Utah Considers Sale of State Land on Comb Ridge

Utah Considers Sale of State Land on Comb Ridge
Officials with the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) are now considering a proposal to sell a 640-acre section on the southern tip of Comb Ridge in San Juan County. This scenic spot, located 6 miles west of Bluff on State Route 163, is included in the proposed Bears Ears National Monument and the conservation area proposed under the Utah Public Lands Initiative. The historic Hole-in-the-Rock Trail passes through the property. http://bit.ly/1TRifo7 – Salt Lake Tribune

Video Presentation – Portion of Comb Ridge for Sale?
Greg Child, Friends of Cedar Mesa board member, explains what’s at stake with the potential sale of a section of the Comb Ridge near Bluff, Utah. https://vimeo.com/168265739 –  Friends of Cedar Mesa via Vimeo

Editorial: It is Time to Protect Bear’s Ears
The Bears Ears area has a rich human history, incredible natural beauty and large untrammeled landscapes that deserve protection as a national monument by President Obama. And although it may surprise many people who have only recently heard about the national monument campaign, the desire to protect Bears Ears is not new; concerted efforts to permanently protect the area have been under way for 80 years. http://bit.ly/1TO4GYq – Moab Sun News

Yet Another Paris Auction to Sell off Native Heritage
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says she’s troubled by the auctioning off of objects held sacred by Native American tribes and she’s calling on the French government to help find a path toward repatriating the items. Jewell made the statement Thursday as Paris’ EVE auction house prepares to put up for bid hundreds of religious items and art pieces from the Americas, Africa and Asia. http://bit.ly/1sG81MW– Arizona Daily Star

Mesa Verde Identified as One of Five Iconic Places Threatened by Climate Change
Another United States icon is threatened by a very different facet of climate change: drought. Mesa Verde National Park, an impeccably-preserved ancient Ancestral Pueblo home carved into the side of a Colorado cliff, faces rising temperatures and declining rainfall. That combination could cause increased wildfires that might irreversibly damage the park, according to the report. http://bit.ly/1Z6Rnkh – Smithsonian Magazine

Visiting Mesa Verde: 10 Tips
In southwest Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park was established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt to “preserve the works of man.” The “works of man” reference the 600 cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people, dating back 700 years, part of the nearly 5,000 known archaeological sites found within the park. http://usat.ly/1TQyeCR – USA Today

National Park Serves Braces for Record Levels of Visitation
As the National Park Service kicks off a centennial summer expected to draw record crowds, the agency is seriously considering caps on how many people pass through some of the country’s most iconic landscapes and historical sites each day. – http://apne.ws/1TPNEGp – Associated Press

Vote Your Park
The Grand Canyon is one of 20 national parks competing for $2 million in grants to help preserve historic sites within it. Representatives for each park get a chance to advocate for their historic sites. http://bit.ly/1Z7eVp6 – Arizona News 12

Verde Valley Archaeology Center Expects to Open Park Grounds in 2017
Someday, travelers exiting Interstate 17 and SR 260 will have even more reason to linger in Camp Verde when the Verde Valley Archaeology Center opens its new 15-acre site, possibly opening the grounds phase next year. This was just one of the many strides forward presented by VVAC Director Ken Zoll during his annual report to town council May 18. http://bit.ly/25rLO3z – Camp Verde Bugle

Arizona Archaeology Awards for 2016
The Governor’s Archaeological Advisory Commission has announced the recipients of the 29th Annual Awards in Public Archaeology that will be presented at the 2016 Historic Preservation Conference being held June 10 in Phoenix. Awards are presented to individuals, organizations, and/or programs that have significantly contributed to the protection and preservation of, and education about, Arizona’s non-renewable archaeological resources. Winners include: Walter Gosart, Northern AZ, Avocational Archaeologist; Tom Woodal, Northern AZ, Avocational Archaeologist;  Friends of the Forest, Cultural Resources Committee, Coconino National Forest; and City of Flagstaff Open Space Program. – From the Arizona Daily Sun

Travelogue Southwest
If your idea of ancient Native American structures is limited to the kinds of cliff dwellings found high up in the alcoves at Mesa Verde National Park, Wupatki’s six 900-year-old pueblos defy expectations. They rise from the open landscapes of the high desert, seemingly defenseless, but as many as 100 people lived in the largest of the pueblos, which featured 100 rooms and a ceremonial ballcourt. http://bit.ly/20Q4xm8 – Los Angeles Times

Lecture Opportunity – Cortez
Archaeologist Grant Coffey will speak on Creating Symmetry: Building Social Landscapes in the Central Mesa Verde Region, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.  The presentation, sponsored by Crow Canyon as part of the Four Corners Lecture Series, is free to the public. Crow Canyon is at 23390 Road K, Cortez. For more information, phone 970-564-4362.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Matthew Liebmann on Monday, June 20th at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Pueblo People, Franciscan Missions, and the Arrival of the ‘Refuse Wind’: The Archaeology of Native American Depopulation, Reforestation, and the Dawn of the Anthropocene.” Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the AAHS website: http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/, or contact John D. Hall at jhall@sricrm.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Employment Opportunity – Mesa, Arizona
EcoPlan Associates, Inc. is now accepting applications for the position of Cultural Resource Project Director in our Mesa, Arizona office. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of a Master’s degree in anthropology or archaeology (Ph.D preferred), prior project director, management and field experience, and a familiarity with the archaeology of the American Southwest. A detailed job description and instructions for applying can be found below; please feel free to circulate to any interested parties. http://ecoplanaz.com/careers

Tour Opportunity – Mimbres
On June 10-13 archaeologist Allen Dart leads Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s“Mimbres Ruins, Rock Art, and Museums of Southern New Mexico” tour. The tour visits Classic Mimbres and Early Mogollon village archaeological sites, spectacular petroglyph and pictograph sites, and museums with some of the finest MimbresPuebloan pottery collections in the world. Fee is $279 for the full four days ($249 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center and Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary [PGMA] members) or $75 per day to attend on individual days ($69/day for Old Pueblo and PGMA members). Participants provide their own transportation, meals, and lodging.520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Thanks to Cherie Freeman for contributing to this week’s newsletter.