August 2006 ACRA Board of Directors Aug...good standing as of Feb. 15 each year) to the Nominations...

ACRA Election Results pg. 3By Ian Burrow

Education Commitee Report pg 3

Membership News pg 4By Lucy Wayne

Annual Conference a Resounding Success pg 6By Charissa Wang Durst

Salary Survey Commitee Report pg 15

2006 ACRA Awards pg 16By Charissa Wang Durst

Government Affairs Commitee Report pg 18

Newsletter Commitee Report pg 19

In This Issue...

Volume 12-5

A RC ACRAugust 2006

E D I T I O NT h e V o i c e o f t h e C u l t u r a l R e s o u r c e I n d u s t r y

Steve J. Dasavich SCI Engineering, Inc. St. Charles, Missouri

Denise DeJoseph Historical Research Associates Seattle, Washington

Nancy Farrell Cultural Resource Management ServicesPaso Robles, California

Nurit Golden Finn Wapsi Valley Archaeology, Inc.Anamosa, Iowa

Sarah Herr Desert Archaeology, Inc. Tucson, Arizona

Joe Joseph New South Associates, Inc.Stone Mountain , Georgia

James W. Karbula Hicks and CompanyAustin, Texas

Loretta Lautzenheiser Coastal Carolina Research, Inc.Tarboro, North Carolina

Hope Luhman The Louis Berger Group, Inc.Richmond, Virginia

Terestia Majewski Statistical Research, Inc. Tucson, Arizona

Tom Motsinger PaleoWest: Solutions in Archaeology, Inc.Phoenix, Arizona

Cinder Miller Gray & Pape, Inc.Cincinnati, Ohio

Michael Roberts Timelines, Inc.Littleton, Massachusetts

Joseph Schuldenrein Geoarcheology Research AssociatesBronx, New York

William Self William Self Associates, Inc. Orinda, California

Betsey Sheldon SITE, Inc.Montgomery, Alabama

Brian W. Thomas TRCAtlanta, Georgia

Kim Tremaine Tremaine & Associates, Inc.Dixon, California

Ellen Turco Circa, Inc.Raleigh, North Carolina

Jeanne Ward Applied Archaeology & History Assoc., Inc.Annapolis, Maryland

(Officers are listed on Page 2)

ACRA Board of Directors

2006 ACRA Board - Front row: Mike Polk, Laura Black, Nancy Ferrell, Karen Van Citters,Cinder Miller, Denis DeJoseph, and Brian Thomas. Second Row: Sarah Herr, LucyWayne, Steve Dasovitch, Terry Majewski, Jeanne Ward, Ellen Turco, and Chad Moffett..Third Row: James Karbula, Joan Deming, Scott Stull, Bill Self, Ian Burrow, and MikeRoberts.

October 2006

A C R A E D I T I O N

ACRA OFFICERS

PresidentKaren Hartgen, Hartgen Archaeological Associates, Inc.

President Elect Michael R. Polk, Sagebrush Consultants L.L.C.

Past President Ian Burrow, Hunter Research, Inc.

Vice PresidentIan Burruw, Hunter Research Associates

Executive SecretaryScott Stull, Hartgen Archaeological Associates, Inc.

Treasurer Karen Van Citters, Van Citters Historic Preservation LLC

Secretary Chad Moffett, Mead & Hunt Inc

ACRA’s MissionOur mission is to promote the professional, ethical,

and business practices of the cultural resources industry,including all of its affiliated disciplines, for the benefit ofthe resources, the public, and the members of theassociation by:

- promoting and supporting the business needs of culturalresources practitioners;

- promoting professionalism in the cultural resourcesindustry;

- promoting and providing educational and trainingopportunities for the cultural resources industry; and

- promoting public awareness of cultural resources and itsdiverse fields.

A basic tenet of ACRA’s philosophy is the costefficiency of private-sector firms in meeting the need forexpertise in cultural resource management. ACRA isstrongly opposed to unfair competition from tax-supportedcontracting programs. We believe that a greater benefit tosociety, and to the resources, derives from the existence ofa healthy community of tax-paying, job-generating,private-sector CRM businesses.

ACRA Lapel Pinsare available to

employees of member firms for $3 each.

ACRA1744 Washington Ave Ext.

