Dear Friends, My last few missives have been downers, focusing as they have on the continuing desecration of the San Pedro Valley by construction of the SunZia powerline. That work proceeds at a rapid pace; last week I counted at least 45 tower pads from the air. During a field trip on Monday of this week, we noted the first tower going up. Sad, but our fight continues. I want to lighten to mood this week by considering humor. It is, perhaps, an odd topic to think about as an archaeologist—after all, laughter, jokes, and humor aren’t often preserved in the archaeological record. As a humanist ..read more

Dear Friends, Paul Reed, Preservation Archaeologist and Director of our New Mexico State Program, recently published a stunning report on the problem of orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells and energy infrastructure surrounding Bears Ears National Monument in Utah and Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in New Mexico. To be blunt, the problem is staggering. What are abandoned and orphan wells, you ask? Paul defines abandoned wells as “those with no recent production, injection, or other uses.” Orphan wells, he explains, are a subset of abandoned wells, including those “for which the oper ..read more

Dear Friends, As I mentioned in a previous note, I always take window seats while flying so I can watch the landscape below as we cruise along. On Thursday, March 21, I had a window seat from Tucson to Denver. I almost wish I hadn’t; what I saw made me sick to my stomach. As you can see from this picture I took, construction on the SunZia power transmission line is doing severe damage to our beloved San Pedro Valley. One month ago, I took a similar photograph on a flight from Denver into Tucson, and I counted only 11 pads in one segment. In this more recent photograph, I count no fewer than th ..read more

Paul F. Reed, New Mexico Director and Preservation Archaeologist  (March 26, 2024)—Our recent report on orphaned and abandoned wells in the US highlights the grave threat they pose to irreplaceable sacred and historic sites and to cultural landscapes across the West. The Tribal engagement work I’ve been fortunate to undertake over the last decade makes clear to me that our Tribal partners are on the front lines of this issue. Impacts associated with oil-gas development—as well as the lingering, abandoned infrastructure once the resources have been depleted—fall heavily on Tribal lands, re ..read more

Dear Friends, The vernal equinox occurred at 8:06 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. What does that mean for most of us? Sadly, not much. If we were to take time from our busy schedules to have lunch outside, we might notice that the sun will be directly overhead at noon, and that the 24-hour day will be evenly divided between day and night. In a world full of artificial light and digital screens, I scarcely believe many folks notice such things. For commuters, equinoxes can mean blinding sunrises and sunsets, as daylight begins and ends in the east and west cardinal dire ..read more

Dear Friends, By the time this newsletter reaches your inbox, an extraordinary day for Archaeology Southwest will be in full swing. From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., many of our local staff will be in a visitors’ gallery at the US federal courthouse here in Tucson. We will watch as attorneys argue a case that could temporarily halt (stay) construction of the SunZia transmission line through our beloved San Pedro Valley while the lawsuit proceeds. In the afternoon, our staff will gather in the weird and wonderful Corona Room in the Bates Mansion complex, Archaeology Southwest’s headquarters in Tucson. T ..read more

Dear Friends, On Monday, March 4, the Washington Post published “‘On stolen land’: Tribes fight clean-energy projects backed by Biden,” an article by climate and environment reporter Maxine Joselow. The first half of the piece focuses on our beloved San Pedro Valley and the effort by several Tribal Nations to halt construction of a massive transmission line through this sacred landscape. Archaeology Southwest is proud to be a party to their lawsuit, but saddened that the situation has come to this. A key federal hearing will take place in Tucson on March 13, and we intend to be there. On Tuesd ..read more

New Report Explores Native American Tribal Concerns with Orphaned Wells and Discusses Common-Sense Solutions Needed for Addressing the Problem for the Long Term Tucson, Ariz. and Taos, N.M. (February 29, 2024)—Today, Archaeology Southwest released a new report titled Orphaned and Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells in the Southwest: Implications for Protecting Sacred and Cultural Sites and Surrounding Landscapes. The report focuses on the impact of such wells to sacred and cultural sites in sensitive areas such as the Greater Chaco Landscape and Bears Ears National Monument as well as the impact to th ..read more

Dear Friends, Over the past two weeks I have flown from Tucson to Florida, then to Denver, and back to Tucson. With 10 hours total flying time plus many hours sitting in airports, I’ve enjoyed lots of time contemplating the great work Archaeology Southwest does. One thing this organization has accomplished is to emphasize the importance of place—sites, landscapes, and traditional cultural properties. Places are really important for human health at individual and communal levels. I thought about place in Florida, Colorado, and Arizona. And I’m saddened by how similar those once-distinct places ..read more

Dear Friends, On Saturday, February 10, more than 100 friends of Archaeology Southwest gathered to celebrate and honor the long and distinguished career of recently retired founding President and CEO Bill Doelle. It was an incredible event. Board of Directors chair Dan Kimball, who has known Bill since their childhood together in Michigan, did a great job as emcee. Board member Chip Colwell delivered heartfelt reflections (and a Payday candy bar!) to Bill, noting that their relationship started decades ago when Chip was 18. Deputy Director Linda Pierce orchestrated the whole event and created ..read more