CRM and Public Outreach: A Match Made in NHPA

Summary

This is an abstract from the ""Is There Gold in that Field?" CRM and Public Outreach on the Front Lines" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Why shouldn't cultural resource management (CRM) companies be involved in public outreach and education outside of regulatory mandates? Archaeologists are ambassadors of the discipline by nature, giving responsible access to shared history with other disciplines and members of the public as well as engaging with stakeholder communities. CRM archaeologists' autonomy, varied knowledge, and specialized equipment allow them to perform a public good by facilitating and engaging in public outreach, both actively and passively, in a number of meaningful ways utilizing diverse methods, tools, and variable scales. While the primary focus of CRM companies must be the success in the industry as a business, public outreach also allows CRM archaeologists to reconnect with their passion for the discipline and develop skills that can translate to the commercial sector. This is a discussion covering the symbiotic relationship of CRM and public outreach and some examples of how this outreach can take place outside of expected client/project interactions.

Cite this Record

CRM and Public Outreach: A Match Made in NHPA. Sonya Beach, Thomas Thompson, Thomas Gruber, R. Doyle Bowman, Janna Gruber. Presented at The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2021 ( tDAR id: 466840)

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32063