SOCIETY FOR CALIFORNIA A R CHAEOLOGY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 11 NO 3 JULY 1977 .EXEDUTIVE BOARD AND DATA SHARING MEEI'INGS SEr COALITION PROPOSES MOJAVE DESERT PARK "The Mojave National Park Coalition, a Barstow­ Southern Data Sharing Meetings have been set based group, is calling for the establisbllent ' of a for October 15 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, national park or monument in the eastern Mojave and Northern Data Shari ng will be at Sonoma on Desert. The proposed area lies between interstates October 22nd. An Executive Board Meet ing will be 15 and 40 and includes a number of historic and pre­ held Saturday, September 9th, at Dave Frederickson•s, historic sites: the Cima Dome, the Kelso Dunes, the 1940 Parker St., Berkeley, 94704. An Executive Mo jave Cinder Cones, the Providence Mountains Board meeting will also be held in conjunction (including Mitchell's Caverns), t he Mo jave Trail and with the Sonoma meetings in Oc tober. the Government Road used prior to the Civil War. Three major types of desert vegetation, 47 species of animals, 200 species of birds, and 36 species of reptiles have been noted in this area. The unusual WINTER COMES TO EUREKA character of the Eastern Mo.jave region and the need to provide a greater measure of protection have Joe Winter, SCA President, has resigned his been recognized by both the National Park Service job at San Jose State to accept a position as and the California Park System." archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service at Six Rivers National Forest. As of September 1st, CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL COURIER he may be contacted at the Six Rivers National 5/77. Forest office, 710 E Street, Eureka, CA 95501, SPEX::IAL FISHING RIGHTS DENIED TO NATIVE AMERICANS (707)442-1721 "Special fishing rights granted to American Indians more than 100 years ago under federal treaties have been denied to their descendants by STATE TASK FORCE HEARS TESTIMONY FROM the Washington Supreme Court. The ruling was a ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND NATIVE AMERICANS victory for non-Indian fishermen who ha.d challenged the special fishing s easons granted to the Indians. A State Task Force composed of representatives In writing t he majority opinion, Justice Hugh J of state agencies , the California State Legislature, Rosellini said that as U. S. citizens, native and the general public has just completed a series Americans •can neither be denied equal protection of investigative hearings to solicit oral and _ _ of~the-laws-nor granted spec1al·pr i vileges and i.rritten testimony from individuals and organiza­ immunities."' tions involved in geothermal development. Ron May, Dave Fredrickson and Clyde Kuhn testified as expert LOS ANGELES TIMES 6/10/77 witnesses on behalf of the archaeological and scientific community, while Art Pheland and Stan Meyer (of the Sierra Mono Indian Museum) testified on behalf of the Native American community. The VILLAGE SI TE DISCOVERED AT CLEAR LAKE culmination of the task force' s investigation will be a report with recommendations for specific "Traces of a village possibly as old as 12, 000 actions to the Legislature and the Governor. years have been uncovered in Northern California by an archaeologist working on a routine survey for C ~YDE KUHN 6/17/77 a sewer project. Ann Peak said she and her associ­ ates found small chips and obsidian tools in rodent burrows while working on an environmental impact report this week on the east end of Clear Lake. They dug down about 10 feet and found the village site, she reported. Lab tests to determine the age of the tools will not be concluded until next month." LOS ANGELES TIMES Next News Deadline Sept. 9 6/17/77 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD DEX:ISION AJlOUT FUNDING lle•p iqformed ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND EXCAVATION "Orange county may spend $208,000 over the next year protecting archaeological sites Keith Dixon, CSU, Long Beach, was appointed a from developers~nearly triple the initial member of the Orange County Historical Commission estimate of the program's cost. by the Board of Supervisors on April 20th• ••• "County supervisors Tuesday, after SLOCAS reports Georgia Lee has returned to Santa raising questions about the higher cost, Barbara from her studies on the East Coast ••• and ordered the Environmental Management Agency (:EMA) Einar Berg is preparing a large mural in the to get board approval each time and of the money office of the Dpartment of Development in SLO, is spent. showing a map of the county with archaeological artifacts portrayed (Artifact, July-August 1977). "The funds will be used to help resolve the lingering dispute between developers and scientists Although it has been claimed frequently that over the preservation of archaeological sites. the Antiquities Act of 1906 lacks teeth or applica­ The developers claim their projects have been tion, Bobby Greenwood notes that it was invoked slowed by concerns over what sort of bones and in the desert recently when the federal government pottery lie buried beneath· ·the building site, took a meteorite found by-·some prospectors. Even while the archaeologists feel the builders though the prospectors had filed a prospect claim aren't being sensitive to the necessity of saving quickly, the Bll1 claimed title under the Antiquities the artifacts. Act, brought in a helicopter to airlift the massive meteor out of the canyon where it had been found, "The supervisors stepped into the feud three a...