Public Advocacy
Tour of Red River Gorge Archaeological Sites
Michael French, President of the Kentucky Organization of Professional Archaeologists (KYOPA), has suggested that the FOAS may be able to contribute some support to the current and future policies regarding land management at the Red River Gorge. Just this past year, the archaeological sites at Red River Gorge were listed to the National Register of Historic Places as an Archaeological District. These sites have been nominated to the 2004 Top 11 Most Endangered Historic Sites in the Nation.
Michael has written the following:
KyOPA is taking an active role as a consulting party on the upcoming negotiations for the "Limits of Acceptable Change" plan for the Red River Gorge in Eastern Kentucky. The LAC will set up a management plan of sorts that balances the needs of the many thousands of people who visit the Gorge each year for recreation with concerns about environmental degradation and cultural resource preservation and other issues. Heavy utilization of the Gorge has led to the damage and destruction of a number of archaeological sites across the Gorge. It is important that the archaeological community works together to insure that the Forest Service Planners incorporate measures that preserve these archaeolgical resources. The LAC consultation process are a number of very LOUD voices by groups who treasure their activities in the Gorge such as rock climbing associations, campers, hikers, etc. It's time for KyOPA to get involved and be heard as well.
Cecil Ison, our hardworking colleague at the Daniel Boone National Forest, has volunteered to take us on a tour of the Red River Gorge to show us some of the important sites that are at risk and discuss some of the management issues that are at stake in the Gorge. The trip has been scheduled for Saturday, May 15, 2004. I encourage any of you who are concerned about the Gorge to attend and help add your voice to the process.
Ms. Susan Neumeyer, who worked to get the Red River Gorge listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will help coordinate the trip with Cecil. If you would like to join us for a hike through the Gorge please let us know. Once the LAC consultation process is underway, there will be a number of public meetings scheduled. Members of the KyOPA Board of Directors and the Red River Gorge Consultation Committee will be attending these meetings. If any of you are interested in attending these meetings please let me know and I will be sure to keep you informed of where and when the LAC meetings will occur. Please let me know.
Anyone from FOAS who wants to participate in this tour should coordinate with Susan Neumeyer by sending her an e-mail or giving her a call. Here is Susan's info:
- e-mail: Susan.Neumeyer@lrl02.usace.army.mil
- Phone: (502) 315-6681
Red River Gorge Consultation Process
From: Michael French, President
Kentucky of Professional Archaeologists
The Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) consultation process for the Red River Gorge is starting up in May and it is important that KyOPA and others interested in preserving the archaeogy of this area participate to the fullest extent possible. Several archaeologists from KyOPA will be present as members of the Red River Gorge Consultation Committee.
The initial LAC Orientation Meetings have been set for the following dates in May.
- Thursday, May 13, 2004, Burlington, Ky 6:00-8:00 P.M., Boone County Extension Office Claxon Room
- Tuesday, May 18, 2004, Natural Bridge State Resort Park, 6:00-8:00, Hemlock Lodge
- Thursday, May 20, 2004, 2:00-4:00, and 6:00-8:00, Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington Main Public Library
More information is available at this web link: http://www.southernregion.fs.fed.us/boone/lac/
If at all possible, I would like others interested in the archaeology of the Gorge to be represented at each of these meetings. It will be an opportunity for us to meet the other groups who will be vocal participants in the LAC process and let them know we are an active group with legitimate concerns for how over-utilization at the Gorge is adversely affecting archaeological sites and other cultural resources. If any of you have the opportunity to attend these meetings please let me know. Since these are weekdays, it may be a bit hard for some to attend all of the meetings.
We need all the help we can get. If any of you are involved in other cultural preservation groups such as Preservation Kentucky, I encourage you to contact their membership to pursuade them to participate in the consultation process. I am an avid proponent of the consultation process. However, the success of a consulation effort depends on the groups that participate. It's been my experience over the past several years that all consultation efforts are classic examples of the "squeaky wheel" metaphor. The loudest and most vocal groups are the ones that get heard the most by the lead Federal agency. Because the Red River Gorge is such as beloved recreation area, there are a number of very loud and very well-funded consulting groups who are not necessarily interested in cultural resource preservation. We need to be determined that these are NOT the only groups heard during the LAC consultation process.
If you can participate, and I hope many of you can, please send me a note by e-mail to michael.french@amec.com or give me a call at (502) 267-0700.
Best regards to all.
Michael W. French
KyOPA President