Tucson, Ariz. (September 28, 2020)—On Friday, September 25, Archaeology Southwest submitted formal comments on the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) put forth by the Farmington Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Gallup Region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The RMPA proposes management alternatives for BLM and BIA lands in the Greater Chaco Landscape. The comments were prepared by Preservation Archaeologist and Chaco Scholar Paul F. Reed, who has led Archaeology Southwest’s work through the BLM and BIA planning process since its inception in 2014. Appended to Reed’s comments were two short reports on recent ethnographic work and archaeological survey in the region.
The comments can be read here (opens as a PDF).
Additionally, Archaeology Southwest jointly submitted formal comments with a coalition of conservation partners. Those comments can be read here (opens as a PDF).
The coalition put out a joint press release on Friday, September 25. In it, Paul Reed stated, “We have provided comprehensive comments to the Agencies on the shortcomings of their RMPA and EIS documents. But, we do so under protest. It is appalling that this supposedly public process has continued with the ongoing pandemic, and the resulting inability of impacted Tribes and Pueblos to meaningfully participate.”
About Archaeology Southwest
Archaeology Southwest is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Tucson, Arizona, that explores and protects the places of our past across the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest. For three decades, Archaeology Southwest has fostered meaningful connections to the past and respectfully safeguarded its irreplaceable resources. Learn more at archaeologysouthwest.org.
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