Archeology E-Gram November 2022

Stephanie Stephens Moves to NPS (legacy) Midwest Region

NPS Deputy Associate Director for Park Programs and National Heritage Areas Stephanie Stephens has accepted a position as Associate Regional Director, Cultural Resources, Land and Water Conservation Fund, and Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance for the Midwest Region.

Stephens earned a BA in anthropology from California State University, San Bernardino, and an MA in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Museum Studies and Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma, Norman. She began her NPS career in 1989 at Joshua Tree NP as a museum aide. In 1998, Stephens moved to the Alaska Region as the curator/registrar for the Alaska Regional Curatorial Center (ARCC) and served as the roving curator for all Alaskan parks. In 2003, Stephens became the Regional Curator for the Alaska Region and the manager of the ARCC. In 2016 she moved to Washington, DC, as the NPS Chief Curator. Since 2017, Stephens has served as the acting, then permanent, Deputy Associate Director for Park Programs and National Heritage Areas.

Stephens has been a strong supporter of the Archeology Program and her colleagues in the Washington Office wish her all the best in her new position.

George Washington Memorial Parkway Cultural Resources Manager Matt Virta Retires

George Washington MP Cultural Resources Program Manager Matt Virta has retired. Virta has held that position since 1999, but has also worked in NPS headquarters, the National Capital Region, the Denver Service Center, and a national park unit - the George Washington MP. Virta’s love affair with the NPS began over 35 years ago when he was a University of Maryland graduate student intern.

He says that he has had a great "ride on the Parkway" and appreciated working with the many dedicated professionals at the parkway and throughout his career. His advice for those who carry on the important stewardship work? “Remember that no matter what hat or hats you wear in your daily work routine, keep in mind the NPS Mission and the reasons why we came to work for this organization.”

Message From the Archeology E-Gram Staff

For the past 18 years the Archeology E-Gram has provided timely and useful information about training, educational resources, research, and archeological events to archeologists in the NPS, other Federal agencies, and the wider archeological community.

This year, we saw five archeologists/anthropologists move into superintendent positions: Paul DePrey, San Francisco Maritime NHP; Jennifer Hardin, Salem Maritime and Saugus Iron Works NHS; Jeri DeYoung, Potomac Heritage NST; Angie Richman, Theodore Roosevelt NP; and Penny Wagner, Florissant Fossil Beds NM. We celebrated with Stan Bond and Matt Virta, who both retired this year, and we said goodbye to former NPS archeologists Roger Kelly and Ed Jelks.

The pandemic is receding but has changed the way that we do our work, perhaps permanently. More people are teleworking and working remotely. The E-Gram strives to provide continuity despite a new work environment. This year, for the first time, the E-Gram has a webpage. Besides being sent to your e-mail in-box, the monthly E-Grams are posted at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1038/archeology-e-gram.htm. Many thanks to Matt Burns and Teresa Moyer for making that happen!

The E-Gram staff encourages you to submit news items, training announcements, and titles and summaries for “The Federal Archeologist’s Bookshelf.” We appreciate the supportive messages that have been sent and wish you and your families all the best for the coming year. Happy holidays, everyone!

National Register Expands Services

The National Register has expanded sample nominations pages to provide a greater variety of successful nominations to better support partners, consultants, and the public in preparing actions—not only nominations for listings, but additional documentation and boundary changes—for submission to the National Register. This is an ongoing effort; more categories and nominations will be added.

To review the sample nominations, go to https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/sample-nominations.htm

Lifetime Passes for Veterans

Starting on Veterans Day 2022 veterans of the U.S. Armed Services and Gold Star Families can obtain a free lifetime pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites spread out across more than 400 million acres of public lands, including national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests.

Each lifetime pass covers entrance fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle (or passholder and up to three adults at sites that charge per person) at national parks and wildlife refuges, and standard amenity fees at national forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by the BLM, BOR, and ACE.

Veterans can present one of four forms of ID (Department of Defense ID Card, Veteran Health ID, Veteran ID Card, or veteran’s designation on a state-issued US driver’s license or ID card) at participating federal recreation areas that normally charge an entrance fee. Gold Star Families obtain information, self-certify they qualify, and download a voucher on NPS.gov.

The Alexander Lofgran Veterans in Parks Act, passed in December 2021, authorized free lifetime access to federal lands to veterans and Gold Star Families. The new lifetime pass for veterans and Gold Star Families is in addition to the free annual Military Pass, which has been available to active-duty service members and their families since Armed Forces Day, May 19, 2012.

Federal recreational land management agencies offer additional lifetime passes, including a Senior Pass for US citizens or permanent residents over age 62, and an Access Pass for US citizens or permanent residents with a permanent disability.

