One Million Acres Protected

Breaking News: President Signs Significant Package of Public Lands Legislation—A Million Acres Protected
Statement: “National Conservation Lands are the big winners with this legislation, and when public lands win, we all win. These treasured places provide clean air and water, critical wildlife habitat and support rural economies around the West — in addition to driving the country’s $887 billion outdoor recreation economy. The efforts of grassroots groups across the West — powered by volunteers who want to protect the quality of life in their own communities — have resulted in one of the most significant conservation laws to be enacted in decades.” http://bit.ly/2TB1G7K – Conservation Lands Foundation

Statement: “Passage of this legislative package speaks to the power of historic preservation to transcend party lines and unite lawmakers through a shared appreciation for our country’s rich heritage and the places that illuminate our diverse and complicated histories. We commend the many members of Congress who played key roles in advancing the individual legislation to this point and thank the many citizens and partner groups we worked with for years, in some cases, to help advocate for this outcome.” http://bit.ly/2TA8q5W – National Trust for Historic Preservation

Background reporting: President Trump is expected to sign a sweeping bipartisan lands bill into law this week, with broad implications for development of wilderness areas, state conservation funding and hunting and fishing on public lands. Judy Woodruff sits down with Lisa Desjardins to discuss the details of the landmark legislation, including its unusually high level of support in both chambers of Congress. https://to.pbs.org/2Txl6ud – PBS News Hour (transcript and audio)

Today, March 13, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Addresses House Natural Resources Committee
Commentary: Our connections to Bears Ears are more to us than just a memory, and certainly more than can be captured in a one-hour meeting. It is part of our sacred cultural covenant to protect the ancient villages, sacred springs, migration routes, pilgrimage trails, artifacts, petroglyphs and the physical remains of our buried ancestors that compose a connected cultural landscape at Bears Ears. These are our traditional cultural properties, and it is our duty to preserve them not just for us, but for the whole world. But it is more than just our history we are seeking to protect; it is our future, too. http://bit.ly/2TBuPjl – Salt Lake Tribune

Six New National Heritage Areas
Bills for new heritage areas were introduced year after year, but nothing came of them. That is until this year when, with surprising speed and overwhelming majorities, the Senate and House passed a large packet of public land measures – the Natural Resources Management Act. What has been less discussed in the over 600 pages of legislation is the designation of six new National Heritage Areas. Many of these areas have been waiting in the wings for over a decade. Many have been acting like heritage areas and now will receive the seal of approval. What is also of significance is that four of the six new areas are from the west. http://bit.ly/2TAOfVw – Living Landscape Observer

Society for American Archaeology Pilots Public Registration Fee Program for Annual Meeting
The Society for American Archaeology is launching a pilot project for reduced public registration fees for this year’s SAA annual meeting in Albuquerque. In an effort to increase public attendance, a special rate of $25 will be available to non-archaeologists interested in attending. Only individuals who are not trained as archaeologists and/or not working as archaeologists are eligible for the public registration rate. For more information and to be considered for this special rate, please complete this form by March 22: http://bit.ly/2TweZ9A. Questions? Email membership@saa.org.

Archaeology Café (Tucson): Mimbres Lives and Landscapes of Southwestern New Mexico
Knowledge seekers of every kind are welcome at Archaeology Café at The Loft Cinema for a series of programs exploring the deep and diverse history of the Southwest. Join us on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, as Dr. Margaret Nelson introduces Tucsonans to “Mimbres Lives and Landscapes of Southwestern New Mexico.” Over a thousand years ago, the people of the Mimbres Region in southwestern New Mexico were gathering in large villages and crafting the intricately painted distinctive black-and-white bowls we easily recognize today. But what do we know about these people? Dr. Nelson will share insights into the lives of these people, changes in their leadership and social structure over the years, and what their dramatic pottery designs might still tell us today. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd, Tucson. 6:00 p.m. and streamed via Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/ArchaeologySouthwest/.

