Development, Production, and Initial Test of an Archaeological Site Potential Model for the Sabine National Forest in Advance of Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Frontalis Zimmerman) Outbreak

2022 Grant Award Announcement in Archeology & Collections

Award Recipient: Stephen F. Austin State University


Project Lead:

Dr. Robert Selden, Jr.
Research Associate
Heritage Research Center
Stephen F. Austin State University Station
Nacogdoches, Texas

Grant #P22AP02037

This project is supported by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, a unit of the National Park Service. This archeological research grant focuses on disaster planning and response and is awarded in the 2022 NCPTT Grants Program. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Park Service or the NCPTT.

Executive Summary

This project will develop an archaeological site model for the Sabine National Forest (SNF) in collaboration with National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT). National Forests in Mississippi have been heavily impacted by the Southern Pine Beetle (SPB) with the current outbreak now in Louisiana. SNF will likely be the first NFGT property impacted as it lies in the easternmost edge of Texas. The proposed model and mitigation protocol will guide decision-making strategy where a cut-and-leave decision would be triggered for trees in low-probability areas, and a cut-and-remove decision would be triggered in high-probability areas.