Congressional Action on Utah BLM, Preserve America, and Save America's Treasures. PeFo and Taliesin West Nominated for World Heritage Status

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

- Congressional Leaders Attempt to Protect Utah Sites from the BLM Off Road Vehicle Plan: Today, ninety-three members of the House of Representatives sent an urgent letter to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne requesting that he protect Utah’s irreplaceable archaeological artifacts and magnificent roadless areas from the damage caused by off-road vehicles. The congressional appeal comes at a critical juncture as DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is rushing to finalize its proposed off-road vehicle travel plans, covering 11 million acres of Utah’s public land, by mid-2008. Travel plan decisions made in Utah could set the tone for off-road vehicle plans across the West.
http://www.wilderness.org/NewsRoom/Release/20071030.cfm

- Clinton and Domenici Introduce Bill to Formalize "Preserve America" and "Save America's Treasures:" A new bi-partisan bill introduced by U.S. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, and Pete Domenici, R-NM, promises to formalize a program that has funneled money toward historic preservation. The Preserve America and Save America's Treasures Act (S. 2262) would formally codify the Preserve America and Save America's Treasures programs, which were started through presidential executive orders. The programs are administered by the Department of Interior and have operated without Congressional authorization, which would ensure their long-term viability, said Clinton and Domenici, who were joined by First Lady Laura Bush to unveil the legislation today in Washington, D.C.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2007/10/29/daily24.html

- Decline in New Housing Market Impacts Archaeology in the Southwest: The housing slump may have slowed business for archaeologists in Arizona, but it hasn't made the need for their services a thing of the past. "Actually, in the Valley as a whole, there's a lack of field archaeologists," said Glen Rice, a partner at Rio Salado Archaeology LLC. "There's a lot of archaeology going on in the Valley, but there's a plateau in archaeology in the housing sector."
http://www.azcentral.com/abgnews/articles/1101abg-archeology11010.html

- Petrified Forest National Park and Taliesin West Move Towards World Heritage Site Designation: Petrified Forest National Park and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West have taken a first step toward being recognized among the world's most significant cultural and natural treasures. The National Park Service has recommended that the northern Arizona park and Wright-designed buildings in Arizona and other states be included in a tentative list for consideration to join the UNESCO World Heritage List.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1031cns-petrified-forest1031-ON.html

- Northern Arizona University Offers American Indian Heritage Month: Like a good harvest, this November's American Indian Heritage Month at NAU offers a bountiful menu. More than 60 events celebrate indigenous cultures with some of today's hottest Native authors, speakers, artisans, music, photography, art and more. From learning about celestial influences on Hopi life cycles to watching a Mayan basket take shape or witnessing the weaving of a Navajo chief blanket, diverse cultures find the spotlight in diverse ways.
http://home.nau.edu/nass/heritage.asp

Santa Cruz National Heritage Area Moves Forward, New Text on Section 106 Preservation

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

Legislation Declaring the Santa Cruz Basin a National Heritage Area has Passed in the US House of Representatives: Legislation introduced earlier this year by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, to establish the Santa Cruz Valley as a National Heritage Area, has passed the U.S. House of Representatives on October 24th. The legislation passed by a vote of 291-122. Part of a package of amendments to the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Act,the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area Act will help preserve and promote the cultural and natural resources in the Santa Cruz Valley.
http://grijalva.house.gov/?sectionid=13&sectiontree=5,13&itemid=143

- New Publication on Section 106 Preservation: Saving Places that Matter: A Citizen's Guide to the National Historic Preservation Act. Tom King, renowned expert on the heritage preservation process in the United States, explains the ins and outs of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and how it can be used to protect special places in your community. King will show you the scope of the law, how it is often misinterpreted or ignored by government agencies and developers, and how to use its provisions to force others to pay attention to your concerns.
http://www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=99

- Lecture at University of Colorado - Boulder Promises that Colorado University has solved "the Mystery of the Anasazi." The University of Colorado at Boulder Friends of the Libraries will host a lecture titled "CU Solves the 'Mystery of the Anasazi' " by Professor Steve Lekson on Saturday, Nov. 10. he event will be held at 10 a.m. in Paleontology Hall of the CU Museum of Natural History, located in the Henderson Building. The talk is free and open to the public and a light lunch will follow the presentation.

