Within These Walls and Beyond: How the NHPA Saved and Continues to Protect Dry Tortugas National Park

Summary

Dry Tortugas National Park lies approximately 70 miles to the west of Key West in the direct path of the Florida Straits, as the western most terminus of the Florida Keys. Having been desginated initially as a National Monument in 1935, it wasn't until the establishment of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 that it truly saw protection from treasure hunters in the pristine reefs, and in a ironic twist, also from the then director of the National Park Service. Shipwrecks and material culture from centuries of maritime activity have created a park that is rich in submerged cultural resources, and this paper will discuss first the NHPA's direct effect on both terrestrial and underwater sites at the park, and also remark on the 47 years of archeological study since 1969 and what is to come in the near future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016   •
• Present and Future: Influences from the NPS and NHPA on Underwater Cultural Heritage

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 81