Montana Site stewardship Program
The Bureau of Land Management, Montana State University and Project Archaeology have formed a partnership to develop a Montana Site Stewardship Program. The program will promote public awareness of both pre-contact and historic cultural resources in Montana. The program will begin monitoring sites in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (UMRBNM) lands. Over the next five years, the program will expand to additional lands throughout Montana.
Program Goals
- Prevent destruction of cultural resources due to the acts of nature, theft or vandalism.
- Preserve pre-contact and historic cultural resources for the purpose of conservation, scientific study, interpretation, and for their significance to American Indian people.
- Raise public awareness of the value of cultural resources through education and outreach.
- Support and encourage high standards of cultural resource investigation throughout the state.
- Promote stewardship of irreplaceable resources in perpetuity.
- Enhance communication, understanding, and collaboration among organizations, agencies, tribes, and individuals concerned with the protection of cultural resources.
What do Site Stewards do?
- Site Stewards monitor archaeological sites in danger of vandalism or natural deterioration.
- Report any changes in a site to the professional archaeologist with jurisdiction over the site and working closely with Federal and State agency archaeologists.
- Use observations, field notes, drawings, and photography to record changes over time.
- Community education and outreach concerning the Site Stewardship program and the importance of preserving archaeological sites.
To become a Montana Site Stewardship volunteer, you must fill out an application (click here to download application form) and attend a two-day training workshop.
Volunteer training includes classroom instruction and fieldwork. To register for the upcoming workshop please contact Crystal Alegria by email or by phone at (406) 994-6925. The program seeks volunteers with a strong interest in cultural resource conservation.
Site Stewardship Application forms can be mailed to:
Crystal Alegria
2-128 Wilson Hall
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717
Site Steward Forms
Upcoming Training:
What: Montana Site Stewardship Taining
Where: Lewistonw, MT
When: July 23-24, 2010
Cost: Free, lunch will be provided both days
What: Montana Site Stewardship Taining
Where: Helena, MT
When: October 8-9, 2010
Cost: Free, lunch will be provided both days
Project Archaeology
2-128 Wilson Hall
Montana Sate University
Bozeman, MT 59717
(406) 994-6925
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