Why Protect a 10-Mile Zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park?

Commentary: Why Protect a 10-Mile Zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park?
Recently, there has been some debate about the value of protecting a 10-mile zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park (henceforth Chaco or Chaco Park) and two of its outlying communities. Some have suggested that a smaller zone of protection, perhaps 5 miles in radius, would provide sufficient protection for the ancient Chacoan-Puebloan communities that lie outside the Park’s boundary. This idea is mistaken. http://bit.ly/38OvEJv – Paul F. Reed at Preservation Archaeology blog (Archaeology Southwest)

White Sands National Park Establishment Act Passes
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) hailed the final passage of legislation they introduced to designate White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico. The provision was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which passed the Senate by a vote of 86 to 8 today and will soon be signed into law. http://bit.ly/2ErBF0y – Heinrich.senate.gov

Eric Kaldahl Is New President & CEO of Amerind
Dr. Kaldahl has more than a dozen years of experience at Amerind, most recently as Vice President and Chief Curator. He is highly regarded among our many communities and has the qualities, passion, and experience to move Amerind forward in all of the aspects that make us great. In close partnership with Dr. Christine Szuter, his leadership has been instrumental in Amerind’s growth in recent years. http://bit.ly/2M6MTvR – Amerind Foundation

Ben Littlefield Is New Superintendent of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Acting National Park Service Regional Director Kate Hammond announced the selection of Ben Littlefield as superintendent of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Arizona. Littlefield comes to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument from Redwood National and State Parks in California where he currently serves as the safety manager and acting chief of planning and project management. He will assume his new role on December 22, 2019. The position reports to the superintendent of Saguaro National Park. “Ben brings experience and enthusiasm for visitor safety and recreation, and resource protection and preservation,” said Saguaro National Park Superintendent Leah McGinnis. “I know that Ben’s dedicated servant leadership and collaborative approach to problem solving will benefit the monument, its partners and the National Park Service.” – Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (press release)

Commentary: Two Former BLM Directors Decry “Stealth Erosion” of Public Lands System
We are former directors of the BLM, from Republican and Democratic administrations, and we are united in our concern about the future of our public lands — specifically, a below-the-radar effort by political appointees in the Department of the Interior to functionally dismantle the organization. These officials have launched a reorganization plan to relocate BLM’s headquarters from Washington to several Western states, where most of the lands administered by the bureau are. https://politi.co/2sFXxD6 – Politico

Commentary: Organ Pipe National Monument Left Vulnerable
The United States House of Representatives today passed a set of two spending packages, H.R. 1865 and H.R. 1158, to avert a federal government shutdown at midnight on Friday. The bipartisan agreement includes many positive measures and funding increases for the agencies that protect our national parks and public lands. Unfortunately, the agreement leaves Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument – one of our most unique national parks – and all it protects vulnerable to the administration’s reckless and unnecessary border wall. http://bit.ly/2PAy0nP – National Parks Conservation Association

Archaeologists Recover Paleoindian Site in Connecticut
When the state Department of Transportation began construction on a bridge over the Farmington River, archaeologists suspected there could be historic sites hidden under the soil. In January, once excavation was underway, crews discovered evidence of what scientists have called southern New England’s earliest inhabitants. http://bit.ly/34sIdXD – Hartford Courant

Archaeology Café Welcomes R. E. Burrillo on January 7
Join us on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, as R. E. Burrillo discusses Bears Ears in his talk, “The Bears Ears Water Project: What Environmental Chemistry Reveals about Agriculture and Landscape Archaeology in the Greater Cedar Mesa Area.” We gather at The Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd.) around 5:30 p.m. to visit and enjoy food and beverages. Programs begin at 6 p.m. in Theatre 1. Seating is open and unreserved. http://bit.ly/2r1qIQk – Archaeology Southwest

Learning Opportunity, Tucson AZ
Each Wednesday, January 8 to March 25, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., archaeologist Allen Dart will teach “Prehistory of the Southwest: The Hohokam Culture of Southern Arizona,” a 12-session adult education class, at Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, 2201 W. 44th Street, Tucson. Topics include artifacts and architecture; Hohokam origins; interactions with other cultures; subsistence, settlement, social, and organizational systems; and ideas on religion and trade. $95/person donation does not cover textbook cost. Reservations and prepayment due by 5 p.m. January 3: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org. http://bit.ly/2sE1ZSu

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Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org