2022
31
May
The Lands Between
Dear Friends,
Sometimes a blow is external—other times, internal.
I got one of each over the holiday weekend.
Apropos of our yearlong focus on “Avian Archaeology,” a Cooper’s Hawk that inhabits the Eucalyptus tree next to my house hit me on the back of the head at full speed, ...
more
2021
08
Oct
This Is a Great Day!
Banner image (c) Jonathan T. Bailey.
Bill Doelle, President & CEO
(October 8, 2021)—Friends, this is a great day. Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments are restored!
As I watched the signing ceremony on YouTube, I was moved by so many things.
When Chair Brenda...
more
2021
15
Jun
Haaland Report Recommends Monument Restorations
Dear Friends,
Once again, I want to share some of my recent reading matter.
Cover story photos: a man stands on his roof and stares at a raging forest fire in California; a family is ferried by boat from their flooded home in South Carolina; a woman contemplates her collapsed and shattered...
more
2020
22
Dec
Congresswoman Debra Haaland Nominated to Be Next Secretary of the Interior
Dear Friends,
This day after the winter solstice, the sun is setting. Things are quieting down—thankfully.
I crammed the typical weekly Zoom hours into two days. It’s time for a break. Time for rest and reflection.
At Archaeology Southwest, 2021 looks promising. We’re planning t...
more
2020
28
Jul
House Passes Amendment to Extend Moratorium on Oil-Gas Development in Chaco Buffer Zone
Dear Friends,
Two weeks ago I shared that I, some of our staff, and esteemed partners were intensely focused on Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. I wrote during a lull as we awaited feedback from our authors on their edited articles and our graphics. Author reviews and comments were pretty pos...
more
2020
24
Mar
Educational and Public Archaeology Resources Online
Educational and Public Archaeology Resources Online
Last week, Lewis Borck (University of Missouri) organized a community-crowdsourced spreadsheet of archaeology/history-oriented educational and public content online as a resource for teachers and students looking for activities/readings/videos the...
more
2020
28
Jan
Continuing Coverage: Chaco Buffer Zone
Continuing Coverage: Chaco Buffer Zone
Months after the U.S. House passed a bill that would create a long-sought, 10-mile drilling ban on federal land around Chaco Culture National Historical Park, the Navajo Nation is demanding Congress cut the proposed protection zone in half. The Navajo Nation C...
more
2019
30
Jul
Bears Ears Monument Management Plan Roundly Denounced
Bears Ears Monument Management Plan Roundly Denounced
Nearly two years after dramatically shrinking the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, the Trump administration finalized a management plan Friday that would allow trees to be plowed down using heavy chains, as well as utility lines and more ra...
more
2019
29
Jul
Archaeology Southwest Opposes Final Management Plan for Reduced Bears Ears
Tucson, Ariz. (July 29, 2019)—On July 25, the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service released a Final Monument Management Plan for the 15 percent of Bears Ears National Monument that remains after an illegal reduction. Archaeology Southwest's President and CEO, Bill Doelle, has issued t...
more
2019
28
Jun
Fighting the Bears Ears Downsizing (with an Agèd Friend)
Bill Doelle, President & CEO
(June 28, 2019)—On June 8, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law.
And yet, 113 years later, in the year 2019, at about the same time, there were no headlines announcing that President Roosevelt had risen from his grave to ma...
more
2019
14
May
Tragedy at Danger Cave
Tragedy at Danger Cave
A cave with evidence of some of the earliest humans in Utah was looted last week by thieves — who, state park officials say, tore security fixtures from the walls and stole all the artifacts inside. http://bit.ly/2YvTweV - Salt Lake Tribune
Feature: The Bears Ears Educat...
more
2019
13
Feb
BLM Temporarily Defers Leases in Chaco Buffer Zone
BLM Temporarily Defers Leases in Chaco Buffer Zone
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management reversed course Friday, saying certain land near Chaco Culture National Historical Park would no longer be offered at an oil and gas lease sale in March. Environmental advocates, tribal groups and Democratic lawma...
more
Show More