- Employment Opportunity (Utah): The Utah State Historic Preservation Office has a unique opportunity for a qualified individual to serve as the SHPO representative in the Vernal BLM field office. Please see the following link to apply:
https://statejobs.utah.gov/jobAnnouncement.jsp?rid=14970

- Shovel Bums Back on the Archaeology Channel: Field archaeologists spend lots of their down time swapping stories and sharing laughs about events and circumstances on field projects. We're happy to share some of these laughs with you in Shovel Bum Joins the Army, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel http://www.archaeologychannel.org/

Picture Canyon Preservation, NPS Online Texts, Native Eyes Film Festival

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

- Flagstaff Preservationists Trying to Protect Picture Canyon: Those attempting to keep east Flagstaff archeology site Picture Canyon off-limits to developers say they made gains on Friday when a state committee dubbed the canyon a state historic site. It will now be up to the feds to decide whether to dub the petroglyph-filled canyon a National Historic Site. It could also be named a national landmark. "It was really good news," Coconino County Supervisor Deb Hill said of Friday's decision by the state's Arizona Historic Sites Review Committee in Phoenix.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/8apf - Arizona Daily Sun

- National Park Service History Texts Placed Online: Today, roughly 60% of the 391 park areas administered by the National Park Service have been set aside as symbols and evidence of our history and prehistory. Many of our natural parks contain historic places that represent important aspects of that history. Collectively, these places present an American history textbook, a textbook that educates us about the people, events, buildings, objects, landscapes, and artifacts of the American past and about the aspirations and actions that produced those tangible survivors. The National Park Service's history web site represents varying aspects of this history.
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/index.htm

- Arizona State Museum Hosts Native Eyes Film Showcase: Arizona State Museum and the Hanson Film Institute, in collaboration with the Film and Video Center of the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, bring to Tucson the fourth installment of the collaborative project Native Eyes Film Showcase. Native Eyes celebrates the creative work of Native American directors, producers, writers, and actors by presenting their high quality work. The Native Eyes Film Showcase begins on November 7th at 7 p.m. All screenings are free at the Grand Cinemas Crossroads at 4811 East Grant Road (Grant and Swan) in Tucson. http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/public/native_eyes/index.shtml

- Employment Opportunity - Great Basin National Heritage Route Executive Director: The newly designated Great Basin National Heritage Route seeks an executive director to assist the management board in developing and implementing a management plan which would market, interpret and preserve cultural resources in the central Great Basin area of White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah. The position of executive director will require experience in non-profit management and finances, fundraising, grant writing and grant administration and working with boards, committees and budgets. The executive director must possess significant organizational and communication skills to work productively under the direction of a board of directors which is widespread geographically and represents a variety of heritage and history interests in a two county rural/frontier area of the Great Basin.
http://www.greatbasinheritage.org/

Thanks to Brian Kenny for contributions to today's newsletter.

Southwest Symposium Reminder, Tucson Origins Park Planning, New Genetic Research on Peopling of New World

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

- Southwest Symposium Scheduled for January 17-19: 20th Anniversary Southwest Symposium,Movement, Connectivity, and Landscape Change, January 17-19, 2008. The Southwest Symposium was launched twenty years ago by Charles Redman and Paul Minnis to provide an opportunity for archaeologists to discuss current ideas and develop new networks for research in the American Southwest. From the beginning, this biennial symposium has been organized to explore a limited number of topics in substantial depth and to provide considerable time for discussion among all participants. The 2008 symposium will begin with a session that honors our 20th anniversary. In this opening session, the topics from the first Southwest Symposium (foraging, mobility and migration, social power and interaction, the protohistoric, and the history of Southwest archaeology) will be revisited by leading scholars in the field. They will look back over the last two decades of our accomplishments and forward toward new directions.
http://www.public.asu.edu/~ndwilso1

