[OR_Archaeology] Determination by the Keeper on the Eligibility of Nantucket Sound. Something similar in Oregon?

[Wendy Ann Wright]

For those of you following the Section 106 process for the Cape Wind
turbine project in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts that has been
getting a lot of national attention...

The Keeper of the National Register has found the Nantucket Sound
eligible for the National register of Historic Places under Criterion
A,B,C,D.  You can get to the whole document here:
http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/guidance.htm

This finding was in response to the lack of agreement between Minerals
Management System (MMS), the federal agency who determined it was not
eligible, and the federally recognized Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe,
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, and Massachusetts State Historic
Preservation Officer (SHPO) who all determined it eligible.

The Federal Preservation Officer (FPO) who made this determination for
MMS is a registered professional archaeologist (RPA).  My phone calls
to the Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) for both of these
Tribes included conversations about the lack of trust between tribal
cultural resource staff and archaeologists because of these types of
situations, especially because for the most part they have not heard
from others in the archaeological community.  I have also spoken with
the FPO for MMS, but he has been very careful to not say much.  He
just kept asking me if I was a reporter.

Ken Salazar, the Secretary of the Interior has issued a statement in
response to the ruling by the Keeper.  Basically it says he is going
to bring all the parties together to talk.  You can read it here:
http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/010410.html

There are numerous news articles about the ruling on the web right
now, many of them with misinformation about Section 106.  Here is the
New York Times article from January 4th:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/science/earth/05wind.html

Tom King has been on the phone with a number of reporters trying to
explain the Section 106 process so he has published his thoughts about
it on his blog, which can be found here:
http://crmplus.blogspot.com/2010/01/national-register-of-historic-places.html

I'm interested if people agree with Tom King or have comments.  Is
this something that could happen in Oregon as well?  Are there lessons
we can take from Nantucket Sound?  Does the professional archaeology
community have a responsibility to issue a statement in regards to
Nantucket Sound?

Cheers,
Wendy Ann

-- 
Wendy Ann Wright
Portland State University
Anthropology Department
503-853-0595
www.web.pdx.edu/~waw