Los Alamos National Laboratory compliance with cultural resource management legislation
Cultural resources management is one aspect of NEPA-induced legislation increasingly affecting federal land managers. A number of regulations, some of them recent, outline management criteria for protecting cultural resources on federal land. Nearly all construction projects at the 11,135 hectare Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico are affected by cultural resource management requirements. A substantial prehistoric Puebloan population occupied the Laboratory area from the 13th to the early 16th centuries. Grazing, timbering, and homesteading followed Indian occupation. Therefore, archaeological and historical ruins and artifacts are abundant. The Laboratory has developed a cultural resources management program which meets both legal and project planning requirements. The program operates in coordination with the New Mexico State Historical Preservation Office. Major elements of the Laboratory program are illustrated by a current project involving relocation of a homesteader's cabin located on land required for a major new facility. The Laboratory cultural resource management program couples routine oversight of all engineering design projects with onsite resource surveys and necessary mitigation prior to construction. The Laboratory has successfully protected major archaeological and historical ruins, although some problems remain. The cultural resource program is intended to be adjustable to new needs. A cultural resource management plan will provide long-term management guidance.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 6255490
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-84-3529; CONF-841187-17; ON: DE85003730
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 5. DOE environmental protection information meeting, Albuquerque, NM, USA, 6 Nov 1984
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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