The Antiquities Act Is Challenged

Trump Calls for Review of 28 National Monuments, Revocation of Bears Ears
President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday calling on the Department of the Interior (DOI) to review “all Presidential designations or expansions of designations under the Antiquities Act made since January 1, 1996.”  Why would a new president with so much on his plate care about 24 parcels of land and sea that his three immediate predecessors decided to protect permanently? The answer, not surprisingly, is politics. Opponents of such designations see them as unwanted federal interventions. And that’s why Trump has asked Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review those decisions, starting with an expanse of land in southeastern Utah surrounding a twin pair of mesas known as Bears Ears. Its designation was one of former President Barack Obama’s last acts in office. http://bit.ly/2qmJz3g – Science

Why Attack the Antiquities Act?
President Trump on Wednesday ordered the Interior Department to review the size and scope of national monuments larger than 100,000 acres created since 1996. He wants recommendations on whether any of those large tracts should be scaled back by presidential authority or by Congress. Mr. Trump, signing the order at the Interior Department, described the designations as a “massive federal land grab” and ordered the agency to review and reverse some of them. http://nyti.ms/2qn1PJK – New York Times

Archaeology Southwest Stands Behind the Antiquities Act
Archaeology Southwest denounces today’s executive order by President Trump, which requires the Department of the Interior to review national monument designations since 1996 that are greater than 100,000 acres or determined to be lacking in adequate public consultation. Although the review, if done in good faith, would almost certainly reveal broad support for our national monuments, Trump’s statement claimed abuses that he will correct. Given that context, we view this order as an unconscionable attack on our nation’s public lands and waters. It assails the fundamentally American concept of preserving culturally and naturally rich places for the benefit and enjoyment of all Americans. http://bit.ly/2qn25bJ – Archaeology Southwest

President and CEO of Outdoor Outfitter Patagonia Does Not Mince Words
Less than 24 hours after joining with our industry to celebrate the economic power of outdoor recreation, in a hypocritical move, the Trump administration took unprecedented steps that could result in the removal of protections for treasured public lands. We take this as a sign that Trump and his team prefer to cater to fossil fuel interests and state land grabs for unsustainable development, rather than preserve a vital part of our nation’s heritage for future generations by protecting federal lands owned by every citizen.  http://bit.ly/2qmZBdg – Rose Marcario via Patagonia.com

Editorial: Senator Orrin Hatch Is Not Telling the Truth on the Monument Designation Process
As has been said: “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it.” So on April 24, Sen. Orrin Hatch stood before the U.S. Senate and lied about the collaborative process that led to the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument. Hatch said, “As evidence of his disdain, President Obama issued this declaration with no open debate, no public hearing and no vote in Congress.” I personally know that’s not true. On July 16, 2016, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, along with other federal officials, visited Utah to hold a hearing about the future of the area that would become Bears Ears National Monument. The trip ended with a public hearing in the remote town of Bluff, Utah. http://bit.ly/2qn3a3a – Salt Lake Tribune

LA Times: Leave the Monuments Alone
Enter President Trump. On Wednesday, he ordered the Interior secretary, who oversees national monuments, to review two decades of designations larger than 100,000 acres (more than two dozen monuments) and, if he decides it’s merited, propose legislation or administrative steps to modify the proclamations. The move dovetails with long-running efforts by some Western politicians to transfer federal lands to the states under the unpersuasive argument that states know best how to manage land within their borders, an argument that Trump seemed to endorse in his public comments when he signed the executive order. http://lat.ms/2qn3cbw – Los Angeles Times

Federal Acts on Public Lands vs. Native Religious Rights
Davis Filfred wishes President Trump would take a page from General “Stormin’ Norman” Schwarzkopf’s playbook, in thinking about Bears Ears National Monument. When Mr. Filfred served as Marine Corps combat engineer in Operation Desert Storm, General Schwarzkopf ordered troops not to target religious, archaeological, and other sensitive sites for bombing. Filfred, a member of the Navajo Nation council representing districts in Utah, now says the Trump administration should take the same approach to Bears Ears, a 1.3 million acre swath of southern Utah that has become the latest battleground between the federal government and a burgeoning Native American movement of religion-infused environmental activism. http://bit.ly/2qmWfal – Christian Science Monitor

The President’s Actions on the Antiquities Act Are Yet Another Betrayal of Native America
I fear we are headed down an old and familiar path at Bears Ears. We promise Indian people that we will honor treaties, that we will recognize their rights to lands they have called home for millennia. We, the United States of America, make promises. Then, we break them. The Bears Ears National Monument proclamation isn’t a treaty, but the president’s words have the weight of law, granting new protections for a swath of public lands “profoundly sacred to many Native American tribes.” And now Utah’s office-holders are asking a new president to rescind the monument, to once again default on our legal agreements with Native nations. http://bit.ly/2qmV7nd – Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Majority of Utah Citizens Support Bears Ears
We strenuously oppose Sen. Orrin Hatch’s latest efforts pressing for executive action to “review” Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase National Monument. The monument protections for these large landscapes provide resiliency for the delicate species of flora and fauna in the monuments and the human communities surrounding them. The monument protections injure no one except looters, vandals and energy extractors. Last year’s State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll showed that 66 percent of Utah voters support national monument designation for Bears Ears. http://bit.ly/2qmM8SQ –  Kirsten Allen and others via Salt Lake Tribune

