Archaeological Site Disturbance Evaluation at Nellis Air Force Range and Nearby Bureau of Land Management Lands

Summary

Nellis Air Force Range archaeological sites are compared with Bureau of Land Management sites in southwestern Nevada based on data collected from site records and site visits. Of 105 sample sites, 86 were evaluated based only on site forms. Nineteen sites were visited; four were examined in detail. Data showed a trend towards NAFR sites being less disturbed and in better condition. NAFR has more sites in “excellent” condition than BLM; the proportion of disturbed BLM sites is greater than NAFR sites. Air Force access restrictions do add to site preservation. However, sites on NAFR were not exempt, experiencing impacts from vehicles, construction, ordnance, possible recreational use and grazing; not all of these impacts pre-date establishment of NAFR. Similar contrast was found between impacts recorded on BLM sites and NAFR sites. A larger number and a greater percentage of NAFR sites had no impacts, whereas relatively few BLM sites had no impacts. BLM sites with easy access had the greatest amount of disturbance. Sites in remote locations had the least but on NAFR some remote sites had some impacts. Future efforts should focus on complete and accurate data collection on disturbance and conditions. In the future, field technicians should provide complete descriptions of site condition and impacts; management decisions should include the effects of proposed actions on access to archaeological sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Nellis Air Force Base Cultural Resources Archive   •
• Nellis AFB - Survey Reports

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nellis Air Force Base CRM Manager

Record Identifiers

Cultural Resource Report(s): NAFB 01-02

Contract No.(s): DACA63-95-D-0020 DO 0009

File Information