Park is offering nature walks to the Santa Cruz River through April 2010. A park volunteer will lead the walks on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m. in February, and at 10 a.m. in March and April. The last tour is scheduled April 18. There will also be two Friday tours, at 1 p.m. on March 12 and 26. The River Walks will last approximately one hour.
http://tinyurl.com/ylzj6ee - Nogales International

New Park Opens at the Yuma Wash Site (Tucson)
The park "reflects the community's rich cultural and archaeological history and offers the latest in recreational amenities," a town release said. The area occupied by the park, lying west of the Santa Cruz River, historically was a center of activity because of the water and good farmland there, parks director Ellis pointed out. Marana did extensive archeological excavations in the park area and along the rebuilt Silverbell Road, uncovering approximately two dozen adobe pit houses that were part of an 80-acre Hohokam Indian village that dates between 1100 and 1400. Both Desert Archeology and Old Pueblo Archeology performed the archeological investigative work.
http://tinyurl.com/ylaprho - NW Explorer