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H30 April 1, 2005 SUPERINTENDENT'S DIRECTIVE 2005 H-1 To: All Employees, Southeast Utah Group From: Superintendent, Southeast Utah Group Subject: Cultural Resource Site Information Disclosure Policy for the Southeast Utah Group Both the National Historic Preservation Act and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act mandate that Federal agencies only disclose site locations if no harm, theft, or destruction of cultural resources will result from disclosure. The pertinent sections of the acts are as follows: The head of any Federal agency, after consultation with the Secretary, shall withhold from disclosure to the public, information relating to the location or character of historic resources whenever the head of the agency or the Secretary determines that the disclosure of such information may create a substantial risk of harm, theft, or destruction to such resources or to the area or place where such resources are located. Section 304, National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. Information concerning the nature and location of any archaeological resource for which the excavation or removal requires a permit or other permission under this Act or under any other provision of Federal law may not be made available to the public under subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5 of the United States Code or under any other provision of law unless the Federal land manager concerned determined that such disclosure would--(1) further the purposes of this Act or the Act of June 17, 1960 (16 USC 469-469c), and (2) not create a risk of harm to such resources or to the site at which such resources are located. Section 9, Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979. To comply with these mandates, this directive establishes three categories or classes of cultural resource sites based on their ability to withstand visitor impacts due to the nature of the sites themselves, active physical protection, indirect protective mechanisms, and visitor demands to access the sites. Southeast Utah Group (SEUG) employees may provide locational information only to Class I and II sites, i.e., sites which are regularly interpreted, stabilized, monitored, conserved, patrolled, or otherwise protected from visitor impacts or harm. In addition, all permitted researchers working on cultural resource projects must also abide by this directive and are restricted from disclosing locational information to any but Class I and II sites. Tony Schetzsle Enclosure DISCLOSURE CLASSES Category I - Locations of Class I sites are readily disclosed to the public. Class I sites have a long history of tourist use, are marked on USGS topographic maps, are described in widely available guide books, are generally known to visitors, and/or are actively promoted as tourist destinations. Since Class I sites receive the greatest impacts from visitors, they receive the greatest physical protection and management intervention. Class I sites are listed in this Superintendent’s Directive and can be provided to visitors as a handout along with an appropriate site conservation message. Category II - Class II site locations may only be disclosed to the public when visitors request the information by site name, photograph or description, and the requested site is on the Class II Sites list in this Superintendent’s Directive. Class II sites may be as well known to visitors as Class I sites, but they are either more fragile or vulnerable to visitor impacts than Class I sites or there are other concerns (such as the presence of endangered species or visitor safety hazards) which result in Class II sites being unable to withstand the number of visitors received by Class I sites. When visitors receive locational information about Class II sites, they must also be instructed in how to behave when visiting the sites. For example, when visitors are told how to find a Class II rock art site, they are told not to touch the rock art or to leave any marks or graffiti on the site. At Class II structural sites, visitors are told not to lean or climb on walls, to leave artifacts in place, to stay on existing trails across the sites, etc. Class II sites are listed in this Superintendent’s Directive but this list should not be handed out to visitors. Category III - Class III sites include all known and unknown sites not listed in this Superintendent’s Directive under Class I and Class II. They are considered vulnerable, fragile cultural resources. Class III site locations are withheld from the public to ensure site preservation and protection, as mandated in the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA). While visitors are not told where Class III sites are located, they are welcome to discover them on their own, based on park and NPS enabling legislation. In summary, the adoption of this site disclosure management policy allows the park to balance demands of visitors to access cultural sites with mandates to preserve and protect significant cultural resources. To balance access with preservation, the site disclosure policy is directly linked to programs of direct and indirect site protection. A listing of Category I and II disclosure sites will be maintained at all park visitor information stations and within appropriate divisions. CLASS I SITES (Please feel free to provide this list of Class I sites as a handout to visitors) Arches National Park: Wolfe Ranch National Historic District Natural Bridges National Monument: Kachina Bridge Ruin (42SA06801) Canyonlands National Park: Aztec Butte Ruins (42SA00414, 42SA00418) Canyonlands National Park: SOB Hill Rock Art (42SA01448, 42SA01450) Canyonlands National Park: Alcove Site (42WN00372) Canyonlands National Park: Fort Bottom Cabin (42SA00078) Canyonlands National Park: Lathrop Canyon Ruins, Rock Art (42WN00974) Hovenweep National Monument* Cajon Unit *The structures in these units are considered Class I with the exceptions already in place through policy and guidelines (ex: Square Tower Ruin can only be viewed from the rim). |
Last updated: August 9, 2017