Sally Jewell Defends Monument Designation Process
On her journey home to Seattle from Washington, D.C., Sally Jewell spent a few weeks this spring in New Mexico, Utah and Nevada visiting some of the lands set aside as national monuments under her watch as Interior Secretary. No monument commanded more of her attention than Utah’s Bears Ears, which she had previously visited over four days last July, hearing from tribal members who supported it and local officials who opposed it. Today she stands by the 1.3-million-acre designation President Barack Obama made Dec. 28, less than a month before leaving office. http://bit.ly/2qmT9mR – Salt Lake Tribune

Local Communities Prepare to Defend Our Monuments
President Donald Trump’s executive order Wednesday to review national monuments wasn’t as broad as opponents feared, but it still could put Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients at risk. Trump asked the Interior Department to review national monuments designated since 1996 that are more than 100,000 acres. President Clinton designated the original 164,000-acre-tract of the Canyons of the Ancients near Cortez in June 2000, because of its rich archaeological value and encroaching Western Slope development. The monument has been augmented to include 176,000 acres today. http://bit.ly/2qn4Jym – Colorado Springs Gazette

Secretary Zinke Distributes $26.9 Million in Historic Preservation Grants
The National Park Service along with Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced $26.9 million in historic preservation grants to every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories, and partnering nations, in addition to $5.7 million in grants to more than 160 tribes for cultural and heritage preservation projects on their tribal lands. “Fees collected from drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf help fund important conservation tools like these grants” http://bit.ly/2qmYOJm – ABC Fox Montana

In Open Letter to Interior Secretary Zinke, Outdoor Life Questions Administration’s Intentions
I’ve not seen you lately at Moose’s Saloon back here home in Flathead County, Montana, but I know you’ve been busy lately, with your new job as Secretary of Interior and all. I’ve been reading that you and President Trump just ordered a review of 20 years’ worth of national monument designations, select portions of public lands set aside as extra special by presidents Obama, Bush II and Clinton under the Antiquities Act. So, I’ve got a question for you. Why is America looking backwards, not forwards? Why are you forcing us in Montana, and in communities across the West, to rehash tired old battles that were settled decades ago? http://bit.ly/2qmFjRp – Outdoor Life

Editorial: The Antiquities Act Protects Our Heritage and Supports Opportunities for Hunting and Fishing
As explained by Backcountry Hunters & Anglers president and CEO Land Tawney: “National monument designations offer a means to conserve large landscapes important to fish and wildlife and valued by sportsmen. Numerous monuments are open to hunting and fishing, with recent designations — such as Berryessa-Snow Mountain in California and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in New Mexico — specifying that sportsmen can continue to pursue our passions within their boundaries.” http://bit.ly/2qn4Jym – Greely Tribune

Audio Link – Antiquity Act Expert Speaks upon the Threats to Our National Heritage
A 1906 law has been getting a lot of attention this wee k — the Antiquities Act, and more specifically, the provision that allows the president to set aside national monuments. President Trump this week ordered Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review national monuments bigger than 100,000 acres, which were created since 1996. We wanted to get a sense of what the Antiquities Act says, and how it came to be the law, so we called Frank McManamon. He’s the executive director of the Center for Digital Antiquity at ASU, which runs a digital repository for archaeological data. He also co-edited a book on the Antiquities Act. http://bit.ly/2oNJLLR – KJZZ Radio

Ditch the Conspiracy Theory: Public Lands Are Constitutional
America’s common ground—the hundreds of millions of acres of public lands owned and managed by the national government—has long occupied an important place in our national culture. Yet in some quarters a myth persists that the U.S. Constitution requires that these lands either be turned over to the states or private interests. Arguments for such a “land grab” were recently assembled by a team of lawyers hired by Utah’s state government. The team’s report misreads history, as well as the dictionary, and ignores or distinguishes on dubious grounds many authoritative Supreme Court decisions to the contrary. http://bit.ly/2qn2Tx7 – Grand Canyon Trust

Reminder – Archaeology Café (Tucson): The Growth and Promise of Historical Archaeology in Academia and CRM
For our May 2 café, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Teresita Majewski (Vice President, Statistical research, Inc.) for an evening of conversation about historical archaeology and cultural resource management. We meet on the patio of Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave., Tucson. Enter through the restaurant. Discussion begins after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive before 5:30 p.m., as seating is open and unreserved, but limited.

