Finish your research at the Georgia Archives before November 1st, 2012.That’s because the Archives will close to the public on that day, and staffing may be too reduced for you to get a special appointment to access the Archives. Note that as of the date of this post, this information is not noted on the Archives’ website.
On 11 April 2012, the Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced that Georgia has a new State Archaeologist, Dr. Bryan Tucker. Dr. Tucker succeeds Dr. David Crass, who is now Director of HPD.
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.
Careful preservation planning means knowledge about important historical and archaeological resources are part of the planning process. In late October 2011, Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division released Preservation Primer: A Resource Guide for Georgia, available in both high- and low-resolution PDFs. The Primer will help you identify historic properties, evaluate them, and develop local preservation planning strategies. And help protect your community’s resources.
From mid-2010 to early 2011, Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division sought public input on what HPD should emphasize in their programs over the coming five years. The current State Historic Preservation Plan will be replaced by a new plan by the end of 2011. In general, archaeological resources take a back seat to historical resources, especially standing buildings and historic districts.
The Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources now employs two additional archaeologists, Rachel Black and Richard Moss. Black serves as a review archaeologist and is primarily responsible for assessing archaeological investigations conducted by/for GDOT. Moss conducts archaeological surveys on state lands to identify and protect archaeological sites threatened by foresting activities.
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 online survey will end on February 28th, so fill it out NOW. Here’s the link. Your opinions are important!
Recently, a team of volunteer and professional archaeologists directed by professionals from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, West Florida University, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have discovered the site of the original lightkeeper’s house on Sapelo Island. Since the collapse of the ruins, probably in the early 1900s, its location had been lost. The SGA leadership visited the lighthouse in February 2010, perhaps walking over the buried remains of the house.
Recently, Georgia DNR’s Historic Preservation Division released Good News in Tough Times: Historic Preservation and the Georgia Economy, a report on the impact of historic preservation on the state’s economy. The report is downloadable and gives figures on some benefits to the state’s bottom line. Note that individual property owners have invested $560,000,000 in historic buildings over the decade beginning in 2000.
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!
The website of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has been redesigned, and is now more attractive, not to mention useful! The DNR is the state entity responsible for Georgia’s cultural resources. DNR’s Historic Preservation Division “promotes the preservation and use of historic places for a better Georgia.” The Director of HPD is Dr. David Crass, an archaeologist.
Dr. David Crass, Georgia’s State Archaeologist and new Historic Preservation Division Director, has reorganized HPD. He discusses the reorganization and its benefits in this article, published first in HPD’s Preservation Posts, February 2010.
State Archaeologist Dr. David Colin Crass is the new Director of the Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the DNR announced on 27 January 2010. Dr. Crass came to Georgia HPD twelve years ago.
The Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Natural Resources is moving back into state offices at the end of this month. As a result, the office will have limited service on October 26-27, will be closed October 28 through November 3rd, and will have limited service November 4-6.
Preservation Georgia Online for September 12–18, 2009, lists the four grants funded through statewide preservation license tag sales. The four SFY 2010 Georgia Heritage Grants total $46,285.
Members of the SGA may be interested in attending a meeting discussing the latest budget reductions to Georgia State Historic Sites. The meeting will be on Tuesday, August 11th, at the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation offices at Rhodes Hall on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, from 10 AM to 2:30 PM.
Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division has released the first “issue” of a new monthly on-line publication called Preservation Posts, with articles on HPD activities, in more depth than are reported in their weekly newsletter, Preservation Georgia Online. Read staff profiles, National Register news, and about other interesting topics.
Georgia State students got real-world experience in salvage archaeology and historic preservation projects under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Glover when they worked recently in Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery. The March 2008 tornado tipped over trees, bringing up soil and potentially disturbing human remains. Students used archaeological field techniques to examine this disturbed soil.
The Senate Appropriations committee has only $50,000 total in the archaeology budget, not even enough to fund a single position. This means Federal and state projects will be delayed in the Historic Preservation Office, and that DNR will have to hire consultants in order to comply with State and Federal laws. Click [More] below to read the details.
Late on the afternoon of March 24, Georgians for Preservation Action reported that the Georgia House budget for SFY 2010 cuts over $279,000 in funding for the Historic Preservation Division, effectively gutting the state’s archaeology program. In a followup email on the 26th, the group reported that they could not determine the reason for the cuts.
I’m pleased to announce that the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography has been awarded a second Coastal Incentive Grant to study the effects of natural erosion on archaeological sites. The initial study targeted sites located on the back sides of our barrier islands and was completed last year. The upcoming study will examine sites on our [...]