Rensselaer, NY 12144

Make checks payable to: The American Cultural Resources Association

CHRS, Inc.Cultural Heritage Research Services, Inc.Archaeology, Research & Historic Preservation

If your CRM firm needs specialized expertise ortemporary assistance, CHRS can provide you with:

??historic, urban, or industrial archaeology??professional research and oral history??HABS/HAER large-format photo-documentation??video documentaries, illustrated books and booklets,

brochures and pamphlets, posters, interpretive panels, displays and exhibits, and historical markers

??a wide variety of environmental policy-complianceand planning-related activities and documentation

Contact Nadine Miller PetersonDirector, Historic Preservation - CHRS, Inc.403 E. Walnut Street, North Wales, PA 19454215-699-8006 (Voice) 215-699-8901 (FAX) www.chrsinc.com

A m e r i c a n C u l t u r a l R e s o u r c e s A s s o c i a t i o n


Volume 12-5

2006 ELECTION RESULTS

Officer Positions

Vice President of Government RelationsIan Burrow

Directors

Large Firms (3 seats available)Joe Joseph

Hope LuhmanTeresita Majewski

Medium Firms (2 seats available)Loretta Lautzenheiser

(one seat unfilled)

Small Firms (2 seats available)Tom MotsingerBetsy Sheldon

TurnoutOverall: 34 of 90 (37.7 percent)

Large: 17 of 32 (53.1 percent) (same for main and run-off elections)

Medium: 9 of 29 (31.0 percent)

Small: 9 of 29 (27.6 percent)

Prepared by Ian Burrow September 4, 2006 Members: James Karbula, ChairJoan Deming

2006 Priority Goals:The committee's priority agenda item since 2003 is gettingthe Business of CRM workshop up and running. Thisremains our priority goal.

Spring 2006 Board Meeting Summary:Business of CRM Workshop

Announced SRIF, Mead & Hunt, Inc. and ACRA are currentlyunder contract for development and presentation of initialworkshop for ACRA Annual Conference 2006.

Activities 03/06-09/06:

1)Elicited Board comment on approach to recruiting newEducation Committee members and ideas for theCommittee to pursue.

2)Sent e-mail communication to Members only withWorkshop flyer attachment to try and elicit new membersand ideas for the Education Committee to pursue.

3)Minimal response, some enthusiasm for the Workshop tobe taught at other conferences and with some slightlydifferent topics.

On-going activities:

1) Business of CRM Workshop- monitor progress fordevelopment and delivery.

2) Elicit new members and new ideas- Role of internshipsin CRM?

3) White Papers- continued development, additionalcontributions.

4) Criteria for ACRA Rating/Listing of CRM programs-Previous distillation of Fall 2003 discussions into first draftof criteria for selecting academic programs to list onACRA's website, need to develop criteria and programs.

5) Promoting CRM Training within Academia- on goingactivity as requested by academia, allied professionalorganization, or members.

ACRA EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORT

October 2006



During discussions at the Columbus, Ohio Boardmeeting in September, it became clear that our newoperating format with an Executive Secretary (Scott Stull)rather than an Executive Officer (Tom Wheaton) needed alittle tweaking. This was anticipated when the format wasinitially set up. One of the most time consuming tasks thatScott has been handling has been membership - not just interms of sending dues notices, but also in terms of keepingtrack of active vs. inactive members. As a result, JoanDeming suggested that the Board establish a MembershipSecretary to handle these tasks. The Board unanimouslyagreed. I was, subsequently, appointed to the position fortwo years.

Based on Joan's experience in similar positions instate-level organizations, and discussion among the Boardmembers, tentatively, the Secretary will be responsible for thefollowing tasks (the Strategic Planning Committee isdeveloping a formal job description for the position):

1. Create a master membership/mailing list based primarilyon input from the Executive Secretary and the Treasurer.

2. Mail (snail mail) dues invoices in November each year.3. Follow up the mailed notices with email reminders.4. Collect the dues, match to the membership list and

forward to the Executive Secretary for deposit.5. Follow-up with people who have not paid by email,

phone, second notices.6. Maintain the membership list.7. Provide the list of those eligible to vote (members in

good standing as of Feb. 15 each year) to theNominations Committee chair.

8. Provide the list of members in good standing and anysubsequent updates to the Executive Secretary in orderto maintain the web page members list.

9. Report to the Board on the status of membership.

One of my goals for this position is to try and contactas many former ACRA members as possible and entice themback into the fold. I will be working closely with the

Membership Committee to identify the reasons companiesshould join ACRA. The Committee is going to help me puttogether cover letters for the dues invoices that will spell outall the good things ACRA does for its members. TheCommittee will also work on recruitment and retention.

