Call your state representative NOW. Here’s why. It’s budgeting time for the State of Georgia, and once again the budget of the Historic Preservation Division (HPD), which includes the Office of the State Archaeologist and more, is threatened with debilitating cuts. Now is the time for SGA members to call or email their representative to tell him/her to restore monies to HPD’s budget for FY 2013. Call NOW. The full story has details.
A June 2011 report called The State of America’s National Parks warns on page 25 “that cultural resources in the National Park System—considered the most important to our country’s heritage—are in serious trouble. In fact, these places and collections are being maintained in a condition well below the level that the National Park Service itself has deemed appropriate.” The report concludes on page 27 that the reason this has happened is that “[t]here simply aren’t enough qualified and trained people overseeing the parks’ cultural heritage.” Given the many National Park System properties with an historic or archaeological slant in Georgia (e.g., Ocmulgee National Monument and the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site), are you surprised at this situation?
Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division has composed a survey to solicit your input about the goals of their program for their next five-year preservation plan. Their existing plan goes through 2011. The full story has a link to the online survey, which will take you perhaps five minutes to complete. Your opinions are important!
What bills currently up before Federal Senate and House decision-makers deal with archaeological resources? While the text of bills is available online from THOMAS, a government website named after Thomas Jefferson, OpenCongress is a different website that offers significantly enhanced bill-tracking information. While the only version of OpenCongress is for the Federal government, versions for each state are under development. Read the full story to find out how you can check on bills related to, for example, “historical and cultural resources.”
The 1906 Antiquities Act offers the President of the United States of America the authority to set aside lands the government owns as national monuments. The Act was intended to allow the President to preserve “antiquities” including “historical and prehistoric structures.” These resources were to be preserved for scientific and educational research. Some people object that this Act has been used with the intent to preserve natural areas rather than merely “antiquities.” In April 2010, representatives of over sixty organizations, including the 7000-plus member Society for American Archaeology, sent a letter to President Barack Obama expressing concern over attempts to limit this Act.
NAGPRA stands for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. NAGPRA is a federal law. In March 2010, NAGPRA has been in the news three times….
Follow the GaPA blog to read up on the latest news about legislative sessions, budget proposals, etc. GaPA stands for Georgians for Preservation Action. GaPA coordinates historic preservation advocacy efforts within our state. The SGA leadership has often worked with GaPA, since our organizational goals overlap.
The Archaeological Conservancy owns Stallings Island, and has partnered with the Augusta Archaeological Society to monitor and help protect this significant site, which is difficult to access and protect. Unfortunately, looters have returned. We all lose when our hidden heritage is destroyed and thus important information is lost.
The Society for American Archaeology recently announced that their newsletter, published five times each year, is available in a new format for reading online beginning with the 2010 issues, and also is downloadable.
Burke County State Court Judge Jerry Daniel in January handed down heavy fines on four east Georgia men who pled guilty to multiple counts related to looting a Late Archaic, Stallings culture shell midden site on the Ogeechee River in southern Burke County. The four men were apprehended on private land by Georgia Department of Natural Resources Ranger First Class Jeff Billips and Ranger First Class Grant Matherly in late September 2009.
Who owns antiquities that have been removed beyond the borders of the modern nation where they were found? This topic is explored in the full article.
The Society for American Archaeology, a national organization with over 7000 members, is concerned about Senate Bill 409, which would swap some federal lands for other property. The SAA is concerned about the loss of protections to archaeological sites on the lands that will pass out of federal ownership.
Heritage News is a monthly e-newsletter published by the National Park Service that delivers timely information on national heritage topics including grant opportunities, new laws or policies, events, and activities of interest. The July issue notes that a 1929 house in Dawsonville was listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in May 2009. The house was owned by a moonshiner who built his still right in the house.
The National Park Service website offers a list of laws and regulations pertaining to our nation’s cultural heritage on its website, along with links to the complete texts of the legislation. Perhaps most historically important is the Antiquities Act of 1906, which has been amended once and protects historic and prehistoric antiquities on Federal lands. Another important one is Executive Order 11593, signed in 1971, which charged the Department of the Interior with leading historic preservation activities for the nation.
The Federal Omnibus Appropriations Act, which funds departments, agencies, and programs not funded through the regular appropriations process for FY2009, includes funding for some archaeological and historical programs and endeavors. The major allocations, listed in the full story, total nearly $500 million.
The Society for American Archaeology, a national organization, sent a letter of concern about major cuts to the state’s archaeology program to Georgia’s Republican and Democratic leaders during budget negotiations at the end of March.
The recent amendment to one of Georgia’s archaeology laws might affect you, whether you are an avocational or professional archaeologist. Code Section 12-3-621 has always required a person who is going to dig on an archaeological site to first notify the Office of the State Archaeologist. This recent amendment has made that notification a lot [...]