Debates Flourish after Claim of Hominids in North America 130,000 Years Ago
An article in the prestigious magazine Nature claims to have uncovered evidence that proves that there were humans in North America as long as 130,000 years ago. Given that conventional scientific wisdom maintains that Homo sapiens colonized the Americas roughly 15,000 years ago, around the end of the Pleistocene era, this evidence promises to radically reshape the history of the Americas. http://thebea.st/2qmTZ2T – Daily Beast

Employment Opportunity – SE Utah
Friends of Cedar Mesa in southeast Utah is hiring a Statewide Site Steward Coordinator to develop a modernized and standardized statewide site steward program for cultural sites on BLM-managed lands in Utah. The position is three-quarter to full-time depending on the candidate. Full details at: https://www.friendsofcedarmesa.org/site-steward-coordinator/

Lecture Opportunity – Cave Creek
Desert Foothills Chapter – AAS presents on May 10th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at no charge, Preservation archaeologist Doug Gann.  While three-dimensional computer graphics have been in use illustrating ancient places of the past for nearly 30 years now, a pair of recent technological innovations developed over the past five years are revolutionizing the practice of archaeology and the ways archaeologists share their findings with the general public.  The first innovation is desktop or “soft” photogrammetry enabling archaeologists to create detailed 3D models of landscapes, individual village spaces, and even specific artifacts of the past from linked sets of digital photographs.  The second innovation concerns the development of head-mounted virtual reality displays such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.  When photogrammetric models are explored in 3D virtual reality, a startling sense of physical presence in ancient places results.  The meeting is held in the community building (Maitland Hall) at The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (near the Dairy Queen). http://bit.ly/2imIwP4 -Desert Foothills Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society.

Lecture Opportunity – Flagstaff
The Northern Arizona Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society is pleased to present Dr. Laurie Webster, Erin Gearty, and Chuck LaRue who will speak at the monthly meeting Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at The Peaks Alpine Room, 3150 N. Winding Brook Road, Flagstaff. The title of the presentation is “Ancient Textiles, Baskets, Wood, and Hides from Southeastern Utah: Latest Findings from the Cedar Mesa Perishables Project.” In this presentation, the speakers will describe their recent work with these 800- to 2000-year-old artifacts and discuss some of the insights they have gained about the daily lives of the ancient people of southeastern Utah. For more information, please contact Kathleen Walters: 928-853-4597 or flagcelt@aol.com.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
The Santa Fe Archaeological Society, Archaeological Society of America, is pleased to present Dr. Justin Walsh of Chapman University on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 7:30 pm at the Pecos Trail Cafe, 2239 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM.  His subject is “To Boldly Go Where No Archaeologist Has Gone Before”:  An Archaeological Investigation of a Human Habitation Site in Space.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe 
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Laurie Webster and Chuck LaRue who will give a lecture Ancient Woodworking, Animal Use and Hunting Practices in Southeast Utah: Cedar Mesa Perishables Project on May 8 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories II Lecture Series held to honor and acknowledge The Archaeological Conservancy which featured Laurie and Chuck in ‘Re-Excavating Perishable Artifacts, the Spring 2017 cover story in American Archaeology magazine. Laurie is an Independent Scholar of Southwestsrn Textiles and Perishable Material Culture and Co-Editor of Beyond Cloth and Cordage: Archaeological Textile Research in the Americas and Author, Collecting the Weaver’s Art: The William Claflin Collection of Southwestern Textiles; Charles is a Wildlife Biologist and Naturalist of the Colorado Plateau. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt: tel. 505 466-2775; email: southwesetseminar@aol.com; website: southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Taos
The Taos Archaeological Society is pleased to present Matt Barbour on Wednesday May 10, 2017 at 7 pm.  Matt Barbour, Research Associate will lecture on “Religion and Rebellion in 17th Century New Mexico.” This lecture will discuss the arrival of the Franciscan missionaries and the impact Catholicism had on Pueblo culture The event will take place at Kit Carson Electric Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Road, Taos. For further information, contact Rebecca Quintana at 575-770-7460.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present John G. Douglass on Monday, May 15th at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Creating Community in Colonial Alta California.” 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.

Lecture/Video Opportunity – Winslow AZ
The Homolovi Chapter of AAS (Arizona Archaeological Society) is pleased to present Jerry Snow on Wednesday, 10 May, at 7 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (Historic Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post), 523 W. Second St, Winslow, AZ, with a presentation on three calendar sites, Wukoki and Crack-in-Rock Pueblos and Chazez Pass, the first two using constructed architecture and the third a petroglyph panel for marking solar and lunar cycles. You can also join us for dinner at 5 p.m. at the Historic La Posada Turquoise Room (on your own tab).