2024
10
Jun
Celebrating the First Anniversary of the Greater Chaco Land Withdrawal
Paul F. Reed, New Mexico State Director
Preservation Archaeologist
(June 10, 2024)—On the one-year anniversary of the administrative withdrawal of Federal lands in the 10-mile zone around Chaco Canyon to protect its cultural resources from oil & gas drilling, I reflect on this hard-won victo...
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2024
03
Apr
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...
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2024
26
Mar
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...
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2024
25
Mar
Report on Orphaned and Abandoned Oil-Gas Wells
Paul F. Reed, New Mexico Director and Preservation Archaeologist
(March 26, 2024)—Our recent report on orphaned and abandoned wells in the US highlights the grave threat they pose to irreplaceable sacred and historic sites and to cultural landscapes across the West. The Tribal engagement work I...
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2024
06
Mar
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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2022
30
Nov
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 ...
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2022
09
Aug
Unfencing Conservation (and the Future)
Dear Friends,
I was up half an hour earlier than usual Monday morning. As a result, I had to strap on my headlamp to safely reach my office in our side yard for my 20 minutes on the elliptical. As I opened the gate, my light illuminated a nascent spider web. The small spider glowed in the light, ...
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2022
04
May
Chaco and Naco
Dear Friends,
Today let’s start with two short words that rhyme and two consecutive numbers. Chaco and Naco. 10 and 11.
Chaco—actually the Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape—is threatened by oil and gas extraction. I sincerely hope that you will take two actions as soon as possible. First,...
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2022
26
Apr
Tunnel Fire Swept through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Dear Friends,
I’m in the field this morning, doing some filming in the few hours before the temperatures in the Great Bend of the Gila reach triple digits, so I have to keep this short.
In this week following Earth Day, when so much of the news is about war and climate change impacts, I am g...
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2022
29
Mar
Chaco Protection Zone Comment Period Extended
Dear Friends,
Last week Archaeology Southwest staff had a glorious 10-hour field trip along the San Pedro River. It was pretty much a perfect day.
Before I head to the Society for American Archaeology’s annual meeting in Chicago this week, I want to share with you another field day from ...
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2022
15
Mar
Respect the Great Bend of the Gila
Dear Friends,
Tucson has a magnificent Festival of Books that returned in-person on the University of Arizona mall last weekend. Archaeology Southwest had a booth, and I spent the afternoon in near-constant conversation with many people who are avidly pursuing knowledge, insight, entertainment,...
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2022
23
Feb
Nevada Rep. Titus Introduces Bill to Establish Avi Kwa Ame National Monument
Dear Friends,
At Archaeology Southwest, the “Great Resignation” is fueling the “Big Hiring.”
Since January 1 of this year, we have added six new hires. Three are replacements, one is a move to a new position, and two are brand-new hires.
As we come out of the seemingly interminable ...
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