Celebrating the Contributions of a Community of Preservation: Forest Service Partners and Volunteers

DOCUMENT Citation Only Kolleen Kralick. Bridget Roth. Towny Anderson. Molly Westby.

Fire lookouts are symbolic within the US Forest Service. Following the devastating fires of 1910, early fire detection became a priority, and lookout towers began to be built throughout the country. Although technology has practically made lookouts obsolete as early fire warning systems, their historic significance and a powerful nostalgia makes them the ideal subject for a preservation initiative which focuses on restoration and celebration of these important icons. In 2013 the USFS, Forest...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Erin Brown. Linda Popelish. Steve Owen.

Early airway beacons, which marked transcontinental flyways, may not be what you first think of when you see the term archaeology but they are a part of our broader history as a nation, and as historic structures or sites can be eligible for the National Register. In order to preserve a key piece of recent national history, two Passport in Time projects on the Mt. Taylor Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest focused on airway beacon sites. The partnership between the Forest Service and a...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Danielle Romero. Barbara Roth. Darrell Creel.

Recent excavations conducted by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in conjunction with the Gila National Forest Service took place at the Elk Ridge Ruin, a large Classic period (AD 1000-1150) pueblo in the Mimbres River Valley, New Mexico. This project was done as part of mitigation efforts to protect the site from flood waters in an arroyo that cut through the western portion of the site. Excavations were done in three pueblo rooms that were positioned along the arroyo cut and were the most...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Wendy Sutton.

Commonly known as “rock art,” pictographs (pigment on rock) and petroglyphs (images pecked or incised into rock) are much more than art. They reflect the history and values of peoples who once lived here and are a tangible reminder of their connection to the landscape. The Gila National Forest is installing interpretive signage at or near multiple well-known “rock art” sites in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). These signs, and additional...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Julie Coleman. T.J. Ferguson. Maren Hopkins. Lynn Robinson. Leigh Kuwanwisiwma.

The Chimney Rock Great House and associated sites are located on the frontier of the southwestern landscape that was occupied by the Ancestral Puebloans over a thousand years ago. Memories of that time and place still exist in tribal histories and ceremonies. Current knowledge and understanding of these resources comes from sporadic archaeological investigations conducted over the last 90 years. The cultural and traditional knowledge that descendants of the “Ancestors” possess of this cultural...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Michelle Stevens.

Since its designation as a National Historic Trail in 1987, partnerships between government agencies, preservation organizations, contractors, local communities, and individuals have been essential for identifying, marking, preserving, protecting physical traces and historical landscapes as well as, recognizing, interpreting, and promoting research and recreation along the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. In southwest Kansas and southeast Colorado, these diverse partnerships have been...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Lawrence Todd. Kyle Wright. Paul Burnett.

The Shoshone National Forest (Northwestern Wyoming) encompasses some of the most remote, inaccessible landscapes in the continental United States with 56% (1.4 million acres) designated Wilderness. Documenting, researching, and managing heritage resources in these Wilderness areas provides special challenges. A fundamental issue is that little basic archaeological inventory has been conducted and working in the area is logistically difficult. Over the last several years, a partnership between...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Elizabeth Toney. Marilyn Markel.

The dragonfly is a subject of intrigue around the world and many different cultures have ascribed unique meanings to its behaviors. The Dragonfly petroglyph site located on the Gila National Forest represents an interesting teaching place for cultural preservation and traditional values and beliefs. It also demonstrates the collaborative opportunities for the interpretation of this special place. Collaborative efforts between the Gila National Forest, Aldo Leopold High School, New Mexico...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Lindsey Smith. Danyelle Leentjes. Paul Blackman. Nadia Werby. Sue Fischer.

Chimney Rock National Monument, designated by President Barack Obama on September 21, 2012, is located within the San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado. The 4,726 acre monument preserves and protects hundreds of prehistoric sites (including a Chacoan outlier great house and kiva) and resource gathering and use areas associated with the ancestors and families of numerous Native American groups with ties to the greater American Southwest. The stewardship and sustainability of this...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Fumiyasu Arakawa. Garrett Leitermann. Kailey Martinez. Austin Schwartz.

To develop a better partnership between academics and United States Forest Service, and disseminate the concept of stewardship to the public, the Gila National Forest and the Department of Anthropology at New Mexico State University collaborated together at a fieldschool at the Twin Pines Village—a northern Mimbres settlement and the largest Mimbres phase site—for six weeks in 2015. The major goal of the project is to add our understanding of the cultural trajectory of the Twin Pines communities...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Jan Biella.

In 2002 the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division (SHPO) established a statewide site stewardship program, New Mexico SiteWatch, that works with federal and state agencies to help preserve archaeological sites. The program is organized into local chapters and has integrated two established programs--one for the Santa Fe National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management in northwest New Mexico. The USFS has been a partner from the beginning. In addition to monitoring threatened sites,...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Eraina Nossa. William MacNeill.

The Mark Twain National Forest manages slightly less than 1.5 million acres, accounting for approximately 5% of the landmass in the state of Missouri. As a variety of factors continue to influence, and sometimes complicate, the Forest’s land management practices, it has become increasingly important to work with other agencies and organizations in order to accomplish the shared goals of identifying, protecting and interpreting the significant cultural resources held in the public trust. As the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Michele Koons. Stephen Nash. Deborah Huntley.

The Reserve Area Archaeological Project (RAAP) is a collaborative effort between the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) and the United States Forest Service. Centered in the Reserve/ Pine Lawn region of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, this project brings together many extant datasets, such as existing collections in the Field Museum from the 1940s/50s, GIS data from the Forest Service, paleoclimate data, and new research that to date has focused on non-invasive methods. Project...