For all of you who are now members of ACRA, here'sa summary of things to expect from this new position:

- Look for your dues invoice in November of this year.- Dues must be paid by February 15 in order to remain a

member in good standing (yes-you will get reminders-Inag!).

- Dues should be sent to me-not to Tom Wheaton (he's inMexico living the good life) or Scott or the Treasurer. Myaddress is: Lucy Wayne, SouthArc, Inc., 3700 NW 91stSt., Suite D300, Gainesville, FL 32606 (yes-it will be onthe dues invoice and enclosed envelope).

- If dues are not paid by February 15, you will not be ableto vote in ACRA elections, you will not continue toreceive MembersOnly, and you will be removed from theweb page Members listing-because if you don't pay thedues you are not a member.

Finally, if anyone knows of a firm which was once anACRA member or should be an ACRA member, pleaseforward their contact information to either me or SteveDasovitch, Chair of the Membership Committee. We'll see ifwe can get them back. Contact us at:

Lucy Wayne, Membership [email protected] or toll free at 1-888-707-2721

Steve Dasovitch, Membership Committee [email protected]

The goal here is to maintain our existing membershipand add new members. Let's all recruit a new firm this year

By Lucy Wayne, Membership Secretary

MEMBERSHIP NEWS



Volume 12-5

mailto:[email protected]

October 2006



The 11th Annual ACRA Conference inColumbus, Ohio, took place September 7, 2006,through September 10, 2006, at the historic WestinGreat Southern Hotel. Fantastic weather greetedthe conference all three days, which meant thatattendees were able to walk to restaurants andenjoy tours in bright sunshine.

The ACRA Board Meeting was held onThursday, September 7. After working all day, theBoard enjoyed an all-you-can eat traditionalGerman dinner at Schmidt's Sausage Haus inGerman Village. Many board members elected towalk back to the hotel in order to work off excessbratwurst and cream puffs as well as to enjoy thehistoric brick streets and houses. Some thenbecame trapped in the maze-like 32-room BookLoft, which stayed open until 11:00 PM.

By Charissa Wang Durst, 2006 Conference Host

ACRA CONFERENCE A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

2006 Annual Board Meeting

Board members dine out in historicGerman Village.



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observation platform to gain an overview of the entire site,and then walked the perimeter path. The timing of the tourand golfers worked out so that the group was able to climband stand on the so-called Observation Mound, opposite theopening to the octagon earthwork. The tour of the OctagonEarthworks concluded with a view of the circular enclosureconnected to the octagon.

On Thursday and Friday, attendees enjoyed theinaugural presentation of The Business of CRM workshop.Friday attendees were especially impressed at the number ofowners and upper management in the audience. Commentsregarding the workshop were all positive (See MichaelRoberts’ testimonial, Page ) ; as a result, it will definitely beoffered at the 2007 conference in St. Petersburg.

On Friday, ACRA also offered a tour of the NewarkEarthworks, a National Historic Landmark and one of onlythree sites in North America included as one of the 70wonders of the ancient world by Oxford Universityarchaeologist Christopher Scarre. (The other two are Cahokiaand Chaco Canyon.)

The bus departed at 8:30 AM and the programstarted with an introductory program at The Ohio StateUniversity-Newark. The talk was presented by Dr. BradleyLepper, Ohio Historical Society Curator of Archaeology, andDr. Richard Shiels, Professor of History and Director of theNewark Earthworks Center at The Ohio State University-Newark.

Dr. Lepper and Dr. Shiels then met everyone at theOctagon Earthworks, located on land currently owned by TheOhio Historical Society but leased by the MoundbuildersCountry Club since 1910. The group first climbed the

Dr. Richard Shiels introduces the history of the NewarkEarthworks

ACRA members line up to view the Octagon Earthworks

ACRA members descending Observation Mound

October 2006



At 1:00 PM, the tour busdeposited a tired by exhilaratedgroup at the Davis-Shai House,where they were served a sit-down meal with liveentertainment. The Davis-ShaiHouse specializes in serving local specialties, andselections from this day's menu included Ohio CornChowder, Curried Chicken and Mushroom Crepes, andCaramel Apple Bread Pudding. After lunch, the groupsplit up and toured the house and grounds, which wererehabilitated in 2000 by host firm Hardlines DesignCompany.