More information is available on NPS.gov.

The Federal Archeologist’s Bookshelf: will be back soon.

GRANTS AND TRAINING

Interdisciplinary Resource Protection and Law Training Course
This interdisciplinary course provides an understanding of the resource mission of the NPS through the primary laws, legal authorities, case law interpretation, and policies used to protect park resources. At the end of this course, Students will have knowledge required to apply legal authorities to safeguard natural and cultural resources, understand the broad range of threats to park resources, and have strategies to recognize and respond appropriately when resources are injured.

Students will practice using skills and roles for effective interdisciplinary group work through resource protection case studies. They will learn about the diversity of natural and cultural resources throughout the national park system and explore the threats these resources are vulnerable to. Methods for implementing resource protection, and visitor education and management will be presented.

Pre-work includes 7 self-paced on-line modules (~4 hours) and the web-based course Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS 100) or higher-level ICS training. Details will be provided after students have been selected. Instruction consists of 2 2-hour webinars and 28 hours of in-person training.

Course Objectives:

• Develop a working knowledge of the legal framework that safeguards natural and cultural resources in the National Park System.
• Explain why knowledge of park resources and values is central to each employee’s responsibility.
• Describe why every employee has a responsibility to contribute to the protection of resources.
• Use an integrated approach to identify and communicate threats to resources.
• Demonstrate effective group processes to ensure interdisciplinary and cooperative actions among NPS staff, partners and the public.

Who should attend? Recommended for commissioned employees, interpreters in resource education and public information, resource management discipline specialists, and facility management employees who will work in interdisciplinary teams. Priority for facilities employees will go to students in the Facilities Management Leadership Program (FMLP). Other disciplines are encouraged to apply. Permanent and term employees receive priority for attendance. Law enforcement refresher credit hours are available.

Dates: March 9 and 15 1:00-3:00 EDT – webinar; March 21-24 – in-person class in Hot Springs NP. You MUST attend both webinars and complete all the on-line learning before the in-person class.

Tuition & Travel Costs: No Tuition. Lodging in Hot Springs is $103; M&IE is $64, paid by home unit.

Registration Deadline: Applications close January 16, 2023. To Register, enroll through DOI Talent.

Contact: Cari Kreshak, e-mail us

Implementing a Successful Citizen Science Effort
The FWS will offer a distance learning course about implementing citizen science projects consisting of live, instructor-led webinars (Zoom) accompanied by an on-line classroom (DOI Talent). Participants start, end, and progress through the course together and with course instructors. Regardless of where you are in your citizen science efforts – planning your first project, expanding an existing program, using citizen science data to make natural resource decisions or to enhance educational outreach programming – this course has much to offer. Federal scientists interested in working with visitor services and outreach staff to implement a citizen science program or project will especially benefit.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the benefits of citizen science to accomplish your Agency's mission
• Identify a resource management issue and a target audience for your project
• Identify components of successful citizen science projects from case studies
• Know where to access resources and toolkits for your project

Dates: April 11 - May 16, 2023 (Session 1 - April 11; Session 2 - April 18; Session 3 - April 25; Session 4 - May 2; Session 5 - May 9; Session 6 - May 16) All sessions are 2 - 4 PM ET.

Location: On-line through live webinars and an on-line classroom.

Tuition: Free for FWS, NPS and USGS employees; $398.00 for other DOI agencies.

To register for the course, go to DOI Talent.

Contact: [e-mail]

Tribal Consultation Webinar Series

Federal agencies are required to engage in regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with Tribal officials. Government-to-government relationships should include regular and timely communication so that tribes may provide input on issues that may have a substantial direct effect on them. The Tribal Consultation Webinar series is being offered for NPS employees looking for an introduction into the Tribal consultation process, or those who want to refresh their skills or ask experts for advice on best consultation practices for managing park resources.

December 13, 2022 - Shared Stewardship
January 10, 2023 - Applied Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

These webinars are offered on the second Tuesday of the month, using the MS Teams platform, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET.

Register through the Common Leaning Portal. The link registers you for full series but you may attend as few or as many as you wish. Speakers for each session and additional information are available on the Common Learning Portal.

Contact: Cari Kreshak, e-mail us

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC:will be back soon.

Archeology E-Gram, distributed via e-mail on a regular basis, includes announcements about news, new publications, training opportunities, national and regional meetings, and other important goings-on related to public archeology in the NPS and other public agencies. Recipients are encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and relevant mailing lists. The E-Gram archive is available at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1038/archeology-e-gram.htm.

Contact: Karen Mudar at e-mail us to contribute news items and to subscribe.