Tucson, Ariz. (October 24, 2019)—Today, a bipartisan group of Arizona lawmakers led by Representative Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) introduced the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Boundary Modification Act. This legislation would create a federal land exchange to expand Casa Grande Ruins National Monument by transferring administrative jurisdiction of 11.21 acres of federal land to the National Park Service and 3.5 acres of park service land to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the San Carlos Irrigation Project.
Archaeology Southwest has long been a proponent of the boundary expansion. President and CEO Bill Doelle made the following statement:
“In the 1300s, skilled and ingenious builders erected a four-story adobe structure that still stands at the center of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Today, their descendants reside nearby, in communities that are living links to past, present, and place.
“In the Hohokam era, the village now protected by the National Park Service was one of several in a larger farming community that extended along more than 20 miles of irrigation canal. The national monument’s expansion will help convey a landscape-scale view of how villages cooperated to maintain the canal systems that enabled them to thrive.
“The proposed legislation is a fitting act of respect for the nation’s first archaeological preserve, which was established at Casa Grande in 1892. It’s also an appropriate bipartisan congressional action on a matter that has strong tribal and local community support.”
What can you do to help right now?
Contact the members of your congressional delegation to let them know your support for the boundary expansion. We especially urge Arizona residents to thank their congressional representatives for putting forward the legislation.
O’Halleran’s legislation, H.R. 4840 is cosponsored by Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Paul Gosar (AZ-04), David Schweikert (AZ-06), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Debbie Lesko (AZ-08), and Greg Stanton (AZ-09).
Senator Martha McSally introduced companion bill S. 3119 that is cosponsored by Senator Kyrsten Sinema.
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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.