Breaking: GCAS Submits Comment on the Gila River Diversion Proposal

NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 6:00 PM at 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City, New Mexico. The GCAS's next monthly IN-PERSON ONLY meeting features speaker geoarchaeologist Dave Rachal PhD of Tierra Vieja Consulting in Las Cruces NM. Doors open at 6:00 PM with light refreshments on offer. Socializing and a brief-to-nonexistent business meeting will immediately precede Dave's presentation of: How Did The Seeds Get There? Ruppia cirrhosa Ecology, Depositional Context and Accurate Radiocarbon Dating at White Sands: "The stratigraphic and geomorphic contexts, and ultimately the chronometric determinations, at White Sands Locality-2 (WHSA-2) are topics of controversy that stem from conflicting interpretations of the processes that deposited the Ruppia cirrhosa (Ruppia) seeds within the paleo-Lake Otero footprint site....[O]ur interpretation depicts the shoreline as an unstable, dynamic lake margin to which Ruppia seeds...were transported from deep-water, offshore growth beds during storm events and deposited on the lake shore in seed balls. These unusual aggregates, known to mix seeds of wide-ranging ages, were gradually broken apart by several cycles of wave action and erosion and redeposited in layers....[W]e will delve into both the ecology and the depositional context of Ruppia and discuss why the Ruppia seeds at paleo-Lake Otero are problematic materials for radiocarbon dating." Check out Dave's and Tierra Vieja Consulting's YouTube videos (links are on our Events page) and bring your questions for him!

NEXT FIELD TRIP: TBA - watch this space and your newsletters for details as they develop.

A Brief History of Water Rights in Tularosa Canyon

Today's Guest Blogger/Photographer: Kyle Meredith

Breaking: GCAS Submits Comment on the Gila River Diversion Proposal

06/06/2020

On June 3, 2020, the GCAS Board of Trustees submitted a formal comment in opposition to the US Bureau of Reclamation's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which proposes a diversion of the Gila River in the general area of Virden, New Mexico. All of the Bureau of Reclamation's proposed alternatives for river diversion and construction appear certain to damage or destroy a large number of historic and archaeological sites throughout the proposed project area which spans both New Mexico and Arizona.

The GCAS's own Marty Eberhardt had first alerted the GCAS Board to this DEIS, suggesting that the GCAS would want to submit a formal comment. The Hopi Tribe had already submitted their own comment in opposition to the DEIS, recommending to the Bureau of Reclamation that no action whatsoever should be taken to divert the Gila River due to the risk of destruction of numerous areas containing human remains as well as hundreds if not thousands of archaeological sites and features in the project area that are of great cultural significance to the Hopi.

Difficulty: the deadline for comments would expire on June 8, 2020. The GCAS Board had to move fast.

President Kyle Meredith promptly convened the GCAS Board via email. Within 24 hours a majority of the Board had discussed the issues relevant to the GCAS, formulated a response, and wrote and submitted a formal comment to the Bureau of Reclamation's DEIS. The GCAS comment supports the Hopi Tribe's input in its entirety and likewise advocates the No Action option, adding that: (1) the numerous archaeological and historic sites throughout the Gila River diversion project area reflect a number of different precursor cultures that are significant not just to the Hopi Tribe but to many other Native groups; (2) the scientific and cultural information these sites contain would be irretrievably lost if the proposed diversion occurred; (3) thus these sites merit protection and further scientific research before any feasible development decision can be considered; and (4) funds should be made available and prioritized for archaeological surveys and for any excavation or mitigation such surveys deem necessary, before any other decision or action be taken within the proposed Gila River diversion project area.

This is your GCAS Board of Trustees in action, people. Kudos!

Read the entire one-page GCAS comment in Word format: Download comment-DEIS-Gila.doc (104.5K) or in PDF format: Download comment-DEIS-Gila.pdf (122.0K)

For updates on this DEIS follow the Gila Conservation Coalition or join their mailing list.

/s/ webmaster

Posted at 06:00 AM in Archaeology, Current Affairs, Get Involved, Historic Sites, Mimbres-Mogollon, Puebloan Culture, US Southwest | Permalink | Comments (0)

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