Stewardship Program

Chairperson: Gary Knudsen

The purpose of the Arkansas Site Stewardship Program is two-fold:

to provide more effective protection of important prehistoric and historic sites in Arkansas
to provide an opportunity for Society members to be “proactive” in educating landowners and the general public, while at the same time preserving specific sites.

There are only three requirements to become a Steward of the Past:

You must be a member of the Arkansas Archeological Society
You must be willing to spend time and effort in conservation and protection of archeological sites
You must attend a day-long Workshop, offered once a year during and at the same location as the Training Program.

Application
Each person wishing to become a Steward of the Past must complete an application form that can be obtained from the Society’s Central Office or from any Survey Station Archeologist. Send the application to Dr. Ann Early, State Archeologist, 2475 N. Hatch Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704, and she will distribute it for review by the Society Site Stewardship Committee and by the Station Archeologist in the area where the applicant lives.

Workshop
The required Workshop, held on one of the days off during the Training Program, will be announced in the March/April issue of this newsletter. Duties and responsibilities will be reviewed in detail.

Assignment of sites
After the Training Program, the Steward will meet with the Station Archeologist in whose area he/she lives to discuss assignment of a site or sites for which the Steward will be responsible. If the Steward is interested in being responsible for a site in another area, he/she should contact the Station Archeologist. Duties and responsibilities with the landowner will be reviewed. The Steward and the Station Archeologist will arrange to meet the landowner and visit the site. The Steward will then be expected to visit the site at least once a year and report on any changes in the condition of the site on a Site Revisit Form.

Anyone wishing more information should contact Dr. Ann Early at 479-575-3556 or amearly@uark.edu.