Colorado River District
| Contacts: | Lori Cook - 928-317-3243 or 928-246-8560 |
BLM Celebrates Arizona Archaeology Month
Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – To celebrate Arizona Archaeology Month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado River District has scheduled tours of archaeological and historic sites in Parker and Kingman, Arizona, during the month of March.
The BLM Lake Havasu Field Office will present guided tours of the historic Swansea Mining Town site from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. each Tuesday throughout the month of March. You will see remnants of a small town that began 100 years ago and became known for its copper mining and smelter. The Swansea site is located southeast of Parker, Arizona. Take Highway 95 to Shea Road, turn east, and follow signs to Swansea (graded dirt road until the last five miles). A high clearance vehicle is helpful but not required. Please bring water and hiking shoes. For more information on these tours, please contact Dr. George Shannon, BLM Archaeologist, at 928-505-1255, gshannon@blm.gov or BLM Volunteer Mike Riddle, 928-716-2723, mriddle@blm.gov.
The BLM Kingman Field Office will offer a rock art hike near Kingman, Arizona, led by BLM Archaeologist Tim Watkins. The hike is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 10, 2012, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The site is a place called “Indian Point” in the Hualapai Valley. If time permits, the hike may also include a visit to the nearby Elements Canyon petroglyph/pictograph site or “Metate Hill” which is another great rock art locale. A high clearance vehicle is needed. The public is asked to bring water, sunscreen, and hiking shoes. The hike is suitable for 8+ years. The meeting location for the hike will be the Kingman Field Office, 2755 Mission Blvd, Kingman, Ariz. Please contact Tim Watkins at 928-718-3757 or twatkins@blm.gov for date confirmation.
“We are very excited to offer these tours,” said BLM Acting Colorado River District Manager Vi Hillman. “This is a great opportunity to get out and enjoy your public lands and also learn about sites that were preserved to record the history of people that lived in the area long ago.”
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.