An Archeological Survey Plan for the Western Region of the National Park Service: NPS Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program

• Main Author: Wells, Susan J.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: the Digital Archaeological Record
• Subjects: Historic; Archaeological Overview; Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex; Resource Extraction/Production/Transportation Structure or Features; Funerary and Burial Structures or Features; Non-Domestic Structures; Archaeological Feature; Rock Art; Ceramic; Chipped Stone; Fauna; Glass; Building Materials; Metal; Wood; Nasi; Archeological Survey
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.6067:XCV87M06G3_meta$v=1352916654384

The National Archeological Survey Initiative (NASI) was established to develop a System wide Archeological Inventory Program (SAIP) which in turn should improve the National Park Service's (NPS) accountability for cultural resources. Each region of NPS is required to produce a region wide survey plan. The Western Region of the National Park Service has 46 park units comprising more than 8,000,000 acres. Archeologically the region has a great deal of cultural diversity and a large number of sites. Only two percent of the region's lands have been surveyed to modern standards. Approximately 12,000 archeological sites have been reported, although less than half of them are recorded to modern standards. More than 200 properties in the Western Region are on the National Register of Historic Places. The survey plan for the Western Region is not a research design for the region. Instead, the Western Region Archeological Survey Plan is a planning document that incorporates information from Resource Management Plans (RMPs) and other sources. It follows the outline and criteria proposed in the SAIP document prepared by Aubry and others (1992). Much of the data are presented in tables that appear throughout the report. The plan includes a description of park lands, a regional overview and a report on the status of archeological inventory for the region. Region wide strategies for inventory survey, proposed projects and categorization of regional priorities are discussed.