The tour bus driver was very accommodatingand took the group up High Street to view the OhioStatehouse, the Arena District and the Short North artsdistrict. The group also continued to The Ohio StateUniversity where the bus drove around hallowedground, also known as OSU football stadium and homeof the Buckeyes. Back at the hotel, a large groupgathered in the lobby for a walking tour of the historic

The group then went on to the Great Circle, agigantic circular enclosure approximately 1,200 feetacross. At the center of the Great Circle is a largemound (or a set of cojoined mounds) called the "EagleMound" due to its appearance (to some people) of abird in flight.

Dr. Bradley Lepper explains the construction of the GreatCircle

Entry to the Octagon Circle earthworks.Lunch at the Davis-Shai House



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Southern Theatre, adjacent to the hotel.The tour was lead by R.J. Sontag,Operations Manager for the theatre, andbegan in the historic lobby. The extensivetour covered the Main House, the stage,and backstage areas such as the greenroom and dressing rooms. Attendees alsoviewed the upper balcony, which has beenknown to cause vertigo due to its extremesteepness.

View of the Main House from the upper balcony.

ACRA members gather in the historic lobby ofthe Southern Theatre

HISTORIC SOUTHERN THEATRE

October 2006



On Saturday, the actual conference kicked off withthe Plenary Session where Nellie Longsworth gave anupdate on what's been happening on Capitol Hill, aswell as a follow up on the results of ACRA's visit torepresentatives during the 2005 conference. BrianThomas, an archaeologist who was elected to theGeorgia House of Representatives, gave a veryinformative speech on effective ways to communicatewith local representatives. He also provided a rundownon what Members of Congress do when they receive acommunication from the public. Brian's surprise tidbit ofthe day was the fact the Congress can check to seewhether or not someone has voted in past elections.

Finally, Dennis Davis gave a hilariouspresentation of working with so-called "difficult people."He also provided guidelines on identifying personalitytraits to determine whether certain audience memberscould be considered "difficult" themselves.

Nellie Longsworth presents the latest news from CapitolHill.

PLENARY SESSIONS

Mr. Dennis Davis talks about how to deal with “difficult people.”

Archaeologist and Georgia State Representative Brian Thomas



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A minor panic ensued at 10:00 AM when thehotel briefly ran out of coffee cups and thenran out of coffee! The caffeine-deprived wereable to distract themselves by observing thetable displays, which featured the Best CRMreports from ACRA firms around the country,as well as a history and display of past ACRAAward winners.

One of the Best of CRM report display tables

The history of the ACRA Awards display table.

ACRA DISPLAYS ITS BEST

from Hunters to Homesteads - AlpineArchaeological Consultants Inc.

ACRA DISPLAYS ITS BEST

Mr. Dennis Davisreturned for anotheramusing session onsteps to take whendealing with non- oru n d e r p e r f o r m i n gemployees. Scott Stull dida hilarious impersonationof a slacker employeewho refused to commit toimproving in order to testDennis' managementtechniques.

October 2006



Lunch was served in the Grand Ballroom of theSouthern Hotel. During dessert, the 2006 ACRA Awardswere presented. This year's ACRA Industry awardwinner was the Kern River Gas Transmission Company,nominated by Alpine Archaeological Consultants, Inc.The ACRA Quality Product award went toArchaeological Consulting Services, Ltd. and theBureau of Reclamation. Representatives from bothACRA members firms and their clients were present toaccept the awards (See ACRA Awards, Page 16).

After lunch, attendees broke up into twoconcurrent sessions. One session focused on the highsand lows of running a business, with one session onterminating employees and another on hiring techniques.

Left to Right: Quality Product Award: Margery Green,Archaeological Consulting Services and John Czaplicki, Bureau ofReclamation. Industry Award: Brent Arnold of Kern River GasTransmission Company and Kimberly Redman of AlpineArchaeological Consultants, Inc.

Executive Secretary Scott Stull.

The hiring panel featured owners and seniormanagement personnel from ACRA member firms:Duane Peter of Geo-Marine, Jo Reese of AINW, MikePolk or Sagebrush Consultants LLC, and Jeanne Wardfrom Applied Archaeology & History Associates, Inc. Thepanel fielded questions from the moderator as well asfrom the audience. There was a lively discussion on theuse of "set-up" situations to observe the reactions ofcandidates under adverse conditions, such as in arestaurant.