Re-Creating Artifacts Is a Key to Understanding Life in the Past
Have you ever heard of an archaeologist who burns, hammers or smashes artifacts? That’s what Metin Eren does, except it’s with replicas. Eren is a rising star in the field of experimental archaeology. In his lab at Kent State University, he tests recreations of early stone tools, trying to understand their purpose and design—and what those meant for human development. https://to.pbs.org/2TyvSk6 – PBS News Hour (transcript and audio)

Oral History Interview with Archaeologist Lynne Sebastian
Lynne Sebastian is a Historic Preservation Advisor at the SRI Foundation in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.  She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in 1988.  Although she has maintained a career-long research interest in the precontact puebloan archaeology of the American Southwest, the majority of her professional contributions have focused on the field of historic preservation and the protection and conservation of our country’s prehistoric and historic heritage.  She is a past Secretary and past President of the Society for American Archaeology and also a past President of the Register of Professional Archaeologists. https://youtu.be/bh4y9dkYtyI – Society for American Archaeology, History of Archaeology Interest Group (opens at YouTube)

Program Facilitates Wildlife Donations to Tribes
Whether it’s the full hide of a fallen bear, an empty tortoise shell, antlers shed onto the forest floor or a found eagle feather, wildlife binds Arizona’s Native American tribes to the world around them. In recognition of that rich cultural history, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) formalized a repository program that allows wildlife managers and staff to collect, inventory and properly store items found in the field that can be donated to and used by the state’s tribes. “Wildlife plays a critical role in Native American culture and the Arizona Game and Fish Department is pleased to honor these multi-generational traditions by forming the Non-Bird Wildlife Repository,” said Jim deVos, AZGFD assistant director for wildlife management. “This program allows the department to honor our state’s Native American traditions and further the appreciation for Arizona’s wildlife.” http://bit.ly/2TxfRuI – Payson Roundup

Workshop Opportunity, Tucson AZ
How Did People Make and Use Atlatls? March 16, 2019, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with Allen Denoyer at Archaeology Southwest’s headquarters, 300 N. Ash Alley, Tucson. $50 fee. In this class, you will make a replica atlatl and an expedient dart. Hunters in the distant past used the atlatl to propel the dart and shaft. Patterned after archaeological examples known from the Southwest, our atlatls will be made of oak. Our darts will be very simple, so that participants have a dart to shoot when they leave the class. For the most part, participants will use stone tools, though we may employ modern hand tools in the interest of timeliness. Note that this class will require lots of hands-on carving work, making it hard on the hands. Please bring work gloves. This class will run for four hours or more, depending on carving time. http://bit.ly/2TwB5bS – Archaeology Southwest

Workshop Opportunity, San Marcos TX
Lithics Academy: Stone Tools. San Marcos TX at the Meadows Center, Texas State Univ. April 27–28, 2019. Two days filled with information and activities. Manufacture of tools and archeological analysis will be demonstrated. Documenting collections will also be discussed. More details on Clovis caches, point types, and experimental archeology. Lunches and snacks are provided; lithics manual provided in advance. CPE credits available. Registration deadline April 13. Program of the Texas Archeological Society. http://www.txarch.org.

Lecture Opportunities, Santa Fe NM
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Klint Burgio-Ericson, Postdoctoral Fellow, Museum Studies & Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico; Artist, Art Historian, and Educator; Author, Living in the Purisima Concepcion: Architectural Form, Cultural Negotiation, and Everyday Practice in a 17th C. New Mexico Mission Among the Zuni Indians (Dissertation, University of North Carolina), who will give a lecture “Situating the Hendricks-Hodge Archaeological Expedition to Hawikuh Pueblo, 1915–1923” on March 18 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories II Lecture Series.

Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Sean Gregory Dolan, Archaeologist, Environmental Compliance and Protection, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Co-Author, The Source Provenance of an Obsidian Eden Point From New Mexico; Black Rocks in the Borderlands: Obsidian Procurement in the North American Southwest and Mexican Northwest (Dissertation, University of Oklahoma), who will present a lecture “Ancient Turkey Domestication, Iconography and Husbandry in the Mimbres Valley” on April 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories II Lecture Series.

The series is held annually to honor and acknowledge the work of The Archaeological Conservancy. Admission to either lecture is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at tel: 505 366-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com; web: southwestseminars.org

Please submit news, book announcements, and events at this link for consideration: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org