~d announced that it would be sent to the weeks ago following a report by a committee of Smithsonian Institution•••• developers and archaeologists. The board agreed that the county would pay .for excavation and Bobby also sent on the following comments, or preservation of the artifacts by tacking the cost mini-review, on a play called The Mound Builders, onto the building and grading pe:rmit fees charged by Lanford Wilson, which SCA members may want to developers. watch for: "The plot involves a senior-type archae­ ologist and his young assistant, with their assorted, "In approving the funding mechanism, the board troubled wives, involved in a race against time in acknowledged that the end results would be slightly their efforts to complete research at a mound site higher prices for homes built on the sites. threatened with inundation. Complications and the "At the time, El1A dire~tor George Osborne central issue arise from the conflict between the estimated that the program would cost about S75,000 local landowner who stands to profit from new lake­ a year. But Tuesday, Osborne said the figure could side development, and the archaeologists who are go as high as $208 1 000 a year. Osborne said themselves exploiting the site in te:rms of univers­ $33,000 of that money will pay the salary and fringe ity grants, their own advancement, and the summer benefits of a full-time archaeologist to be hired field school. The play is excellent, and both sides by EMA. •••The rest will be set aside to pay for fairly presented. Even the details (trowel in the excavation of sites to recover the artifacts and back pocket) are accurate, since Jim Hill was the to acquire 'significant• sites. advisor to cast and crew. A most unusual theater experience." "Osborne said the developers will still have to pay for an initial archaeological survey of their Ike Eastvold, Chairman, and members of the property, which will be evaluated by the county's Desert Watch group, have been working with members archaeologist. of the Colorado River Tribes to fence and protect four intaglio (giant ground figure) sites on "The county will then decide whether fuxther reservation lands. Three of the 4 figures were excavation is needed or whether the builder can go recently found to have been damaged by motorcycles,, ahead with his project. although Ea.stvold describes the damage as "not yet substantial." The figu:res include concentric "A decision by the county's archaeologist can circles, orbed rod shapes, and wavy snake shapes, be appealed to the Planning Commission, Osborne the longest measuring about 150 feet. Anyone said. interested in helping with the important projects scheduled for this summer {near Perris 0 Hemet, .and "Osborne conceded that it is difficult to Mockingbird Canyon, F.iverside--County-)-1-sh ·ciul:d-­ a._~y_predict wha:t_J;~~8"EUll will cost. contact Ike at 541 Frospect St., Highgrove, CA Thorough archaeological surveys have never been 92507, (714) 787--0870 or 787-2551 •• .'. done in the south part of the county where most of the housing construction is taking place and where The California Desert Conservation Area Advisory most of the 'significant' archaeological sites are Committee met July 7-9th at UC, Riverside, to make thought to exist. basic decisions about the work program for the California Desert Plan, interim management actions "He said he expected to .have a revised building of the BLM on the desert, .and public participation. and grading permit fee schedule for the board's Can anyone give us some input on results of the approval within 90 days." meetings? . PATRICK BOYLE ••• The ~au of Land Management's Bishop Re source Los Angeles Times, 6/??/77 Resource A:rea office has moved to a more accesssible (no date giv.en on clipping) location at 873 North Main Street, Bishop, from its office 10 miles north of Bishop. The new phone number is (714) 872-4881, and office hours are 7!30 A.M. to 4:15 P.M. Ben Collins remains Bishop Resource Area Mana~er, and welco.nes visii;ors ai; the new l ocation. 2 rJ · LUISENO AND OFFICIALS AGREE TO DELAY I-15 to be advertised for construction bids last April, FREEMAY FOR FURTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY are a stretch from .