The other afternoon session focused on topicsall firms should be familiar with: audits and employeehandbooks. Ms. Emily Boberg-Courts, an auditor fromthe Ohio Department of Transportation and well-knownto many Ohio-based firms in the audience, went overbasic regulations, how to calculate overhead, and



Volume 12-5

The conference concluded with free food andalcohol at the historic Kelton House Museum andGarden. Since the weather was fine, the party tookplace outside, which allowed visitors to wander thegardens as well as tour the house. Many attendeesopted to walk to and from the hotel and were able toobserve the nearby Topiary Garden, which depictsSeurat's famous painting, A Sunday On The Island OfLa Grande Jatt. Those who took the bus were treated tothe sounds of an enthusiastic bus driver cheering theOSU-Texas game on the radio. There was also a lot of"local flavor" at the hotel bar that night, and rioting wasminimal!

common mistakes made when determining what is or isnot eligible for overhead. Mr. David Wm. T. Carroll, Esq.of the firm Carroll, Ucker and Hemmer then gave anextremely useful presentation on what should (andshould not) go into an employee handbook. Interestingtopics included guaranteed work for temporary hires,how specific job descriptions allow you to more easilyterminate employees, and treatment of employeebehavior AFTER they are off the clock.

Mr. David Carroll discusses the importance of anEmployee Handbook

Topiary Garden at Kelton House Museum.

October 2006



Members relaxing at the reception in the gardens of theKelton House Museum.

Sunday morning consisted of an informal boardmeeting to discuss the conference, its pros and cons,and what could be done to improve things next time.

I would like to say that our office greatly enjoyedorganizing the conference and working with all theinteresting and qualified people for workshops, sessionsand tours. We learned a lot and had a lot of fun, andhoped all those who came out to Columbus did, too.After the Sunday session, this author went home, atelunch, and promptly took a four-hour nap!

Charissa Wang Durst (right) still smiling as the conferencenears conclusion.

TESTIMONIAL FOR ACRA’S CRM WORKSHOP

As were other board members, I was fortunate inbeing able to attend the Friday workshop. I wassurprised at the number of owners and senior staff inattendance. This created a wonderful opportunity to findout that we didn't know it all. Our instructors were greatin allowing just enough informality to get greatcomments, examples and insight from those withexperience for all of us and to help the newbies. Notsurprisingly the handout was well put together and theadditional materials were appropriate but notoverwhelming. I will spare you all from a blow by blowdiscussion of the content. Needless to say it wasappropriate for the topic at hand. As to the topic it isinteresting to note that it was not a copy of the inspirationfor the workshop - the earlier "Business of CRM"workshops presented for several years by ACRA. Thisworkshop's content "Contracting and ProjectManagement" was basically new stuff leaving the otherthings we need to know as business persons foradditional in-depth presentation (other workshops??).

Two very important tools in the workbook were alisting of "Common Pitfalls in Project Budgeting" and a"Not-to-be-used Word List" I'm using them already!!

In short I came away from the workshopbelieving that this workshop should be presented againand at several venues, not the least of which is at ourindividual firms for CRM professionals at ALL levels ifpossible, or regionally for multiple firms and individualmembers. I also came away with the thought that thisand similar workshops could be one of the greatestmember benefits ACRA could endorse and should go along way in increasing membership.

Respectfully,

Michael E. Roberts, RPAJohn Milner Associates



Volume 12-5

Members: Brian Thomas, ChairTeresita MajewskiSteve DasovichKurt SchweigertNurit FinnNancy Farrell

This ad hoc committee was given two goals:

1. Examine results from recent salary survey and determine whatinformation is needed in order to post the survey on ACRA website.

2. Review and evaluate the survey questions and content andexplore revisions of the survey prior to using it again in thefuture.

On July 5, 2006 the committee came up with these items for whichwe requested further information on the recently completed surveyfrom our vendor:

- Provide a list of all survey questions used in the survey.

- Remove government agencies, non-profits, and universitiesfrom the totals

- For all answers, provide the size of the sample (not just the%).

- Provide the population size, sample size, and samplingerror for the survey.

- Under "Financial statistics" and "Employee Breakdown" theranges and standard deviation should be provided.

- Provide a list of job descriptions in the Compensationsection.

- We would like to see a breakout of Compensation byregion (perhaps using the regional breakdown the ACRAhas on our webpage), company size, and ACRA/non-ACRAfirms.

This information was provided to Scott Stull, whoforwarded it to Laura Rothman of Zweig White on July 5, 2006.On July 24, 2006, Ms. Rothman responded via email: "Yes, thisinformation is available. It will take a little bit of time, but we shouldbe able to do it within the next 3-4 weeks." No further informationhas been received from the vendor.

No action has been taken on evaluating revisions to the currentsurvey.

