Interior Secretary Zinke’s Review of National Monuments Now Public

Interior Secretary Zinke’s Review of National Monuments Now Public
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended that President Trump modify 10 national monuments created by his immediate predecessors, including shrinking the boundaries of at least four western sites, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Washington Post. The memorandum, which the White House has refused to release since Zinke submitted it late last month, does not specify exact reductions for the four protected areas Zinke would have Trump narrow — Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, Nevada’s Gold Butte, and Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou — or the two marine national monuments — the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll — for which he raised the same prospect. http://wapo.st/2xywLMF – Associated Press via the Washington Post

Zinke’s Memorandum
This report, submitted to the White House on Aug. 24, outlines how Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposes changing the designations of 10 national monuments established by President Trump’s three predecessors. http://bit.ly/2xyY5uu – PDF via DocumentCloud

Outside Magazine: Zinke’s Report Contains Lies
Over the weekend, the Associated Press and The Washington Post published the secret memo Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke sent to President Trump detailing the findings of his four-month review of national monument designations. Not intended for public eyes, the report details 10 monuments Zinke thinks should be altered. That’s important information, but what strikes me as most interesting is the length Zinke goes to justify such actions—often resorting to downright lies. http://bit.ly/2xyWCnN – Outside Online

Editorial: Zinke Monument Review Is a Betrayal of Roosevelt’s Legacy
As Americans, we are all owners of the largest collection of public real estate on the planet. From the California coastline to its remaining redwood groves, from the Mojave Desert to Utah’s red rock canyons and Nevada’s vast basin and range country – and, of course, the wondrous natural riches we enjoy here in the Rocky Mountains – significant portions of these landscapes belong to all of us. Nationwide, there are 640 million acres of public lands that are your American birthright no matter who you are. Tragically, this national treasure is under attack, and that should concern us all. http://bit.ly/2wQnpsa – Brian Sybert and David Petersen via the Durango Herald

Uncertainty over the Future of Bears Ears Complicates Development of the National Monument
Nine months after President Barack Obama enshrined the 1.3 million acres encircling Utah’s Bears Ears Buttes as a protected landscape, federal agencies have done little to manage the lands as outlined in the monument proclamation. The Bureau of Land Management and Manti-La Sal National Forest have moved to protect high-visibility archaeological sites, but planning efforts remain stuck in limbo while uncertainty surrounding the monument’s future persists. http://bit.ly/2xyAF8k – Salt Lake Tribune

Oil and Gas Industries Bearing Down on National Parks and Monuments
You know that a proposed oil and gas lease is really, truly an awful idea when even Governor Gary Herbert, Utah’s normally pro–fossil fuel development leader, is against it. This summer, Herbert wrote to federal officials, asking them to defer planned oil and gas lease sales near Dinosaur National Monument and Zion National Park. While the Bureau of Land Management did eventually decide to delay two planned lease sales near Dinosaur National Monument and defer the auctions on another three parcels near the entrance to Zion, conservation groups and some former National Park Service officials remain on high alert. They warn that the Trump administration’s rush toward “energy dominance” and its promise to increase oil, gas, and coal extraction on federal lands threatens dozens of protected sites across the country. http://bit.ly/2xza7nA – Sierra Club

Editorial: Bears Ears Recommendations Silence Native Voices
When President Obama designated Bears Ears in Southeastern Utah a national monument last year, it represented a major breakthrough for Native American tribes. A movement and vision conceived by a grass-roots group of Native Americans started the collection of traditional and scientific knowledge of the region validating the importance and relationship of all to the land. The designation not only promised to protect the site’s breathtaking beauty and precious ecosystem, it also reassured us that the enormous historical and spiritual connection my tribe and others have to this land would be preserved for all time. And, importantly, it was the culmination of a rare process giving Native Americans a true seat at the decision-making table. http://bit.ly/2wPTalh – Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk via the Durango Herald

