Preservation Archaeology Today

Preservation Archaeology Today (PAT) is a free, weekly e-mail news digest. In addition to sharing regional archaeology news, events, opportunities, and publications, PAT connects readers with news and commentary on U.S. public lands policy, global heritage protection and preservation, and the peopling of the North and South American continents. Review our submission guidelines here.

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Banner image: Paul Vanderveen

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Bruce Huckell, Beloved Southwestern Archaeologist, Passes

Dear Friends, Earlier this week, Skylar Begay (Director of Tribal Collaboration) and I attended the Conservation Lands Foundation’s biennial Friends Summit in Salt Lake City. Representatives of more than 80 conservation-minded nonprofits from across the American West attended, and it was truly ...

Why Expansion of San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Matters

Hi Everyone! Steve is in DC this week for a whirlwind tour of allies, congressional staffers, and agency leads. He texted me this morning: “I had 9 formal meetings in 54 hours in DC and walked 30 miles back and forth across town while doing so. Between the architecture and symbolism, the great ...

Great News for the Lands Between!

Dear Friends, On Saturday, May 4, I had the good fortune to attend Ndee Ła Ade, the 23rd Gathering of the People Celebration at Fort Apache Historic Park on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in east-central Arizona. It’s an annual event with song and dance competitions, food, arts and craf...

Two National Monuments Expanded

Dear Friends, On May 1, 2024, the entire Archaeology Southwest staff gathered in Tucson to begin an Appreciative Inquiry process that will flow into a strategic planning exercise this fall. What is Appreciative Inquiry, you ask? According to experts Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom, “A...

Archaeologist Flint Dibble Debates Graham Hancock on Major Podcast

Dear Friends, Archaeology Southwest has for many years run a field school to train the next generation of archaeologists. This year’s session, directed by Preservation Archaeologist Dr. Karen Schollmeyer and WNMU Museum Director Dr. Danielle Romero, will focus on teaching students how to catalo...

Breaking News: Interior Finalizes Public Lands Rule

Dear Friends, It’s been another busy week. After a lovely weekend in Salt Lake City for my son’s rugby tournament, on Sunday I flew to Washington D.C. for the “Monumental Call to Action” lobbying effort (see second story below). On Wednesday, I flew to New Orleans, Louisiana, where 4,500 ...

Interactive Digital Experience for an Important Place in the Dinétah

Dear Friends, My last few missives have been downers, focusing as they have on the continuing desecration of the San Pedro Valley by construction of the SunZia powerline. That work proceeds at a rapid pace; last week I counted at least 45 tower pads from the air. During a field trip on Monday of ...

Bears Ears Partnership Debuts Short Documentary

Dear Friends, Paul Reed, Preservation Archaeologist and Director of our New Mexico State Program, recently published a stunning report on the problem of orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells and energy infrastructure surrounding Bears Ears National Monument in Utah and Chaco Canyon National Hi...

ASU Works with Tribal Reps to Fulfill NAGPRA Obligations

Dear Friends, As I mentioned in a previous note, I always take window seats while flying so I can watch the landscape below as we cruise along. On Thursday, March 21, I had a window seat from Tucson to Denver. I almost wish I hadn’t; what I saw made me sick to my stomach. As you can see from...

Recent Investigations at the Castle Rock Community

Dear Friends, The vernal equinox occurred at 8:06 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. What does that mean for most of us? Sadly, not much. If we were to take time from our busy schedules to have lunch outside, we might notice that the sun will be high at noon, and that the...

Innovative Draft Management Plan for Bears Ears

Dear Friends, By the time this newsletter reaches your inbox, an extraordinary day for Archaeology Southwest will be in full swing. From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., many of our local staff will be in a visitors’ gallery at the US federal courthouse here in Tucson. We will watch as attorneys argue a cas...

Tribal Leaders: Clean Energy Projects Aren’t Always Clean

Dear Friends, On Monday, March 4, the Washington Post published “‘On stolen land’: Tribes fight clean-energy projects backed by Biden,” an article by climate and environment reporter Maxine Joselow. The first half of the piece focuses on our beloved San Pedro Valley and the effort by s...

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