ACRA SALARY SURVEY COMMITTEE REPORT

October 2006



The 2006 ACRA Awards luncheon presentation tookplace on September 9, 2006, in the Grand Ballroom of thehistoric Westin Great Southern Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Theguest speaker and presenter was Michael Polk, Owner andPrincipal Archaeologist of Sagebrush Consultants, LLC, inOgden, Utah. Mike established the firm in 1983 and was oneof ACRA's original board members. He also served asACRA's first secretary, its second president, and is currentlythe incoming president. Prior to establishing Sagebrush, Mr.Polk worked for a variety of institutions including: San DiegoState University, Arizona State Museum, Tucson, Idaho StateUniversity in Pocatello, Bureau of Land Management, Valeand Prineville, Oregon, Michigan State University, andEnvironment Consultants, Inc., Dallas, Texas.

This year's jury consisted of three archaeologists whocurrently serve on the ACRA Awards Committee. Nurit Finn isthe President and Owner of Wapsi Valley Archaeology, Inc.located in Anamosa, Iowa. She holds degrees in Anthro-pology from Bryn Mawr College and the University of NewMexico. Her15 years of professional archaeology experiencein the Midwest and Southeast includes positions at theUniversity of Alabama and Louis Berger, Inc. Nurit specializesin hunter-gatherer societies, particularly Paleoindian andArchaic periods, lithic analysis, and statistical analysis.

Denise DeJoseph is a Project Archaeologist withHRA's Seattle office. Denise holds a M.S. in ArchaeologicalSciences from the University of Glasgow, emphasis on dietaryreconstruction. Her particular expertise is in the managementof archaeological, historical, and Native American resourcespertaining to hydroelectric re-licensing. Her CulturalResources Management experience includes hydroelectricand cogeneration projects in the Sierra Nevada and southernCalifornia, and research/management strategies related toeroding coastal sites in the Western Hebrides in Scotland.

Bill Self has over 30 years of experience in culturalresource management and provides the project direction andcoordination necessary to complete even the most complexarchaeological contract work. Since 1973, he has served asForest Archeologist on the Inyo National Forest, as StateArcheologist in the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office,as a Senior Scientist with Bechtel Corp. and as Principal

By Charissa Wang Durst, Awards Committee Chair

2006 ACRA AWARDS

Investigator of William Self Associates, a full-service culturalresource consulting firm (since 1988).

ACRA's award categories are for Industry, PublicService, and Quality Product. This year's jury elected to makean award in the Quality Product and Industry categories.

The ACRA Quality Product Award recognizes anACRA company's innovative or long-term research,preservation of a cultural resource for future generations(such as a building or archeological site), or an outstandingreport, brochure, book, etc. This year's Quality Product Awardrecognizes the comprehensive documentation of a complexassociated with the recent past.

This year's Quality Product Award recognizes a videodocumentary that tells the story of irrigation farming in theNavajo community of Ganado, Arizona. Jurors commented onusing a DVD as a "new way of thinking about Section 106compliance" and its accessibility to the larger community.

The film was produced as an educational aspect ofthe mitigation requirements for the reconstruction of thehistoric Ganado dam and subsequent repair and upgrade tothe water delivery system that formerly irrigated communityfarms. The film was produced for the United States Bureau ofReclamation, Phoenix Area Office, and earned a warmreception from community members when it premiered at theGanado Chapter House in October 2005.

Most of the film is in the Navajo language withEnglish subtitles, which addresses the Navajo elders'concerns about young people's lack of knowledge about theirtraditional farming practices, history, and language. Themitigation work also included extensive archival research,archaeological survey, and identification of traditional culturalproperties that could be at risk from the construction of a newirrigation system.

Reclamation workers worked closely with the GanadoWater Users Association, the Farm Board, Hubbell TradingPost National Historic Site, Navajo Nation HistoricPreservation Department, NRCS, and others to identifymethods to mitigate the loss of the historic irrigation system.The film captures the concern, and the hope for the future,made possible by the revival of the irrigation system.Agricultural demonstration projects are already underway at



Volume 12-5

Hubbell Trading Post, and local Future Farmers of Americanchapter is also looking for possible initiatives with the help ofGanado Farm Board members.

For the innovative use of Section 106 to meetmitigation requirements that also benefits the Navajocommunity and general public, the 2006 ACRA QualityProduct Award was awarded to the Bureau of ReclamationPhoenix Area Office, Arizona, and their consultant,Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd., of Tempe, Arizona.

Accepting the award was Mr. John Czaplicki of theBureau of Reclamation, and Ms. Margery Green ofArchaeological Consulting Services, Ltd.

