New Mexico Senators Introduce Bill to Help Protect Greater Chaco

New Mexico Senators Introduce Bill to Help Protect Greater Chaco
U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M) introduced the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, a bill to withdraw the lands around Chaco Canyon from further development by the federal government. The bill would ensure the protection of Chaco ruins and the greater landscape surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park by preventing any future leasing or development of minerals owned by the U.S. government that are located within a protected radius around Chaco. http://bit.ly/2LiLIY2 — Senator Martin Heinrich

“The cultural and historical artifacts contained here are not only important to Native American Tribes, but also to all who come to learn from our past. But once this area is developed, it is gone forever. We thank Senator Udall and Senator Heinrich for their foresight and for working with Pueblo and Navajo nations on a bill to protect this beloved place.” said All Pueblo Council of Governors Chairman Edward Paul Torres. http://bit.ly/2J3JjT7 — All Pueblo Council of Governors and Navajo Nation

This important bill would begin to stem the bleeding, and hopefully kick-start a broader conversation about the present and future management of Greater Chaco. In the meantime, it is essential that the administration heed the calls of Pueblo and Tribal leaders and avoid allowing further oil and gas activities in Greater Chaco. http://bit.ly/2J08Mwl — Archaeology Southwest

One Reason for the Bill: Drilling Threatens Ancient Road Network
Taking advantage of advances in drilling technology, more than 4,000 new wells will be developed in the area in the coming years, predicts the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages development of federal mineral resources. Late last month, a federal judge issued a decision that may encourage the sale of oil and gas leases and eventual drilling near the Chaco Culture National Historical Park and known ancient roads. http://bit.ly/2GFWaWg — Science

Introducing the Salmon Pueblo Archaeological Research Collection
The project is an online resource that allows users to search more than 140,500 records, including approximately 13,000 photographs, 29,000 documents, and 24 data tables with information on particular artifact types, such as ceramics vessels, ornaments, and bone tools. The records are from the comprehensive excavations of the Salmon Pueblo completed in the last 40 years and led by the late archaeologist Dr. Cynthia Irwin-Williams. salmonpueblo.org

Commentary: What We Lose When We Lose Rock Art
Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. John Curtis have introduced legislation that could position this sacred place and its spirit at the whims of oil and gas development. The exclusions are painful: the Molen Reef, San Rafael Desert, Muddy Creek, Mussentuchit Badlands, and Cedar Mountain — cultural landscapes that arguably encompass a majority of Emery County’s archaeology. http://bit.ly/2GFpjkt — Jonathan Bailey in the Salt Lake Tribune

FOIA Review Suggests Interior’s Review of Bears Ears National Monument Was Not in Good Faith
Bowman’s comments during the training, as well as subsequent internal emails, are likely to add to critics’ speculation that the outcome — at least for Bears Ears — was predetermined; that the administration was not really interested in what the general public had to say. http://bit.ly/2GG7Dow — Huffington Post

Author Reflects on His Long Relationship with Greater Bears Ears
The months I may yet linger in this world, however few or many, are numbered. But as long as I can still hike, I’ll cling to the knowledge that on Cedar Mesa there are alcoves I’ve never visited hiding just around the corner. And that there I’ll rediscover joy, as the only world we can ever explore reminds me that it is made of mysteries beyond imagining. http://bit.ly/2GIHlSC — David Roberts in Backpacker

BBC Features Ancient Sinagua Calendar
Zoll swept his arm across the entire scene. “This,” he explained, “was a way to track time.” As if by command, a few minutes later the clouds began to part. And at 13:40, like a perfectly calibrated Swiss watch, a beam of light passed over the rocks and projected two shadows across the panel. For the next six minutes, their edge held still, just touching three circles. https://bbc.in/2KHTYjp — BBC

Register for 2018 Pecos Conference
We’re planning a great conference. This year we have a Saturday dinner by Salsa Brava Fajitas, a favorite in Flagstaff, which will include both meat and vegetarian choices. Dinner will be followed by a dance with music by Andy See and His Swinging Jamboree. — pecosconference.org

Grant Ensures Historic Preservation at Ft. Huachuca’s Black Officers’ Club
The building was built in 1942 to provide a recreational area for the African-American Buffalo Soldiers training on the fort. “If you were officers … you could be coming here after work for a drink and some camaraderie with your colleagues, blowing off a little steam, talking about your soldiers,” Army garrison spokeswoman Tonja Linton said. “Or you could be here for a unit function.” http://bit.ly/2KMJX4e — Arizona Daily Star

Bill to Make ‘Kids in Parks’ Program Permanent
A congressional committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would give fourth-graders and supervising adults free entry into national parks. The Every Kid Outdoors Act – co-sponsored by Colorado U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez – is intended to help children learn about nature while giving them exercise. http://bit.ly/2GHc5DE — Durango Herald

Video: Spanish Colonial & Mexican Period Life in Tucson
Historical archaeologist Homer Thiel (Desert Archaeology, Inc.) shared insights on these eras in Tucson’s history at Archaeology Café (Tucson) on April 3, 2018. http://bit.ly/2KM0Wnp — Archaeology Southwest (opens at YouTube)

Internship Opportunity — New Mexico
The Field Operations Division at the New Mexico State Land Office has a 6-week full-time summer paid internship working with the State Trust Land Archaeologists starting from June 18 to July 27, 2018. Accepting applications until May 31, 2018. This internship is designed to provide both undergraduate and graduates with hands-on professional experiences that will help them develop valuable and transferable skills. Selena Romero, Human Resources Director, sromero@slo.state.nm.us, 505-827-5790; Lia Tsesmeli, Ph.D., Trust Land Archaeologist, Field Operations Division, etsesmeli@slo.state.nm.us, 505-827-5792.

Exhibition News — Canyons of the Ancients Museum CO
Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum will feature artwork by students from Southwest Open School. An exhibit opening will be May 29 at 1 p.m., and the show will run until June 12. Students created artwork inspired by local archaeological sites, documents and artifacts. The students also connected with BLM staff to learn about the importance of cultural resource management as well as Ancestral Puebloan culture including architecture, technology and art. http://bit.ly/2GDJ23T — Cortez Journal

Lecture Opportunities — Santa Fe NM
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. E. Charles Adams, Professor, School of Anthropology and Curator, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona; Author, The Origin and Development of the Pueblo Katsina Cult, who will give a lecture Coming and Going: 13,000 Years of Migration on the Southern Colorado Plateau at 6pm on May 28 at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Voices From the Past Lecture Series.

Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Rick Hendricks, New Mexico State Historian and Former Editor, Vargas Project, and Co-Author, The Witches of Abiquiu: The Governor, The Priest, The Genizaro Indians, and the Devil, who will give a lecture New Mexico’s Mexican Governors at 6pm on June 4 at the Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Voices From the Past Lecture Series.

Admission to both lectures is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt: 505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com, southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity — Tucson AZ
On June 5, at 7:45 p.m., at the Sheraton Hotel, 5151 E Grant Rd., the Arizona Geological Society will welcome Gary Huckleberry (University of Arizona) for Geoarchaeology of Ancient Water Control in the Southwest: Lessons from the Past. Managing running water resources in the North American Southwest dates back at least 3,500 years and played a key role in long-term adaptations of ancient societies. https://www.arizonageologicalsoc.org/event-2783948

Thanks to Brian Kreimendahl for his contributions to this week’s edition.

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