Article on archaeological resources

    **** Moderator's comments:

Perhaps the issues raised in this article are of interest to the
field. The following excerpt is quoted from the Salt Lake Tribune

    Leave archaeology to the archaeologists
    By Liam Downey
    Salt Lake Tribune
    Feb 4, 2006
    <URL:http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_3476911>
    <URL:http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_3476911>

       "HB139 is working its way through committee in the Utah
        Legislature. The archaeological and cultural conservation
        communities in this state hold grave concerns about the
        potential ramifications if this becomes law.

       "Among the alarming results of the bill would be to
        deteriorate the quality of science performed on state lands
        by transferring authority to the Public Lands Policy
        Coordinating Office (PLPCO) that is currently held by the
        antiquities section of the Division of State History.

       "... To transfer the authority of a body charged with
        scientific oversight into the hands of a commission
        committed to development is both myopic and crass. ...

       "I would defer to Johnson in matters of agriculture, but I
        must insist Johnson and the other members of the House
        Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
        defer to the professional expertise of those in the
        discipline of archaeology when it comes to the matters of
        reviewing science, determining methodology and establishing
        professional credentials."

       "It would be prudent to act conservatively. Let us use
        caution, not haste, when considering the sacrifice of
        irreplaceable state resources for the sake of expedience.

       "Liam Downey is a cultural resources management professional
        from San Juan County."


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:37
                 Distributed: Friday, February 17, 2006
                       Message Id: cdl-19-37-004
                                  ***