Chaco Scholars Call for Greater Regional Protections
Archaeologists, professors and other researchers on Friday called for more protections of an expansive area surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park, saying increased oil and gas development has the potential to destroy parts of the landscape that could provide a better understanding of the ancient civilization that once inhabited the region. In their report , the scientists point to new technology that has uncovered previously indiscernible sections of roads that connect sites throughout northwestern New Mexico to the heart of Chaco park. They say they have only begun using new satellite and laser-imaging tools to document the area and that more discoveries are possible. http://wapo.st/2wPJW8C – Associated Press via the Washington Post

Chaco Scholars’ Report: Recent Efforts to Research, Preserve, and Protect the Greater Chaco Landscape
Archaeology Southwest has just released a free public report on recent efforts to protect the Greater Chaco Landscape. Preservation Archaeologist Paul Reed edited the report, which features brief essays by Paul; Anna Sofaer, Robert Weiner, and Richard Friedman; G. B. Cornucopia; Carolyn Heitman and Sean Field; and Ruth Van Dyke. “This group is united by its fundamental interest in understanding the ancient Chacoan world by studying its landscapes and by a very high level of concern over the threat of recent oil-gas development to this fragile landscape. This threat is heightened by several recent executive and secretarial orders from the current administration that aim to prioritize energy development on public lands, which could further fragment and degrade the Greater Chaco Landscape,” says Reed. http://bit.ly/2xyPibZ – PDF via Archaeology Southwest

Video: Starry Nights over Chaco Culture National Historic Park
Video presentation created at the first International Dark Skies Park designated in the United States. https://vimeo.com/232407863

Podcast: Heritage Voices: Indigenous Panel on Working with Museums
We are excited to share our first panel episode with you. In addition to being a panel episode, this episode is also a crossover episode with the Go Dig a Hole podcast. Today’s panel features indigenous archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, and even a THPO from the Southwest, California, Pacific Northwest, and Plains tribes talking about their experiences working with museums. They talk about the major challenges they face with museums, including representation, repatriation, and past preservation techniques, as well as positive museum experiences and the directions they would like to see museums go in the future. Finally they give guidance on how museums and tribes can better work together in the future. http://bit.ly/2xyWgxG – Archaeology Podcast Network

Elizabeth Perry Named New President & CEO of Crow Canyon
The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is pleased to announce that Elizabeth (Liz) Perry, Ph.D., has been hired to become the organization’s new President and CEO, effective on January 1, 2018, replacing Deborah Gangloff, Ph.D., who is set to retire on October 31 after eight successful years at the helm of the organization. Liz, who began her association with Crow Canyon as intern while completing her undergraduate degree from Arizona State University in 1995, received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Arizona in 2004.

Low-Cost Thermal Imaging Techniques in Archaeological Research
A Dartmouth-led study has demonstrated how the latest aerial thermal imagery is transforming archaeology due to advancements in technology. Today’s thermal cameras, commercial drones and photogrammetric software has introduced a new realm of possibilities for collecting site data. The findings, published in Advances in Archaeological Practice, serve as a manual on how to use aerial thermography, as the co-authors hope to inspire other researchers to apply this methodology in their work. http://bit.ly/2xyN3p3 – Phys.Org

Aerial Photogrammetry Is Revolutionizing Preservation Archaeology Practice
On the morning of August 21—the day of the solar eclipse—five archaeologists and I piled into two SUVs and drove an hour northwest of Tucson, into the thick of the Sonoran Desert. Turning off-road, we reached a yellow expanse inside Ironwood Forest National Monument through a series of latched gates. We brought eclipse glasses, but the quarter-sliver of the sun was just a sideshow. Doug Gann, the archaeologist leading the trip, had brought us to the location of an ancient village—and he was going to fly a GoPro mounted on a drone over it. http://bit.ly/2xyjB2d – Wired

Private Donation Allowed to Provide Public Access to Yucca House National Monument
A long-standing access issue at Yucca House National Monument is one step closer to being resolved. On Monday, Montezuma County commissioners agreed to support a key land donation to the monument so the public access point could be relocated off a ranchers’ land. “It was a principled decision. We’re happy about it,” said Cliff Spencer, superintendent of Mesa Verde National Park, which manages Yucca House. http://bit.ly/2wQmIiw – Cortez Journal

