ON LOCATION Matt Zweifel works in south-central Utah, in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) and on other surrounding BLM lands. GSENM, the first National Monument to be entrusted to BLM's management, was created in 1996 by Presidential Proclamation, in recognition of its "spectacular array of scientific and historic resources" and "long and dignified human history." (In 2000, BLM established the vast National Landscape Conservation System, encompassing additional National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, National and Historic Trails, and other special places with unique scientific values and conservation needs.) GSE is a high, rugged region 1.9 million acres in area, a portion of the Colorado Plateau that was the last place in the lower 48 United States to be mapped. Tall cliffs of vermilion, gray, or white sandstone stretch from one horizon to the other, juniper and pinion forests flanking their bases, with arches, overhangs, rock shelters, dramatic—and sometimes bizarre—rock formations, and cottonwood groves surrounding the streams and springs. Movies, television shows, and advertisements frequently feature similar southwestern landscapes, making them familiar sights to many who have never seen them in person. The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is a place of spectacular scenery and deep canyons. But there's more to the Monument than just its extraordinary scenery. GSENM was established to include three large and very different types of environmental zones—the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Escalante Canyons. Each has its own character: the dramatic stair-step cliffs of the Grand Staircase, which runs from the Arizona border to Bryce Canyon National Park; the huge expanses of plateau top and canyons that characterize the Kaiparowits Plateau; and the spectacular slickrock and deep, sinuous canyons of the Escalante River and its tributaries. Each area boasts its own geologic history, its own ecosystems, and its own archaeology. Even today, this unspoiled region remains a true frontier, a quality that greatly enhances the Monument's value for scientific study. Archaeologists examining an excavated Fremont pit house, Escalante area.  Left to right:  Douglas McFadden (GSENM), Matthew Zweifel (GSENM), and Blaine Miller (BLM).  The upright sandstone slabs define the circular room of the pit house and the access/vent shaft.  This structure would have had a roof over the house and access shaft. The access shaft faces southeast, away from the prevailing winter winds. The archaeology of the Grand Staircase area is dominated by sites of the Virgin Anasazi people, farmers who lived here from about 400 AD to 1200 AD. In the Escalante Canyons area, the archaeology is primarily that of the Fremont culture, another group of horticulturalists who existed during the same time period as the Anasazi. The Kaiparowits Plateau encompasses a mixture of Fremont and Anasazi sites around its eastern fringes, but sites in the interior are mostly traced either to Archaic times (before the Anasazi and Fremont) or to the Paiute Indians who lived here following the disappearance of the Anasazi and Fremont cultures. Matt always finds fieldwork in this part of the country to be exciting. For one thing, he has to be pretty self-sufficient: much of the time he works alone, and it can be a really long, hard trek back to "civilization." A typical field day for Matt starts with a lengthy truck ride, followed by interesting hours of hiking to one or more archaeological sites for studies or excavations. (By the way, field archaeologists always bring extra water and food, a shovel, and a radio, because they never know when they may get stuck somewhere!) Helicopters help Matt get to the far-flung areas of the Kaiporowits Plateau and Escalante Canyons . Most of the time, there are no trails to follow, so Matt also has to be very good at orienteering, that is, finding his way cross-country with only a map and a compass to guide him. GSENM canyons are deep and twisty, and the cliffs are steep and tall. Sometimes, it's faster to hike along the floor of a winding canyon for a few miles than it is to climb out and go over the top. But summer storms—and resulting flash floods—can come on very quickly, so Matt must always keep an eye on the weather and make sure not to get trapped in a narrow canyon when rain threatens. There are still places within GSENM that are so remote that Matt and his colleagues, along with their supplies, are flown in by small plane or helicopter for a week at a time. Matt truly appreciates these out-of-the-way spots, since isolated, pristine environments are getting very hard to find in modern-day America.