AZSITE CONSORTIUM

Quarterly Meeting Notes

Wednesday, April 25, 2001

Archaeological Research Institute

Arizona State University

 

 

  1. Michael Barton convened the meeting at 1:35 pm.  A list of participants is attached.  The minutes of the January, 2001, meeting were approved.
  2. Beth Grindell reported that a second ADOT Transportation Enhancement Funds proposal is in preparation.  Owen Lindauer expressed concern over the need to show adequate progress on the first grant and there was a long discussion of the need to tailor the implementation of the existing grant to meet ADOT needs.
  3. Barton discussed upcoming improvements to the administration of the system, including:
    1. A self-registration protocol for users whose accounts have been approved by the SHPO.
    2. Web-based data upload procedures.  Data uploads are now being handled by ASM and the server itself will eventually move there, too.
  4. David Wilcox reported that the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department, through Peter Noyes, invited AZSITE consortium members to meet with them on February 27.  Wilcox, Barton, Carol Griffith and Grindell all attended a meeting in Window Rock.  Noyes informed the consortium that NNHPD had reached  a decision to develop their own database, for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the Nation includes territory from three states.  They plan to coordinate with the AZSITE database structure in the interests of compatibility, but the data will not be available through AZSITE.
  5. Gary Stumpf reported that EcoPlan had prepared electronic site records using the Data Entry Module and was prepared to submit it to BLM’s Cheryl Blanchard.  In a general discussion it was agreed that the BLM data should be submitted to AZSITE where it would be held in a corral until BLM’s archaeologists reviewed (and modified as necessary) the data.  At that time, the BLM archaeologist would notify Rick Karl at ASM that the data are ready be uploaded.  Stumpf agreed that one month would an adequate period of time for review of data sets.  If not reviewed within that time, they would be automatically uploaded.
  6. Grindell reported on phone conversations with John Welch, THPO for the White Mountain Apache Tribe.  We share an interest in exploring an AZSITE-related collaborative effort.  Grindell will talk to Welch to set up a date in late summer for Consortium members to go to WMAT to meet on the subject.
  7. Barton did a quick preview of suggested modifications to the website search protocol.  These would be developed by the ASU GIS lab under Jana Fry.  Stumpf mentioned the importance of a reliable land status theme.
  8. The meeting participants reviewed a “Draft Policy for AZSITE Web Access and Direct Access to AZSITE Database,” drafted by Carol Griffith.  Revisions included:
    1. Add “tribal governments” to item 1.
    2. Add “commissioners who meet the Secretary of Interior standards” to item 2 on Certified Local Governments.
  9. Chad Smith reported that he and the Intertribal Council of Arizona are opposed to large scale access by researchers to the database and that they plan to recommend that research proposals must be directed to the ITCA for approval for AZSITE access. 
  10. Stumpf reported a large scale planning effort underway in the Arizona Strip district that will require complete electronic records for that area.  Rick Karl mentioned that the data that have been done include only .shp files and attribute data has not been entered.   He will look into the situation.
  11. Grindell announced that Stantec, courtesy of John Giacobbe, will sponsor an AZSITE workshop on May 18 in coordination with the spring Arizona Archaeological Council meetings.  Registration is required.
  12. Next meeting established for October 31, 2001, 1:00 pm, at the Archaeological Research Institute, ASU, Tempe Center.

 

Participants:

 

Michael Barton, ASU, Chair

Beth Grindell, ASM, recording

David R. Wilcox, Museum of Northern Arizona

Chad Smith, Ft Mohave Tribe

Rick Karl, ASM

Owen Lindauer, ADOT

Gary Stumpf, BLM

Cathy Johnson, Arizona State Parks

Alison Jarrett, DOE/Western

Dan Newsome, SWCA

John Lindly, SWCA


Draft Policy for AZSITE Web Access and Direct Access to AZSITE Database

Reviewed and modified 4/25/01

 

AZSITE is Arizona’s inventory of known historic and archaeological cultural resources.  AZSITE also contains information about cultural resource surveys and projects.  Both historic and archaeological sites and surveys are geographically referenced through a geographic information system.  AZSITE has been developed to meet federal and state mandates, as a tool for preservation of resources through planning, for the review of projects for compliance with federal and state preservation legislation, and as a research tool for qualified researchers.  AZSITE is managed by a consortium of four state and private agencies, the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona, the Department of Anthropology at Arizona State University, the State Historic Preservation Office in Arizona State Parks, and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

 

Federal and state agencies have legal responsibilities to safeguard locational information about cultural resources and are authorized to restrict access to cultural site locations and other information about cultural resources under the Arizona Revised Statute Section 39-125; the National Historic Preservation Act, Title III, Section 304; and the Archaeological Resource Protection Act (16USC470aa et seq.).

 

Individuals wanting access to AZSITE through the Web and/or a SDE connection must complete and submit an “AZSITE Cultural Resources Inventory Database Application” to the State Historic Preservation Office. The following categories of users may be considered eligible for password access to AZSITE.

 

Web Access requires only a standard desktop web browser to view limited quantities of data at a time. 

The following types of users may receive user accounts and passwords for Web access:
  1. State and Federal Agency – Agency cultural resource managers and tribal governments.
  2. Certified Local Governments (National Park Service Certified) – 1)  Cultural Preservation Office staff working under the direction of the City or County Cultural Preservation Officer who meets the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Standards, or 2) CLG Commissioners who meet Secretary of Interior’s Professional Standards.  The City or County Preservation Officer or Commissioner must sign the “Database User Application” as the responsible institution/agency/company representative.
  3. Counties and other Municipal Governments – Historic preservation staff/officers who meet the Secretary of Interior’s Standards and are acting for the municipality in a historic preservation program capacity.
  4. Consulting Firms who are carrying out historic preservation activities  - Cultural resource staff who individually meet or are working under the direct supervision of a company official who meets the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Standards. The company owner/official must sign the “Database User Application” as the responsible institution/agency/company representative.
  5. Researchers – University/College Professors who meet the Secretary of Interior’s Standards and students working directly under the direction of a University/College Professor. The Professor must sign the “Database User Application” as a representative of the responsible institution/agency/company official.

 


Direct Access to the AZSITE Database  

This type of access requires that users have an SDE-enabled application such as ESRI’s ArcView or ArcInfo, as well as MS ACCESS 2000 installed.  It permits downloading of large quantities of data and is available to the following types of users:
    1.  State and Federal Agencies, Tribal Governments – With a formal Inter-agency Service Agreement or Programmatic Agreement.
    2. Certified Local Governments (National Park Service Certified) – With a formal contractual agreement.
    3. Counties and other Municipal Governments – With a formal contractual agreement.