Unearthing Narratives from an Appalachian Hollow: The Benefits of Environmental Mitigation Banking in Cultural Resource Management

Author(s): Matthew Victor Weiss; Ronald L. Collins

Year: 2016

Summary

Since the creation of the National Historic Preservation Act, a pairing has developed between environmental and cultural resource management.  Wetland and stream mitigation banking is a common way to offset the environmental impacts of activities permitted under the Clean Water Act.  These projects are intended to create or enhance aquatic resources in order to offset impacts within the same geographic region.  Their location within perpetual conservation easements and need for Section 106 review can lead to the discovery and preservation of archaeological sites.  However, while environmental restoration is driven by financial opportunity, there are no financial drivers for archaeological preservation.  This poster will examine how recent fieldwork at a mitigation bank led to the reconstruction of local events and family narratives across a West Virginia hollow and will call for policies which provide similar financial incentives for the preservation of cultural resources within conservation easements.

Cite this Record

Unearthing Narratives from an Appalachian Hollow: The Benefits of Environmental Mitigation Banking in Cultural Resource Management. Matthew Victor Weiss, Ronald L. Collins. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434875)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 807