Lowry Pueblo National Monument at 50 – A Celebration
The anniversary celebration on Saturday, Oct. 7, begins at 10 a.m. at the BLM Anasazi Heritage Center (27501 Hwy. 184, Dolores, CO 81323). Vince MacMillan, BLM Archaeologist, will share information on a variety of work that has been completed at Lowry Pueblo, including lidar imaging, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record documentation and visual landscape documentation. Activities for kids, with accompanying parent. Free shuttles to Lowry. Tours of Lowry and more kids activities available in the afternoon. Contact SCCA atswcocanyons@gmail.com or 970-560-1643 to reserve shuttle space.

El Paso Archaeology Museum Celebrates 40 Years of Sharing the Past
The El Paso Museum of Archaeology has been working, since 1976, to tell the story of our area. Dioramas, pottery, as well as classes, talks, and hands on events are used to tell that story. When I was younger, and had just received my driver’s license, the Museum of Archaeology was one of my favorite places to go. I would spend part of my day just walking through the displays, then the afternoon hiking in the surrounding mountains, wondering what it was like to live one-hundred, one-thousand, or even eons ago. Those trips were the basis for quite a few of my poems and stories. http://bit.ly/2xyO9Bd – El Paso Herald Post

Updating the Archaeology Cafés in Tucson and Phoenix
We’re excited to announce the 2017–2018 Archaeology Café series, Exploring Phoenix and Tucson Underground. Archaeology Café is an informal forum where adults can learn more about the Southwest’s deep history and speak directly to experts. At Archaeology Café, we break down the static, jargon-laden dynamic of traditional lectures, and have an expert share some ideas with the group in ways that get discussion going. (Food and drink make things a little livelier, too.) We’ve made some changes. In response to feedback from our audience, Archaeology Café venues are new in each city. In Tucson, the Cafes will take place at The Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd.) In Phoenix, Changing Hands Bookstore (300 W. Camelback Road) is the new gathering place. These new venues will allow Café speakers to include Powerpoint and video in their presentations. Given how visual the field of archaeology is, we think this change will only make the information shared at the Cafes even more accessible. We’re still banning jargon, though, never fear! http://bit.ly/2xyxjSY – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity – Cortez
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society is pleased to present Dr. Michelle Hegmon on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sunflower Theater, 8 E. Main St., Cortez, CO to discuss The Archaeology of the Human Experience. Dr. Hegmon’s new initiative, Archaeology of the Human Experience (AHE), is concerned with understanding what it was actually like to live in the past that archaeologists study. In this lecture, she will explain the origins and goals of AHE and will present a number of examples of AHE research. Contact Kari Schleher at 505-269-4475 with questions.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Lindsay Martel Montgomery (Muskogee), Assistant Professor, School of Anthropology and American Indian Studies, University of Arizona and Author “Nomadic Economics: The Logic of Comanche New Mexico” in Pueblo Economics: Alternative Pathways to Socio-Economic Development (under review); “When the Mountain People Came to Taos: Ute Archaeology in the Northern Rio Grande,” in Spirit Lands of the Eagle and Bear: Numic Archaeology & Ethnohistory in the American West. Lindsay will give a lecture We Take Our Place With Us: Ute and Comanche Archaeology in New Mexico on October 2 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Native Culture Matters Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at tel.505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com; http://southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Sedona
The next monthly meeting of the Verde Valley Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society, will be held on Thursday, Sept. 28, in the Community Room at the Sedona Public Library, 3250 White Bear Road, Sedona, at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Jaime J. Awe will present: Let’s Talk of Graves, Eccentrics and Epitaphs: The Socio-Political Implications of Recent Discoveries at Xunantunich, Belize. http://bit.ly/2xyqYXs – Verde News

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Robert Vint on Monday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Medical Center’s DuVal Auditorium (1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson 85724), who will discuss The Myth of Tucson. 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 john.hall@terracon.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.