The Industry Award honors an ACRA member firm'sclient (mining, energy, transportation, etc.) that has shown acommitment, above and beyond what is required to meetregulations, to the preservation of cultural resources.Previous awards have recognized sponsorships ranging froma single project to the recognition of on-going commitment.This year's award recognizes the support of a gastransmission company for long-term and on-going culturalresources work. The jury was impressed with the range oftechniques that the company funded in analysis, includingobsidian hydration, thermoluminescence, lake sedimentcoring, and GIS.

Since the period between official governmentapproval of the project and actual construction was only amatter of weeks, the company's support of creative mitigationprogram prevented costly construction delays at

President elect Michael Polk (right) with 2006 ACRAQuality Product Award accepted by John Czaplicki, Bureauof Reclamation, Phoenix Office; and Margery Green,Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd, Phoenix.

archaeological site locations. The jury noted that the book"From Hunters to Homesteaders" was a nice synopsis of thearchaeology and history of the region while also providing agreat resource for the public.

The construction of a natural gas pipeline crossedfour states. The Utah portion alone was 341 miles andcrossed 163 cultural resources eligible for the NationalRegister. The project included the preparation of a historiccontext for linear features in Salt Lake County as well as asynthesis of regional prehistoric data. The results serve as amodel for future historic and prehistoric contexts in Utah.

The gas company supported a cultural resourcesmitigation program in advance of the actual construction ofthe pipeline, and embraced a non-traditional mitigationprogram to synthesize and disseminate information to thegeneral public. The project also included traditionalarchaeological data recovery and graphic reconstruction of aVirgin Anasazi Pithouse.

For embracing a non-traditional cultural resourcemitigation program that went above and beyond simplearchaeological data recovery, the 2006 ACRA Industry Awardwas given to The Kern River Gas Transmission Company ofSalt Lake City, Utah, and their consultant, AlpineArchaeological Consultants, Inc. of Montrose, Colorado.

Accepting the award was Mr. Brent Arnold of KernRiver Gas and Ms. Kimberly Redman of Alpine ArchaeologicalConsultants, Inc.

President elect Michael Polk (right) with 2006 ACRA Industry Awardaccepted by Brent Arnold of Kern River Gas Transmission Company, SaltLake City; and Kimberly Redman of Alpine Archaeological Consultants.

October 2006


It has actually been pretty quiet for Government Affairslately.

NHPA Reauthorization:

The good news here is that Rep. Pearceintroduced a bill reauthorizing NHPA with relatively minorchanges (after a good bit of pressure from John Nau).The subcommittee also solicited and accepted a lot ofinput from the cultural resources professional community.

The bad news is that the Senate Energy andNatural Resources Democratic staff does not like theHouse bill. Since there are no conferences on small billslike this, one side will have to accept the other side's bill(the Senate bill is reauthorization with no changes). Nelliethinks this will be a test of John Nau's political skills.

ACHP Human Remains Policy:

Thanks to the hard work of Cinder Miller, ACRAprovided very well thought out comments on the proposedchanges to the Human Remains Policy.

Kay Simpson also reports that the Task Forcesubcommittee on Creative Mitigation met after a longhiatus, but since she couldn't attend and hasn't seen theminutes, we don't know yet what came out of this meeting.

Small Business Administration:

Nellie reports that no particular progress has beenmade on proposed changes to the classification of smallbusinesses. The SBA did make an inflation adjustmentlast December and will do so again this December.

NAGPRA:

Rep. Hastings (Congressman from Kennewick) hasintroduced proposed changes to NAGPRA that will sendhuman remains to officials/professionals for study firstbefore turning them over to the tribes. Nellie suspects thisis simply a political ploy to help him get reelected, but she

will check into it. John McCain dropped language he hadintroduced to change NAGPRA in the Senate. Bottomline-we need to keep an idea on NAGPRA for potentialchanges.

4f Language Changes:

The Federal Highway Administration hasapparently asked for changes in the 4f language. Thismay just be clarification, but Nellie is checking into it.

Political Coordination with State PreservationOrganizations:

Joe Joseph has suggested that ACRA establish alist of contacts and system for coordinating with state/localpreservation groups when action is needed at the federallevel (for example last spring's assault on NHPA). He hasoffered to head a committee to set this up.

New NPS Director:

Not much to say about Fran Minella's resignation.Nellie says Fran had some difficulties with Congress andthat may be a factor.

