The Long and Winding Road: Documenting Historic Transportation Routes

Summary

One tough issue facing federal agencies in the United States and their archaeologists is how to document historic era transportation routes. In Nevada alone, there are nearly 6,000 miles of roads managed by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) most of which follow, cross or parallel historic routes. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages nearly 48 million acres (~75,000 sq miles) of land in the state of Nevada with several thousands of miles of historic routes. This being the case, the questions always arise, how do we document these linear features and how do we remain consistent with recordation, context, significance and integrity beyond our lands? Many agencies are dealing with this using formal historic contexts or Multiple Property Documentation Forms as outlined by the United States National Park Service, while others are using exemptions and categorical exclusions in formal agreement documents. Archaeologists from BLM and NDOT will explore the advantages and disadvantages of the documentation methods that are currently being used to work towards a standard for this type of work in the state of Nevada.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20212