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 the 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 southwestern 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 co-chairman of a congressional caucus formed recently to call attention to archaeological sites managed by the BLM as part of the National Landscape Conservation System, or NLCS. The bipartisan caucus has 15 members, including Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.
The congressional initiative comes in the wake of a report from the National Trust for Historic Preservation that said archaeological sites on public land across the West are at risk because of shortages in federal funding and staffing.
The Bush administration has recommended a $5 million cut in the budget of the NLCS, which was created in 2000. 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 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 staff members, 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,” BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington said.
Staff writer Mike Soraghan can be reached at 202-662-8730 or msoraghan@denverpost.com.
