New York Times Editorial Calls on the President to Preserve Cedar Mesa

New York Times Editorial Calls on the President to Preserve Cedar Mesa
Cedar Mesa is one of the most sublime and culturally evocative landscapes on Earth. Since 1987, I’ve made more than 60 trips to that outback in southeastern Utah, hiking, camping and backpacking on forays lasting as long as 10 days. Nowhere else in the Southwest can you find unrestored ruins and artifacts left in situ in such prodigal abundance. And though roughly 75,000 enthusiasts visit Cedar Mesa each year, that’s a drop in the bucket compared with the four and a half million who throng the Grand Canyon.  http://nyti.ms/1IEWTFE – New York Times

Artist Points Out How Social Media May Be Driving Wave of Vandalism
(Jonathan) Bailey says he visited his first prehistoric site with his family when he was 6 years old. Over the past 13 years, he’s spent countless hours wandering Utah’s remote San Rafael Swell, finding pristine cultural sites that don’t appear to have been touched since their original creators left them behind centuries ago. Recently, however, Bailey has noticed a disturbing trend. It used to be that he would find vandalism at three sites a year. Now, he says, he’s finding it at as many as 10 sites annually. “It’s really almost murder,” he said, describing the damage he’s found to petroglyph panels, rock shelters and other sensitive cultural sites. http://bit.ly/1FxLXZy – KSL.Com

Learn about Ancient Fortifications at Archaeology Southwest’s Phoenix Archaeology Café
On April 28, 2015, Dr. David R. Wilcox will share the results of a long-term survey of defensible ancient places in central Arizona. Archaeology Café is an informal forum where adults can learn more about the Southwest’s deep history and speak directly to experts. We meet in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, near the Indian School light rail stop. Presentations begin after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive at about 5:30 p.m. in order to get settled, as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. Share tables and make new friends!

The Chaco Research Archive Publishes Chaco Additions Survey On-line
The Chaco Research Archive is pleased to announce the long-awaited electronic publication of The Chaco Additions Survey: An Archaeological Survey of the Additions to Chaco Culture National Historical Park, edited by Robert P. Powers and Ruth M. Van Dyke. The document contains descriptions, data, and interpretations pertaining to 957 sites on 6288 acres added to Chaco Culture NHP in 1980, covering the Kin Bineola unit, the Kin Klizhin unit, and portions of Chacra Mesa and the South addition.  It is part of a series of reports from the Chaco Center, supported by the National Park Service’s Archaeology Program. The Chaco Additions Survey can be viewed in its entirety online at http://bit.ly/1ID3tfT – Chaco Research Archive

The Strange Vandalism of an Ancient Rock Shelter in Nine Mile Canyon
Jerry D. Spangler, executive director of the Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance, confirmed Tuesday that members of his group discovered the vandalism at a primitive rock shelter in the canyon on March 16 and reported it to the Bureau of Land Management office in Price. The vandals buried two wire cables in the floor of the shelter, Spangler said. They also moved delicate archaeological material around inside the shelter to build new walls, according to Ahmed Mohsen, manager of the BLM’S Price field office.
http://bit.ly/1DlXoB7 – Deseret News

The Colorado River and the Grand Canyon Declared an Endangered Landscape
Toxic seepage from uranium mining, a proposed riverside gondola development and potential nearby groundwater drawdown have put the Colorado River at the top of one nonprofit’s most endangered rivers list this year. Washington, D.C.-based American Rivers has released a report of the nation’s 10 most endangered rivers each year since 1984. The choices are based on a river’s significance to humans and the surrounding ecosystem, the magnitude of the threat it’s facing and the imminence of major decisions involving the river that the public can help influence. http://bit.ly/1yedyfR – Arizona Daily Sun

Beyond NAGPRA and Zuni Pseudo-Ceremonial Ceramics – SAR Hosts Intern Colloquium in Santa Fe
The School for American Research presents talks by the Anne Ray Interns. Katherine Barry will present Beyond NAGPRA: Culturally Sensitive Approaches at the Indian Arts Research Center, and Lilyan Jones will share The Curious Case of the Zuni Pseudo-Ceremonial Collection: Surviving Salvage Ethnography.  The presentation will be held at the SAR Boardroom (660 Garcia St, Santa Fe) on Wednesday April 15th at noon to one pm. http://bit.ly/1DKExlk – SAR

Lecture Opportunity and New Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society – Grand Junction
The Grand Junction Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society will hold its first lecture/meeting Tuesday, April 21, 2015. Natalie Clark, one of two professional archaeologists in the Grand Junction BLM district, will be our presenter who will discuss An Overview of Grand Junction Area Archaeology. If you are a professional, avocational, or purely novice in your archaeological interest, there will be place for you in this newest chapter of the statewide CAS. This is the first of what are planned to be monthly meetings, and as soon as May, we anticipate beginning field trips to sites of archaeological interest. Speakers/presenters and field trip organizers and general volunteers will be needed. Please step up to become an active part of this dynamic new group. Collectively, we will teach, learn, and share, as well as visit the old and not-so-old culture and heritage of our Colorado and Utah region. The meeting is to be held at Grand Junction City Hall, 250 N 5th St; please come in through the west-side doors. For more information, email casgjinfo@gmail.com.

Lecture Opportunity – Montrose
Chipeta Chapter of Colorado Archaeology presents Charles Richey, The Big Picture; Archaeological, Cultural, Technological Connections and Development throughout the World, at 7:00 p.m., April 15, 2015, at the First Methodist Church, on Park and South 1st. Free and open to the public.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
On Tuesday, April 14, the Santa Fe Chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America will present George Crawford, Director, Blackwater Draw National Historic Landmark, who will give a talk entitled The Clovis Site, Landscape, Environment, and Preservation on the Southern High Plains .The lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the back room of the Pecos Trail Cafe. Contact Diane Lenssen @ 505-6704001 or Tim Maxwell @ 505-820-1299 with questions. http://bit.ly/1vZQsn4 – SFAS

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Historian and Comanche Linguist Sam DeVenney, who will present an illustrated lecture My Comanche People Through Historic Photographs on April 20 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series held to honor The Archaeological Conservancy. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Seating is Limited. Refreshments are served. Contact Connie Eichstaedt 505 466-2775 email: southwest seminar@aol.com http://bit.ly/YhJddr– Southwest Seminars