Secretary of the Interior is responsible for reporting
to Congress on the impact of federal programs and activities on the
nation's archeological heritage. The scope of the program covers activities
used for recovery, protection, and preservation of data. The reporting
requirement was needed to: (1) maintain adequate oversight and coordinating
responsibilities; (2) identify problems, accomplishments and costs of
the program; (3) assure a relatively uniform Federal program; (4) review
the efforts of agencies; and, (5) provide recommendations deemed appropriate
to change and improve provisions of the Archeological Resources Protection
Act.
Federal Agency forms for reporting
are now available online.
The Listing of Outlaw
Treachery (LOOT) Information Clearinghouse is available to federal agencies
to help combat the looting and vandalism of archeological sites. may agencies
participate as part of their program to comply with Section 14(c) of
ARPA.
The
most recent recommendations to Congress are:
Preserve
and Protect Archeological Sites in Place
Review the current status of archeological inventories
in light of resource overviews and predictive models in order to design
and implement cost-effective and well directed field inventories, as
well as plans for dealing with unexpected discoveries of buried archeological
materials.
Land-holding agencies need to continue implementing
systematic inventories of archeological sites above and beyond their
Section 106 requirements under the National Historic Preservation
Act.
Evaluate the backlog of known archeological sites
for listing in the National
Register of Historic Places.
Identify archeological sites on public or private
lands as National Historic Landmarks
and World Heritage
sites, and to monitor the condition of designated Landmarks and
protect their long-term integrity.
Endangered sites should be systematically monitored
to document their condition and deter looting.
Train law enforcement and prosecution professionals
about how to complete archeological enforcement casework.
Develop regional strategies to combat looting.
The civil provisions of the Archaeological Resources
Protection Act should be used more frequently to prosecute.
Conserve
Archeological Collections and Records
Continue the comprehensive inventory
of collections, records, and reports from federal and tribal lands and
projects to ensure long-term care and access to collections and records.
This includes both those in public repositories and those in private
collections to preserve better the remnants of the archeological record
that have already been removed from their original context.
Collections and records have enormous research value;
researchers should be encouraged to study them as an alternative
to excavation, which furthers the goal of conserving sites in place.
Provide adequate curatorial facilities that meet the
requirements of federal regulation entitled Curation
of Federally-Owned and Administered Archeological Collections (36 CFR
79), and to train curatorial staff in appropriate curation skills,
methods, and techniques.
Utilize
and Share Archeological Research Results
Improve interagency use of computerized
databases for research and public information, and share this information
with other nations, tribes, states, certified local governments, and
private organizations and individuals.
Utilize archeological information from federal,
tribal, state, local, and private sectors to design and implement
the most appropriate management program for federal and tribal lands
and for federally authorized projects.
Provide access to the growing number of reports
through databases, such as the National Archeological Database,
and use this research to build on scientific knowledge about the
past.
Increase
Public Education and Participation in Archeology
To build on their accomplishments,
agencies need to establish and fund education programs as a regular
agency function.
Private citizens need more non-technical publications
that reveal the information values retained in sites, and that provide
information about techniques for the physical and legal protection
of privately owned archeological sites.
Build private-public partnerships to increase private
participation in federal outreach programs.
Public programs and products should be periodically
reviewed.
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