Cultural Resources Preservation Coalition

Grand Gulch Rincon Petroglyph

The Cultural Resources Preservation Coalition (the Coalition) is a group of historic preservation, tribal, archaeology, anthropology, trails, recreation, business, and place-based organizations, led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Coalition advocates for the protection of irreplaceable cultural resources located primarily on federal public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the National Park Service (NPS).

Click here to download (PDF) more information on the Cultural Resources Preservation Coalition

Interested in joining the Coalition? Download (Word Document) a Board Resolution For Cultural Resources Preservation Coalition

News and Issues from the Nation's Capital

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument; NPS; AZ

The monument (set aside on March 2, 1889, proclaimed as the nation's first archeological preserve and cultural site on June 22, 1892, and redesignated as Casa Grande Ruins National Monument on August 3, 1918) is named for the Casa Grande (Great House), a four-story prehistoric structure constructed by the Hohokam people who inhabited the area from 500 to 1400 A.D. This is the finest architectural example of 14th Century Hohokam culture and archeology in the American Southwest. The Monument is unique in its mission to preserve and interpret the Hohokam, one of the major prehistoric cultures of the Southwest.
On April 22, 2010, Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-1) introduced legislation to expand Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, a unit of the National Park System. The bill, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Boundary Modification Act of 2010 (H.R. 5110), authorizes the National Park Service to acquire critical tracts with irreplaceable cultural resources, to study and identify additional lands that the Secretary of the Interior considers appropriate to be a part of further adjustments to the boundary of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, and to provide for three small administrative transfers of land between the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Park Service.
On June 10, 2010, the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 5110. The President and CEO, Center for Desert Archaeology Bill Doelle came to Washington, D.C. to testify in support of the bill. We hope the Committee will be able to vote the bill out of Committee before their recess in July and move the bill to the floor of the House for a vote before the end of the summer.

Chimney Rock Archaeological Area; USFS; CO

In July 2009, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recommended the elevation of the Forest Service's Chimney Rock Archaeological Area to a National Monument to Rep. John Salazar and Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet. The Forest Service is writing a bill for consideration that we expect Rep. Salazar and Sen. Bennet to introduce in Congress early in 2010.
Exhibiting many of the features that earned Chaco Canyon a World Heritage Listing, the site was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1970. Hundreds of cultural elements surround Chimney Rock's soaring twin rock spires. Chimney Rock is the most northeasterly and highest (7,600 feet) Chacoan site known. Every 18.6 years, the moon as seen from the Great House Pueblo at Chimney Rock, rises between the rock spires during an event known as the Northern Lunar Standstill.

Learn More:

http://www.chimneyrockco.org/mainnew.htm

President Obama's FY 2011 Budget Rollout

In early February, President Obama will rollout his budget for the FY 2011, including the budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. We'll see if Secretary Salazar's Treasured Landscapes idea takes fruit in terms of funding for heritage resources for our federal public lands.
In the meantime, please look at our recommendations for Treasured Landscapes.

ACTIVE PROJECTS

SunZia ransmission Line; BLM; NM & AZ

460-mile 500kV transmission line(s) and four new substations to carry renewable and traditional energy
NTHP and Center for Desert Archaeology commented on project during NEPA process
NTHP and CDA have requested to be consulting parties for the NHPA Sec 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA)
BLM is currently looking into the PA process
Contact Jane Childress at NM BLM (Las Cruces Field Office) to request consulting party status for PA (Jane_Childress@blm.gov)

Learn More:

http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/more/lands_realty/sunzia_southwest_transmission.html

http://www.sunzia.net/

Ruby Pipeline; FERC, BLM, USFS; WY, UT, NV

675-mile natural gas pipeline and new compression stations and associated facilities
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued Jan. 8, 2010
NTHP submitted a comment letter to BLM and FERC (lead agency)

Learn More:

http://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/eis/2010/01-08-10.asp

http://www.rubypipeline.com/BLM_maps.shtm

Gateway West Transmission Line; BLM; WY, ID

1,150 mi 230kV and 500kV line through WY and ID to carry wind and other energy
NTHP is a Consulting Party for the Sec 106 Programmatic Agreement
BLM's draft EIS to be released in July 2010
DEIS comment period, open houses and public hearings July to September

Learn More:

http://www.gatewaywestproject.com/

http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/cfodocs/gateway_west/

Tessera’s Imperial Valley Solar Project; BLM; Imperial Valley, CA

~30,000 dish/engine systems built in two phases in an area of >10 square miles
Concerns are impacts to prehistoric and historic sites and trails, burials, and sacred areas
NTHP is a Consulting Party for the Sec 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA)
BLM is currently drafting the PA

Learn More:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/solartwo/index.html

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro/nepa/stirling.html

Watched Projects

Forest Service Revised Guidelines for Cultural Resource Management

USFS will prepare an EIS regarding potentially revising their standards and guidelines for cultural resource management
The interim policy uses the 2000 Planning rule, which utilizes 1982 provisions—outdated!
The draft EIS is scheduled to come out in Dec. 2010, at which time the NTHP may comment on it.

Learn More:

http://fs.usda.gov/planningrule

Rock Art Site in Yuma County, AZ Damaged; BLM; AZ

In November, BLM rangers discovered the vandalism (including rolled boulders and fractured petroglyphs) at Sears Point within an Area of Critical Environmental Concern; timing of vandalism is unknown but appears recent
To report any information, call BLM law enforcement ranger Michael Hauck at 317-3274

Learn More:

http://www.yumasun.com/news/point-55454-sears-cook.html

http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=11812292

http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_0f355a30-ff34-5db0-9ca0-5de8cf2d7bbf.html