News Release
| Release Number: | 00-126 |
| Dated: | 7/18/2000 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. – The recent conviction of three men in Washington is a reminder to the public that disturbing archaeological sites or removing archaeological items such as bottles, arrowheads or flint chips from these sites is illegal and punishable under state and federal laws.
The men were convicted in Klickitat County, Wash., for disturbing and looting a cultural resource site along the Washington shore of the Columbia River. The incident occurred in July 1999.
Disturbing archaeological sites on federal land is a violation of the Archeological Resources Protection Act, as well as applicable state laws. Under ARPA, a person can be convicted of either a felony or misdemeanor, fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to up to five years in prison. State laws have different sentencing guidelines.
The Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, manages hundreds of cultural sites on land surrounding its reservoirs in Oregon and southern Washington because Native Americans and early-American pioneers settled near water.
The Corps has an ongoing program to inventory, evaluate, protect, preserve and interpret cultural resources on lands it manages. Many of these sites are significant on a local, regional or national level. The Corps' cultural resource staff works with state and federal agencies, and Native American tribes to protect these areas.
Many places are sacred to Native American tribes, who once lived there and continue to practice their culture to this day. The bones of their ancestors are often found in such areas.
Because of the Corps' efforts, much of the history surrounding these sites has been saved and documented, however, many more sites remain uninvestigated or undocumented. Scientists can determine much about the people who used these archaeological and cultural sites. That information is lost when sites are disturbed and artifacts removed. Destroying these sites destroys history.
Individuals can help protect these cultural resources by reporting vandalism and disturbances to local law enforcement agencies or the Corps of Engineers, if the incident occurs on Corps-managed property. They also can help by not removing artifacts and by using public lands in a responsible manner so culturally-significant sites are not damaged.
For more information about the Corps' cultural resource management program, please visit the Corps' website at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/pa/pubs/cultural.pdf.