- The Impact of Genetic Diversity in the Peopling of the New World: Questions about human migration from Asia to the Americas have perplexed anthropologists for decades, but as scenarios about the peopling of the New World come and go, the big questions have remained. Do the ancestors of Native Americans derive from only a small number of “founders” who trekked to the Americas via the Bering land bridge? How did their migration to the New World proceed? What, if anything, did the climate have to do with their migration? And what took them so long?
http://www.cdarc.org/page/9utv - Science Daily

- Lecture on Four Corners Archaeology in Denver: Mark Varien will present "Four Corners, Then and Now", at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Tuesday, October 30, 7:00 p.m. in the Ricketson Auditorium.

- Final Plans for Tucson Origins Park Presented at Open House: More than 100 people packed two meeting rooms Wednesday evening at the Tucson Convention Center for the fourth open house for Tucson Origins, where construction on a replica Mission San Agustín is set to start in January. "It's not just a master plan," Rio Nuevo director Greg Shelko said. "This is the pieces of the puzzle really coming together."
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/66855.php

- Tohono O'odham Nation to Assist Exhibit Development at Tucson Origins Heritage Park: The Tohono O’odham Nation has awarded more than $65,000 to the Arizona State Museum to support an internship and Native American consultations for the design of an exhibit in the Tucson Origins Heritage Park. The park, known as TOHP, is a significant part of the planned 30-acre cultural campus in downtown Tucson, and will be adjacent to several museums, including the Arizona State Museum, the University of Arizona Science Center, the Arizona History Museum and the Tucson Children’s Museum.
http://uanews.org/node/16588

- Visiting Besh-Be-Gowah: In its heyday, from about 1225 to 1400, the village of Besh-Ba-Gowah was home to 350 people - hunters, gatherers and remarkably sophisticated farmers who grew corn, squash, beans and cotton and other crops, irrigating when possible and dry farming when not. They understood flood-plain farming techniques.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/9umn - Arizona Republic

- Snowbowl Sewage case to get Second Review: Without comment, the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to review the findings of three of its judges rejecting a claim by Snowbowl that it would shut down if it does not get permission to use sewage to create artificial snow. The panel had concluded there is "no compelling governmental interest" in having artificial snow on the San Francisco Peaks - and specifically on the federal land where the operation is located.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/3n4w - The Arizona Republic

Bill to Enlarge Mesa Verde, Big Demolition Gaffe in Tucson

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

- Bill to Expand Mesa Verde National Park Passes House or Representatives Vote: A bill sponsored by Rep. John Salazar authorizing the expansion of Mesa Verde National Park unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday. The Mesa Verde National Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2007, sponsored by Salazar, will next go to the U.S. Senate for a vote.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/bhyr - The Cortez Journal

- Contractor for City of Tucson Mistakenly Demolishes Historic Structure: A historically significant U.S. Magnetic Observatory building that was supposed to be left standing in Udall Park while others around it were demolished was mistakenly taken down.
The gaffe by a city contractor leaves only four of the original 15 buildings standing.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/207683.php
http://www.azstarnet.com/opinion/207811.php

- Lecture Tonight on Mesa Verde Migrations at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science: William Lipe will present "Four Corners, Then and Now." Late in the 13th century, the cliff dwellings and pueblos of the Mesa Verde region fell silent as a population of thousands melted away within a generation. Where did all these people go? Ricketson Auditorium, $12 member, $15 nonmember.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/jy9r - Denver Museum of Nature and Science

- Tucson to Dedicate Cultural Walk at the Julian Wash Site: According to a news release, the cultural walk project is located on an archaeologically-significant Hohokam village that used to be the St. Josephs Children’s Home location. The Julian Wash Cultural Walk now contains landscaping that avoids any sensitive archeological areas. It will also offer visitors a multi-use path, an interpretive path with educational signs and displays, ramadas and benches.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/1i95 - Fox11.com

- Arizona State Museum Library Celebrates its 50th Year: ASM is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its renowned library with a year’s worth of special events. Join us for the kick-off event and enjoy guest speakers, tours of the building’s architectural features, an unveiling of a newly designed on-line catalog, and a “retiring” of the old card catalog. The event is free and open to the public. Donations requested at event will help fund the library's future upgrades.
Saturday, October 27th, from 1 to 4 PM.

