Site stewards needed to protect dinosaur bones, petroglyphs

This file photo shows petroglyphs at the Land Hill site in Santa Clara, some of the cultural resources the BLM is tasked with protecting, St. George, Utah, May 5, 2016 | Photo by Don Gilman, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Do you enjoy the outdoors and want to protect Southern Utah’s archaeological and paleontological past? Then being a site steward might be for you.

This file photo shows the Zipper Glyph petroglyph panel at Parowan Gap, undated | Photo courtesy of Nancy Dalton, Parowan Heritage Foundation, St. George News

Site stewards are needed to help protect the thousands of irreplaceable cultural and natural resources from rock art and pottery sherds to dinosaur footprints which remain on public lands in Washington County.

Southwest Utah National Conservation Lands Friends and the Bureau of Land Management St. George Field Office are offering training April 28-29 for stewards to monitor paleontological and archaeological sites.

The training is intended for volunteers who are serious about protecting the resources on BLM-administered public lands in Washington County, Susan Crook, Southwest Utah National Conservation Lands Friends director and land program manager for Conserve Southwest Utah, said in a written statement.

Site stewards are trained to monitor cultural sites for damage, vandalism and change over time; they help protect the resources by visiting their and taking photos which are submitted along with written reports.

Petroglyphs at the Land Hill site in Santa Clara are some of the cultural resources the BLM is tasked with protecting, St. George, Utah, May 5, 2016 | Photo by Don Gilman, St. George News

Two days of training for new site stewards will be conducted by BLM St. George Field Office archaeologist Lori Hunsaker and archaeology technician Geralyn McEwen.

The April 28 training, a Friday, will be a classroom session at the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce office, 136 N. 100 East, St. George. The April 29 session, a Saturday, will start at the chamber office at 9 a.m. with a review followed by field training at the Land Hill Heritage Site in the Santa Clara River Reserve.

Anyone interested in signing up for the training may send an email to Susan Crook at [email protected]. Potential volunteers will be sent a questionnaire to complete; candidates must complete and return the questionnaire and RSVP for the training in order to be registered.

The Site Steward program is co-managed by Southwest Utah National Conservation Lands Friends and the BLM St. George Field Office. SUNCLF is a part of Conserve Southwest Utah, a local conservation group.

Event details

  • What: Site steward training.
  • When: Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Where: St George Area Chamber Of Commerce Office, 136 N. 100 East, St. George.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

 

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