No Fort Drum Archaeology Delays During Nearly A Billion Dollars' Worth of Construction

No Fort Drum Archaeology Delays During Nearly A Billion Dollars' Worth of
Construction

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A long-term approach to
cultural resources management (CRM) and experts with three-quarters of a
century of combined installation experience combined to produce one of the
most effective CRM teams in the U.S. Army.

The team's practice of attempting to predict expansion and survey land ahead
of schedule avoided archaeology-related delays to the nearly $1 billion worth
of new construction on Fort Drum in the past two years. The approach also
helped the installation change its designs to avoid damage to six historically
significant sites. Fort Drum is also the first Army installation to develop
archaeological properties into training assets.

Fort Drum's team of cultural resource professionals has more than 75 years of
combined experience working in the military cultural resources setting, and
more than 60 years of combined experience at Fort Drum specifically. The CRM
team is responsible for more than 240 prehistoric and 700 historic
archaeological sites and six historic and archaeological districts listed on
the National Register of Historic Places. During the past 15 years, the Fort
Drum archaeology field team has performed more than 100,000 shovel tests,
surveyed more than 40,000 acres of military land and discovered more than 200
Native American ancestral places, preserving many of them.

"The Fort Drum CRM team has worked hard to maintain and benefit from healthy
stakeholder relationships," said Dr. Laurie Rush, Fort Drum Cultural Resources
Manager. "Fort Drum routinely consults with The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, the
Oneida Indian Nation and the Onondaga Nation; and the CRM program is
completely open to these tribes." The CRM team provides tribes with copies of
all survey information, conveys concerns that tribes may have to the
commander, organizes Head of State events, in which nation leaders visits Fort
Drum, and offers tours of archaeological sites and field areas to tribe
members.

Educational partnerships have been one of the ongoing strengths of the Fort
Drum CRM program. The CRM team provides displays, demonstrations and hands-on
activities at annual installation Earth Day and Safety Day events. The team
also works with archeologists from several universities and the New York State
Museum for sophisticated analyses, including archeomagnetic dating, Carbon 14
dating, electron microscopy, artifact identification and evaluation of
ceramics.

For its efforts, Fort Drum received the fiscal 2008 Secretary of the Army
Environmental Award in the cultural resources management team category.
Secretary of the Army Awards represent the Army's highest honor in the field
of environmental science.

"The Army is committed to protecting the environment at installations here and
overseas," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for the Environment,
Safety and Occupational Health Tad Davis. "In fact, as the winners of our
environmental awards demonstrate, the Army is getting more and more
sophisticated in its use of environmental technology and sustainable
practices. We're becoming a greener shade of green."

An independent panel of judges made up of professionals from federal, state
and Army organizations recommended Fort Drum for the recognition. "Fort Drum
continues to push the meaning of stewardship in the management of federal
historic properties, clearly illustrating that the military's mission can be
met while meeting the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act
and other cultural resources laws and regulations," said Katherine Kerr,
Secretary of the Army Environmental Awards judge and historic preservation
specialist for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Fort Drum will go on to compete for the Secretary of Defense Environmental
Awards this year. For details about the fiscal 2008 Secretary of the Army
Environmental Award recipients, visit the U.S. Army Environmental Command's
Web site at http://aec.army.mil/usaec/newsroom/awards00.html.

This information is provided by USAEC. USAEC is the Army's point organization
for supporting the implementation of environmental programs that facilitate
sustainable Army training and operations while protecting the environment. We
provide environmental program management and technical support products and
services in support of Army training operations, acquisition and sound
stewardship.

For more information on the U.S. Army Environmental Command, visit
http://aec.army.mil

"Sustaining the Environment for a Secure Future"

SOURCE U.S. Army Environmental Center

Cathy Kropp, USAEC Public Affairs Specialist, +1-410-436-1234,
cathy.kropp@us.army.mil