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Contact: Hans Stuart, 505-438-7510 Stephen Fosberg, 505-438-7415 |
BLM, SHPO, and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Sign Agreement to Promote Studies of Human History in Southeastern New Mexico
Santa Fe—In a departure from business as usual, the Bureau of Land Management, State Historic Preservation Office and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation have signed an agreement to allow the oil and gas industry to fund excavations and other studies of archaeological sites in a heavily surveyed area of southeastern New Mexico, in place of funding additional surveys when proposing new development on public lands.
The BLM has selected a project area of 1.1 million acres with extensive oil and gas development east of Artesia southward to the Texas border to test this option. It is projected that existing inventories from more than 11,800 archaeological surveys have already recorded 70 percent or more of the cultural sites within the project area.
In the past BLM and the SHPO required the industry to survey for archaeological sites whenever new development was proposed, with the goal of avoiding the sites. What was lacking, however, has been funding to study the resources themselves.
“We have extensive inventories of archaeological resources in this area,” said Linda Rundell, New Mexico State Director for the BLM in Santa Fe. “It’s time to learn from what we have and share it with the public.”
Industry payments into this voluntary program would be the same as funding they are required to provide for archaeological surveys when proposing new development. Depending on the number of companies that choose to participate in the program, up to $1 million a year could be available to fund research and educational efforts.
“Thanks to this agreement, we may soon be in a position to rewrite the prehistory of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas,” said Stephen Fosberg, State Archaeologist for the BLM. “We will learn the sequence of cultural evolution by excavating, dating and intensively studying these sites.”
“This agreement sets in place a pilot study that in a few short years can improve the management of historic properties in southeastern New Mexico,” said Katherine (Kak) Slick, the State Historic Preservation Officer. “And, by more thoroughly studying the information we have from existing surveys, we will have a much clearer idea of the types of resources that will be encountered during future explorations.”
"This is yet another example of thinking outside the box by the BLM in New Mexico,” said Bob Gallagher, Executive Director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. “I look forward to our member companies participating in this agreement. I also commend BLM in leading the way in the regulatory arena so that we can keep up with our country’s growing appetite for energy while protecting our nation’s very important cultural and environmental qualities.”
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires that the effects of potential development on historic properties be considered before approving actions on federal lands.
The government has required that archaeological surveys be done in areas slated for oil and gas development with the goal of avoiding adverse effects to any identified historic properties. Under the agreement signed this month, oil, gas and energy service companies, including seismic exploration and pipeline companies, may elect to fund archaeological studies in the project area rather than traditional surveys.
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