The Honorable Doug Ducey

State of Arizona

1700 West Washington

Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Governor Ducey,

The Arizona Archaeological Council (AAC), a nonprofit organization of more than 200 professional archaeologists, strongly urges you to veto House Bill 2498. The bill is unnecessary, and was introduced and amended without proper consultation of professional archaeologists or Native American communities. The language of House Bill 2498, which would amend the Arizona State Historic Preservation Act(Arizona Revised Statues 41-861 et seq.) conflicts with language in the Arizona Antiquities Act (Arizona Revised Statues 41-841 et seq.) and has the potential to result in litigation against the state by promoting the use of inadequately trained and unsupervised para-archaeologists. The AAC position is supported by thousands of professional and avocational archaeologists and Arizona’s tribal communities including members of the Society for American Archaeology, the Registerof Professional Archaeologists, the Coalition for American Heritage, the Society for Historic Archaeology, the American Cultural Resources Association, the American Rock Art Research Association, the Arizona Site Steward Foundation, the Arizona Preservation Foundation, Tohono O’odham Nation, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the Cocopah Tribe, and the Pascua-Yaqui Tribe.

House Bill 2498 was prepared and lobbied for by the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association and introduced by Arizona State Representative David L. Cook (R – District 8/Globe). The AAC respects the very real concerns of Representative Cook and Arizona’s ranchers, and although House Bill 2498 represents a good faith effort to streamline rangeland improvements, the lack of collaboration with professional archaeologists and Native American communities during the legislative process resulted in a bill that is inherently flawed and unnecessary, and puts Arizona’s heritage resources at risk. The AAC is committed to working with Representative Cook and the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association to find solutions that are amenable to all stakeholders. Arizona’s heritage resource professionals, Representative Cook, and Arizona’s cattlemen can work together to find solutions to streamline the cultural resources compliance process while preserving Arizona’s rich cultural heritage Therefore, we urge you to veto House Bill 2498so that a solution that benefits all parties can be reached.

Respectfully,

David R. Hart

Arizona Archaeological Council President

(928) 606-0757