News Release Archive

Reclamation Awards $2.4 Million Contract for Historic Property Mitigation Plan for Glen and Grand Canyons

Media Contact: Lisa Iams, (801) 524-3673, liams@uc.usbr.gov

For Release: January 31, 2008

The Bureau of Reclamation today awarded a $2.4 million contract for a mitigation plan to protect historic properties downstream of Glen Canyon Dam in both the Glen Canyon reach and the Colorado River Corridor of Grand Canyon.

The contract was awarded to the Utah State University Department of Geology to recover and analyze data from four archaeological sites that could be impacted by potential erosion. These sites were identified by Utah State University, the Zuni Cultural Resource Enterprise, and the Navajo Nation Archaeological Department as part of an initial site condition evaluation conducted between 2004 and 2006 which yielded specific treatment recommendations for these sites.

"Protection and preservation of the cultural resource sites in Glen and Grand Canyons continues to be an important component of the Adaptive Management Program," said Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner, Robert Johnson. "The protection work to be done at these sites represents the beginning of on-going work that will continue over the next decade."

Work will begin in February at the first site located in the Glen Canyon reach, and conclude in September, 2008. The Zuni Cultural Resource Enterprise will fulfill a significant role in conducting the on-site field work as part of a collaborative effort between Reclamation and National Park Service with participation by several Native American tribes in monitoring excavation activities and providing interpretive insights. Over the next ten years, additional contract awards are anticipated for cultural resource preservation work to be done at 54 other historic properties in both Glen and Grand Canyons.

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