2021
14
Apr
Biden “Poised to Act” on Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante
Dear Friends,
On Saturday, my wife and I flew back to Tucson from Philadelphia. On Monday, I committed to 4,000 pounds of carbon offsets each month in order to counterbalance our trips back to visit the grandkids. It was easy through Terrapass.
It’s not a perfect or even an ultimate solution...
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2021
06
Apr
GAO Releases Report on Improving Response to Crimes against Native American Cultural Resources
Dear Friends,
Being vaccinated opens opportunities. That’s why I'm in Newtown, Pennsylvania, typing this. It’s why I flew on an airplane, which is the only realistic option to visit my daughter and grandchildren.
And, as I've noted previously, it's my worries about the world my grandki...
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2021
02
Mar
Hope for Oak Flat
Dear Friends,
Recently, a friend from Phoenix commented that she was looking for a higher-elevation summer home. “I’m tired of breaking records for 115-degree temperatures like we did last summer.” [Fact check: In summer 2020, Phoenix had 145 days in triple digits, 53 days of 110 or more,...
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2021
16
Feb
Grand Canyon Protection Act Would Make Mining Ban Permanent
Dear Friends,
COVID news seems to trend from hopeful to frightful on a continual cycle. The uncertainty is unsettling. Nevertheless, my confidence grows, buoyed by clear evidence that the new administration is taking the pandemic very seriously.
For quite some time now, most of the news from o...
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2021
09
Feb
Help Stop Crimes against History on Tribal Lands
Dear Friends,
Are you under 30? Do you have children or grandchildren who are under 20? (My grandkids are 6 and 8.) I ask because anyone younger than 20 or 30 years old should live at least another half-century. And there is a lot of uncertainty in those next 50 years.
Yes, as promised, I am r...
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2021
26
Jan
It’s Time to Permanently Protect the Greater Chaco Landscape
Dear Friends,
Last week’s list of fresh words I hope we'll be using more going forward was a bit too short. Here are the contributions of your word-savvy fellow readers.
Compliance (as say, for mandatory masks)
Humor (as in, good humor) (2)
Tolerance
Thankfulness, Gratefulness, Gratit...
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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...
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2020
15
Dec
Continuing Coverage: Fighting for Oak Flat
Dear Friends,
It has been another long day in the field. But I’m not complaining—for me, these days out on the desert landscape are days of renewal, experiences that reignite my passion for what I do.
Focusing my eyes on the ground so I don’t miss subtle, centuries-old physical remnants ...
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2020
17
Nov
Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Ready to Work with New Administration
Dear Friends,
How do you know when you have the perfect job?
For me, it’s when you get home after an 11-hour day and you’re relaxed, energized, and ready to face the ever-mounting challenges to Archaeology Southwest’s Preservation Archaeology mission.
I left home just before 7:00 a.m....
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2020
30
Jun
Lessons, not Warnings, from the Past
Dear Friends,
Working from home since mid-March has taken its toll. I had a chance to break out for almost 24 hours, and it was almost heavenly. On this last day of June, I went to Gila Bend and a bit beyond. (I realize you are all incredibly jealous! The weather was even unseasonably cool—only...
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2018
11
Dec
Do Better by Chaco
Commentary: Do Better by Chaco
However, outside the pueblos, little information is available about the Pueblos’ ties to the Greater Chaco Region that would enable the BLM to meet its mandated duties. Pueblo ethnographic information is scarce or entirely absent from the archaeological and academic...
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2017
31
Dec
Hands off the Antiquities Act
Editorial: Hands off the Antiquities Act
By asking Congress to exempt Utah from the Antiquities Act, the Deseret News (Dec. 3) places our state at odds with both the legacy of our history and the promise of our future. When the editors write, “Nearly two-thirds of Utah is owned by the federal go...
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