-Employment Opportunity, (Washington DC): The ACHP is seeking qualified applicants to fill the position of Native American Program Assistant in the Native American Program. The program is responsible for advising and assisting federal agencies, Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations and others regarding tribal and Native Hawaiian consultation in the Section 106 process. Applications are being accepted through Thursday, November 15, 2007.
http://www.achp.gov/nap-vacancy.html

SRI Cemetery Excavation Gets Expensive, More on the Road to Chaco, Parking Lot Excavation in Phoenix

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

- Costs Mount on Tucson's Joint-Courts Cemetery Excavation: he dead buried under downtown are long gone, but they left behind quite a bill. Pima County has sunk almost $15 million into the project to unearth and rebury the deceased, most of whom have lain for over a century in what was then the official cemetery of a territorial town but are now beneath city streets and downtown buildings.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/frontpage/66047.php

- Parking Lot Excavation Reveals Phoenix History: The prehistoric pit houses, a century-old cosmetic-cream jar and antique bricks tell the story of the first merchants in downtown Phoenix. Archaeologists earlier this month found those artifacts deep beneath the downtown parking lot where on Monday crews will begin building a $900 million hub of shops, offices and restaurants.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1020dig1020.html

- Lecture on Native American Painting, This Friday at the Arizona State Museum: The inaugural lecture of the Arnold and Doris Roland Distinguished Speaker Series features scholar and author J. J. Brody, professor emeritus of art history, University of New Mexico. Dr. Brody will speak on early 20th century Native American painting. The talk will be held at the Marriott University Park (880 E. Second St.). 6:30 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. lecture. Free and open to the public. Sponsored and produced by the Friends of the ASM Collections.
http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/public/index.shtml

- Plans to Encapsulate Historic Tempe Homestead Rejected by Arizona SHPO: The developer that wants to build a high-rise building that would partially hang over Monti's La Casa Vieja steakhouse faced the Tempe Historic Preservation Commission Thursday evening and was sent "back to the drawing board." La Casa Vieja, once home to the Hayden family that founded Tempe, was built in 1873 and is considered one of the most historic buildings in the Valley. But the development team wishing to put a high rise above Monti's - while preserving the old building - was told by the commission that plans to have the new structure overhang the Monti's site didn't sit well.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1019tr-historic.html

- Debate over Paving the Road to Chaco Continues: Several concerned New Mexicans gathered Thursday night at the San Juan County Commission chambers and voiced concerns regarding potential improvements to County Road 7950, which provides primary vehicle access to Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
http://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_7231398

- Tohono O'odham open Village Trading Post: The gallery will present American Indian works by pre-eminent artists who have created a name for themselves throughout the world, artists like Navajo stone sculptor Lance Yazzie and his father, famed stone and bronze sculptor Larry Yazzie. Celebrated O'odham basket weaver Terrol Dew Johnson has several pieces on display, and New Mexico jewelry designer Elloise Padilla will showcase her serpentine and turquoise necklaces, each piece of which was handcrafted, said Travis P. Nabahe, CEO of the development authority.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/accent/205855.php

- Graduate Student Focuses Research on Western Puebloan Sandals: His focus is on Yucca sandals he said, most likely from the Pueblo 1 period. The Pueblo 1 period is from approximately 700 to 900 AD, according to an article by Dr. Linda Cordell, archaeologist and former director of the Colorado University Museum. Yoder said not much is known about the sandals, how they were made or where they were found in the Anasazi region. This is the information he is trying discover. Additionally, he is studying them to see if there are different types of these sandals that might allow him to associate different groups of people.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/j06t - Hurricane Valley Journal

