A Tale of Two Management Plans: Comparing Visitor Impacts to Rock Art Sites on National Park Service Land vs. San Bernardino County Land

Summary

On July, 6 2016 it was announced that management of the Coyote Hole rock art site located near the village of Joshua Tree, California would be transferred from the San Bernardino County Flood Control District to the Native American Land Conservancy. The site’s proximity to Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR) provides a unique opportunity to compare this highly-accessible site with unregulated visitation to similarly threatened sites that are managed by JOTR. The publication of sensitive information pertaining to JOTR rock art sites, particularly through social media, has increasingly threatened sites and raised concerns regarding the effects of increased visitation. JOTR staff conducted a study of three panels at Coyote Hole and three panels within the park that exhibit variable degrees of accessibility, visitation, and histories of graffiti remediation. A methodology was developed to monitor and compare the transformational processes affecting rock art sites providing a better understanding of how increased visitation may adversely affect sites on public land. The methods and data here presented will be used to develop management plans for Coyote Hole and JOTR to determine appropriate visitation management strategies for rock art sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Contemporary Issues in Rock Art Conservation and Preservation

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14737