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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Infrastructure Push Brings Archaeologists to the Fore

Dear Friends, I often mention birds in these notes. I find birds compelling. They are remarkably diverse. Often stunningly beautiful. Many species are visible in the daytime. And they are connected to the land. I’ve lived in my current home for 40 years. Only in the past two years have Bl...

Congressional Research Service Releases Report on Antiquities Act

Dear Friends, I greatly enjoyed having a full week off as 2022 wrapped up. It was a quiet week of few tasks. Bordering on lazy. It felt good, and it was restorative. I hope that you all had some peace and quiet, too. I did reflect a bit while I was relaxing, and I thought about this season�...

Record Funding Levels for US Conservation Projects

Dear Friends, As we've been growing into our Preservation Archaeology mission and practice over the years, advocacy has grown in importance at Archaeology Southwest. Our current work to promote a Great Bend of the Gila National Conservation Area (NCA) has consumed much of my time over the past...

The Case for an African American Repatriation Act

Dear Friends, When your goal is to preserve special places, good ideas are rarely enough. They are the starting point for beginning the unceasing hard work required to implement them. Persistence pays off…but sometimes it takes a very long time. Last week, we congratulated the...

U.S. Senate Passes the STOP Act

Dear Friends, My message today is simple: Thank you. Last week, I highlighted the GoFundMe campaign to support Hell’s Backbone Grill and Farm in Boulder, Utah. I described it as an essential element (ingredient?) of the ecosystem of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The campaig...

Breaking: Biden to Declare Avi Kwa Ame National Monument

Dear Friends, I’ll get to a story about a gentle Buddhist woman and her “fly pistol” in a bit, but first I need to tell you about intervening in public lands court cases. Last week, we highlighted that the Tribes of the Bears Ears Coalition filed to intervene in the two lawsuits brought ...

Report: Administration Should Create or Expand 16 National Monuments and Marine Sanctuaries

Dear Friends, I’m picking up on a theme in today’s news stories—continuing coverage. I’m still thinking about Earth’s 8 billion human residents. Last week, I shared my relief that current data showed that the rate of growth of global population had declined to less than 1 percent fro...

Where Do You Fit in among the 8 Billion?

Dear Friends, Here’s a big piece of news. As of this moment—or perhaps yesterday—there are 8 billion people living on our planet. I have a long-term interest in population growth, but my focus on it today actually derives from the location of the washing machine and dryer in my home. ...

Interior Announces Lifetime Passes for Veterans and Gold Star Families

Dear Friends, We have a climate crisis. The crisis is not theoretical. It is increasingly experiential. In the states of Washington and Alaska, five Indigenous communities received grant awards of $2.1 to $3 million to initiate relocation of their communities—to pioneer a climate adaptati...

Experts Reimagine Bedrock Conservation Laws

Dear Friends, Several times over the course of the pandemic, I’ve felt that the pace of in-person meetings has suddenly quickened—and slowed—and then accelerated again. And for sure, for me, the past few days have been a marathon! Last Friday, I attended an in-person meeting of the Four ...

Lake Powell’s Lowering Reveals More Cultural Sites

Dear Friends, Anyone know what a darning needle is? How about a darning egg? Given that I’m supposed to be writing about Preservation Archaeology, I’ll start by making the point that both are items of material culture. Which is the stuff archaeologists study. For me, they are the items ...

Interior Proposes to Revamp NAGPRA

Dear Friends, Pursuing Preservation Archaeology often leads me to interesting new topics and places, such as regenerative agriculture. That interest got a big boost over a month ago, courtesy of Dax Hansen, owner of Oatman Flats Ranch on the lower Gila River. He held a meeting in Phoenix to sh...

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