AZSITE: Arizona's Cultural Resource Inventory

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AZSITE Consortium Meeting Minutes
ASU, Tempe
October 31, 2002

Present


The meeting was called to order at 1:37 p.m.


The minutes from the July 31, 2002, meeting were approved.

  • Grants:

    •
      Carol Griffith reported that SHPO will not hear on their NEH grant until next spring. She discussed the need for sensitivity map layers for use by community planners who need to know generally archaeologically sensitive areas without exposing detailed site location area. The NEH grant would perhaps cover this type of application as well as get SHPO data into the system.

  • Database report:

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      Rick Karl reported that the spatial search engine on the old web page has been disabled because of instability due to essential incompatibility of MS and ArcIMS. The site cards and project records are still available for searching by specific site numbers. A bibliographic search function has been put up and is being populated. It is searchable by name, year, and title.

      The new interactive web page is being improved, based on the results of the user group meeting last spring. The new server is being ordered, and when installed will accommodate the 7.5' USGS maps, which was the biggest demand. It should be up and running by the first of the year. Within the next couple of weeks, the interactive web maps will be searchable by map quad and by city. A couple of fields have been added to the viewable attribute data. Just under 52,000 site records are complete. Another 16,000 have bad or missing location data and are being corrected. We are working on directly linking the site records in the old web site to the site data in the interactive web site. A logoff button is being added. Long range plans include a live link to the main database from the new interactive web page. This will increase the speed which new incoming data are made available on the web application.

      Michael Barton noted that the new Sun server is being purchased with user fees, and will run under an Apache server, for faster searching, improved performance, and improved security. Polygons will be visible earlier in the search (at four square miles rather than at 1 square mile).

      Rick Karl reviewed data completeness issues: data are complete for ASU, ASM records are complete for AZ T and U, eastern Pima County, east of the Tohono O'odham Nation, state trust lands data will be complete by the end of January. MNA data are being added regularly, but no systematic evaluation is available yet. BLM data are complete forYuma, Kingman, and Phoenix.

      The Standalone data entry module was updated within last month so all users should make sure to use the current version with new forms and tables. The site update field should be checked if the record is an update on a record that already exists in the database. The printable site form has been massively revised and edited to correct several small problems. It also prints the full citation for the report and the project name. By spring the project form in the standalone will also be useable as the ASM project registration form, BLM project form and SHPO project form.

      The SHPO undertaking number has been added; if contractors do not know what that number is, contact the federal lead agency to get it and make sure it is in the form so SHPO can access the correct data. GPS quality will be refined to include 5 fields to describe the source of the data based on FGDC standards. Another data users' review group will be scheduled for sometime in February after the new server is in place.

  • Management:

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      Beth Grindell reported that 26 agencies/institutions/companies have AZSITE accounts, with a total of 150 users. We are on target with numbers of agencies expected to use AZSITE, although the total number of users is smaller than projected. It is still necessary to manage 2 user lists (which means that a user gets immediate access to the site records but access to the maps is delayed a couple of weeks, but this will be simplified when the new server is installed.

      Beth Grindell recapped the BLM data users group meeting. Several western states now have some data available on-line. Colorado's looked good for historic sites; New Mexico, because theirs was the oldest, is now having to upgrade. In terms of the quantity of data available electronically, no state allows users unlimited download access to their databases. In most cases, users can simply view the data but not download it. Rick Karl pointed out that AZSITE is ahead in terms of complete electronic data management because it includes electronic search, electronic delivery, and electronic submissions to the file. Carol Griffith reviewed a recent western NCSHPO meeting and noted that she has asked both the ACHP and the Keeper of the National Register for opinions on authority to include all federal lands data in statewide databases.

  • Tribal concerns:

      • Carol Griffith reported that the Intertribal council is interested in another meeting on AZSITE. It needs to be held somewhere that a web connection can be established for a good demonstration of how AZSITE works and what's there.

  • New Business:

    •
      Jim Cogswell asked who should be contacted to correct discrepancies/errors in data. Corrected information should be sent to Rick Karl at ASM with an explanation of what the mistake is and why you know what the correct information is. There was further discussion at his request on the completeness of the data for each agency represented in the database. The web page details this as we best understand it. Requests requirements/standards/guidelines for minimum due diligence on searching paper and electronic records - what constitutes an adequate class 1 survey: basic information on known presence or absence of sites in an area? How is this best demonstrated to SHPO's satisfaction? Consortium members agreed to develop a statement and include it in the web site page dealing with data availability.

      David Wilcox reported that the Coconino NF supervisor's office has been condemned due to a mold problem and it has affected site records. Pilles' staff has gone to MNA to enter some of the records into the MNA system as a way to preserve the information, if not the record. MNA will then incorporate the data into AZSITE. Carol Griffith reported that Sitgreaves NF is also entering data into an ACCESS database, but not in the standalone.

      Cara Schmidt asked if there is someway to improve the visibility of small surveys hidden by larger surveys. We understand that re-sorting the data by polygon size will remove this problem and will try it with the next data upload. She further inquired how she can get further information on surveys marked as Unknown. For ASM and ASU data, contact Rick who will get the records completed. For SHPO data it is necessary to contact SHPO who will look at the data on the maps in their office. If the contractor gets the information from SHPO, it can be sent to ASM for incorporation into the database. She suggested some modification to the site display page. What about features that do not have numbers? This applies to historic canal features. Without a number they cannot be incorporated into the database.

      Carol Griffith mentioned that remedying this might have to be done through a context study. Beth Grindell suggested that the Salt River Project be asked to assign its own numbers so that the canals can be incorporated into the database if it doesn't wish to assign other agency numbers.

      Carol Heathington noted that Luke AFB is still interested in developing a process whereby it can participate in the statewide system and is looking for ways to make this possible, including potential technical solutions.

      Jim Cogswell volunteered that Northland is willing to do what it can in terms of letters of support, etc., for grant preparation. Michael Barton noted that we are willing to do collaborative grants for data entry if a contract firm is interested.

      Nancy Nelson, representing Ak-Chin, said that they would like a demonstration of the system at some point so a meeting will be set up to accommodate any tribal members who wish to attend.

    The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, January 8, 2003, at 1:30 p.m., at the Arizona State Museum, Tucson.

    The meeting was adjourned at 2:55 p.m.