State Level Activity:

Elisabeth Sheldon provided an update on theAlabama Sunset Commission and Historical Commissionactivities, for which ACRA had previously sent a letter.The Sunset Commission met in June and commended theHistorical Commission for addressing issues which hadbeen a concern. The state is in the process of filling theExecutive Director's position at the Historical Commission.The Executive Director will then be instrumental in fillingthe State Archaeologist's position, which is also open atthe moment.

GOVERMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT




Volume 12-5

September 6, 2006

Currently, the Newsletter Committee includesJeanne Harris, Editor, based in Sydney, Australia, andMike Polk, Newsletter Liaison. News is generallygathered together for each issue by the liaison andforwarded to the Editor who puts together the issues. Ithas been a struggle to find enough material at times forthe issues, but many people in ACRA have providedinformation to help make many of the issues veryinformative and interesting.

Since the last annual meeting, in November2005, the ACRA Edition has been published onschedule as a bi-monthly newsletter. Issues publishedinclude those for December 2005, February, April, Juneand August 2006. Following are lead articles andnumber of pages for each of the issues:

December 2005, Vol. 11, No. 6:2005 ACRA Annual Meeting (Washington, D.C.)

This issue had 20 pages.

February 2006, Vol. 12, No. 1Utah Antiquities Section Under Fire


April 2006, Vol. 12, No. 2Representative Brad Miller Meets with ACRA Board


June 2006, Vol. 12, No. 3An ACRA Update on the Preserve America Summit.

This issue had about 18 pages.August 2006, Vol. 12, No. 4

Summary of "How to Keep Good Employees" PanelDiscussion.

This issue had about 20 pages.

The newsletter continues to publish informationthat the committee believes is important and wanted bythe membership of ACRA. What the committee needsmost is input from the board and from the membershipas a whole as to whether the newsletter is providing theorganization with something valuable and informative.Specific feedback is needed to help us better focus andmeet the needs of ACRA. Questions of particular valueto us include:

1. What is the board's assessment of thenewsletter content and format over the lastyear?

2. Does the newsletter provide useful and timelyinformation?

3. What, specifically, could be improved or changedto help make the newsletter a more useful tool?

By Mike Polk, Newsletter Liaison

NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE REPORT

1 7 4 4 W a s h i n g t o n A v e E x t , R e n s s e l a e r , N Y 1 2 1 4 4

RCA ACRE D I T I O N

ACRA Edition

is a bi-monthly publication of TheAmerican Cultural ResourcesAssociation. Our mission is topromote the professional, ethical andbusiness practices of the culturalresources industry, including all of itsaffiliated disciplines, for the benefit ofthe resources, the public, and themembers of the association.

This publication's purpose is toprovide members with the latestinformation on the association'sactivities and to provide up-to-dateinformation on federal and statelegislative activities. All comments arewelcome.

2005-2006 ACRA EDITION SCHEDULE

PRODUCTION

June 16August 18October 13December 14

DEADLINE

June 5August 7

October 7December 4

Please address comments to:

Jeanne Harris, Editor, ACRA Edition

[email protected]

or

Scott Stull, Executive Secretary

c/o Hartgen ArchaeologicalAssociates, Inc.

1744 Washington Ave Ext.Rensselaer, NY 12144

[email protected]

ACRA’s Members-Only ListserverACRA now has an online discussion group just for

members. “MembersOnly” is a listserver that operates much thesame way as ACRA-L, with the exception that it is only available toACRA members. Its purpose is to offer the board, members, and theexecutive director a venue to share the latest news from ACRA;promote dialogue between members on current issues; and enablemembers to post announcements or inquiries.

To subscribe to the list, a member must contact ACRA’sExecutive Secretary, Scott Stull. Once you have supplied Scott withyour e-mail address, he will subscribe you to this list. Contact Scotte-mail: [email protected].

ACRA Edition offers advertising space to our members. Doesyour company have a special product, service, or publication thatwould be of interest to some aspect of the CRM community?

Why not consider placing an ad in ACRA Edition?

Advertising Rates: Per 6 Months Per Year

Business Card size (3.5"x 2")* $100.00 $175.001/4 page (3.5"x 4.75") $200.00 $350.001/2 page (7.0"x 4.75") $300.00 $525.00

* Business cards can be scanned.

August 2006 ACRA Board of Directors Aug...good standing as of Feb. 15 each year) to the Nominations...

Documents

Transcript of August 2006 ACRA Board of Directors Aug...good standing as of Feb. 15 each year) to the Nominations...