Heritage Monitoring Underwater: Launching the Submerged Heritage Monitoring Scouts Florida Program

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Case Studies from SHA’s Heritage at Risk Committee" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) partnered with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) to create a submerged cultural resource monitoring program based on the successful Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS) Florida, launched by FPAN in 2016. Many organizations have ongoing natural resource monitoring programs that inspire citizen scientist to gather valuable data for resource managers. Lack of personnel, difficulty with routinely accessing sites coupled with the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality make submerged cultural sites vulnerable. This program teaches divers what submerged cultural sites are, the importance of monitoring, and laws that protect underwater resources. Heritage Monitoring Scouts learn how they can effectively monitor sites with the ease of checking a box from their phone. We will focus on the launch, outcomes, and potential of Submerged HMS Florida, and its connection to FPAN’s existing underwater programming.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• Case Studies from SHA’s Heritage at Risk Committee

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 512