- November Centennial Events at Gila Cliff Dwellings: Everyone is invited up to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument for the official centennial ceremony on Saturday, November 17, 2007. Natural and cultural demonstrations will take place from 11:00 am-1:00 pm. A free lunch will be served at 12:30 pm. The ceremony (which includes assembling a time capsule of modern artifacts to be opened at the 150th Anniversary in 2057) begins at 2:00 pm, followed by cake, ice cream, and special tours through the monument’s archeological sites. The trail through the dwellings will be open from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, and the admission fee is waived for the day. Call 505-536-9461 to RSVP for lunch by November 10.
Http://www.cdarc.org/sat/gcd-november.doc - MS Word Document

- Travelogue, Betatakin and Navajo National Monument: On a crisp, fall-like Saturday morning, Cassandra Parrish leads five hikers into a deep, salmon-to-red tinted canyon south of the Arizona-Utah border. Their goal is Betatakin, an ancient pueblo nestled precariously inside a stunningly cavernous grotto.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695219267,00.html

- Employment Opportunity, Cultural Resources Programs Manager (Pima County): Assists Cultural Resources Manager or Program Manager in planning, organizing, coordinating, and administering activities of the Cultural Resources and Historic Preservation Office within Pima County.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/crhpo-pima.doc - MS Word Document

- Employment Opportunity, Field Technicians and Crew Chief (Phoenix): PaleoWest Solutions in Archaeology is seeking to fill positions in the greater Phoenix area for one crew chief and five field technicians for archaeological survey and excavation projects beginning October 22, and extending at through the fall. A Bachelors degree is required. Crew chiefs must also have experience and provide references related to excavating and effective interpreting of Hohokam habitation sites. Crew members must have excavation or survey expertise. Contact PaleoWest Solutions in Archaeology. 928.776.7253 office | 602.980.6687 cell | 866-706-7253 toll-free
http://www.paleowest.com

Open House at the Center for Desert Archaeology, Mesa Grande Wins Grant, AAC Conference Starts Today

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

- Open House at the Center for Desert Archaeology: The Center is hosting an open house and bookstore clearance sale, this Saturday, October 13, 2007, 9:00 a.m. to noon. Learn about ongoing projects and what you can do to preserve our shared heritage. Meet Center staff, volunteers, and other members. Tour our historic facility. Experience 3-D virtual reconstructions of archaeological sites. Receive 40-60% off most publications, including Archaeology Southwest magazine. Take advantage of these same discounts online during the event. The Center is located in the Historic Y Building, 300 E. University Blvd., Ste. 230, Tucson, Arizona. Contact Kate Sarther at 520-882-6946 or kate@cdarc.org for more information.

- Mesa Grande Ruins Receives Grant for Interpretive Improvements: One of Mesa's most treasured cultural gems is also one of its least accessible. The Mesa Grande ruins at 10th Street and Brown Road, regarded by many as a sterling example of the Valley's ancient Native American culture, has been fenced off for years because the city has lacked money to develop it. That will begin to change, thanks to Indian casino money.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1009mr-ruins1010.html

- Reminder AAC Conference Starts Today: The Arizona Archaeological Council's 2007 Fall Conference will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 12 and 13. The conference is entitled "Going with the Flow: Current Research in Prehistoric Irrigation Technology". Organized by Bruce Phillips and Jerry Howard, the conference will be held at the Arizona Museum of Natural History (formerly the Mesa Southwest Museum) in Mesa, Arizona. This conference will provide an update and expansion on ideas presented in the 1988 AAC canal symposium. Please go to www.arizonaarchaeologicalcouncil.org/ to view the conference program.

Lecture on Archaeoastronomy at Eastern Arizona College. What is the “sun dagger?” How were ancient Anasazi peoples able to track the complicated 18.6-year lunar standstill cycle? Where did the Chacoans report on the supernova that resulted in the Crab Nebula? Did the Anasazi record the passing of Halley’s comet in 1066 AD? As part of Eastern Arizona College’s Discover Anthro-pology lecture series, Dean Harry Swanson will present a free slide show and lecture entitled “Rock Art and Southwest Archaeoastron-omy” on Oct. 13, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Jupiter Room on the college’s Discovery Park Campus.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/2h6g - Eastern Arizona Courier