Washington – Troubled by vandalism and looting of archaeological sites on Western public land, some members of Congress are banding together to seek more resources to protect them.
They’re pointing to recent vandalism of an ancient Indian rock-art site at McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area near Grand Junction and the looting of a large ancestral Puebloan settlement in southwest Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in January as examples of why more protection is needed.
Both sites are administered by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
“These are beautiful, special, magnificent places we cannot afford to lose,” said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz. “Congress has asked for more money for BLM, (but) we have not received the support from the administration.”
Grijalva is a co-chairman of a congressional caucus formed recently to call attention to archaeological sites managed by BLM as part of the National Landscape Conservation System, or NLCS, which was created in 2000. The bipartisan caucus has 15 members, including Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver.
The congressional initiative comes in the wake of a report from the National Trust for Historical Preservation that archaeological sites on public land across the West are at risk due to shortages in federal funding and staffing.
The Bush administration has recommended a $5 million cut in the budget for the NLCS. The Wilderness Society and other public lands advocates say that’s too deep a cut for a system that’s already stretched thin.
They note that at McInnis Canyons, two ranger positions and a law enforcement officer post are vacant, at least partly because of budget cuts. And the 164,000-acre Canyons of the Ancients, which contains the highest density of archaeological sites in the nation, has only two full-time staffers, though it shares part-time staff with the Anasazi Heritage Center in nearby Dolores.
BLM officials say the proposed cut in the NLCS budget came from projects that have been completed and no longer need funding.
“We believe we’re overcoming challenges that come with any new venture,” said BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington.
Mike Soraghan can be reached at 202-662-8730 or msoraghan@denverpost.com.
