A
MEMORIAL
RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL PARKS
SERVICE'S SUBMERGED RESOURCES CENTER BASED IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, FOR ITS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS WITH UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY.
WHEREAS, in 1975, national park
service archaeologists were requested to study the effects of reservoir
flooding on archaeological sites and their work became a model for federal
agencies to use in reservoir mitigation work; and
WHEREAS, by 1980, the national
park service recognized the importance of underwater cultural sites and created
the submerged cultural resources unit, now called the submerged resources
center, which is responsible for the care and nurturing of all park-held
underwater sites, including shipwrecks, inundated Native American sites and
landings, places where water and earth meet; and
WHEREAS, the submerged
resources center's team has developed procedures for underwater mapping and
video imaging that have been acclaimed and adopted throughout the nation and
around the world; and
WHEREAS, much of their work is
directed toward preserving and restoring shipwrecks and other valuable sites so
that these sites can be visited by park visitors for years to come, saving such
sites from the ravages of treasure hunters; and
WHEREAS, like detectives trying
to solve a murder, using data including the ship's position, placement of
artifacts and the position of rigging, the team's archaeologists piece together
the story of a ship when it went down and their studies offer insights into
historical events and lead to greater historical and anthropological
comprehension; and
WHEREAS, the team leads
projects throughout the United States and its territories and often works on
international sites when requested; and
WHEREAS, the submerged
resources center disseminates its philosophy, which is "divers should take
only photos and leave only bubbles", and develops interpretive materials
to enable divers to better enjoy and understand shipwrecks; and
WHEREAS, the team calls the
submerged resources center in Santa Fe its home, as this landlocked site offers
a central location to a dive team that is required for duty in parks from
Alaska to Guam and Hawaii to the Dry Tortugas; and
WHEREAS, the team, with the
assistance of Senator Domenici's office and the New Mexico natural history
museum, gave school children and veterans of World War II an opportunity to
witness the team's work, via live broadcast to the New Mexico natural history
museum from underwater in Pearl Harbor, and, during the broadcast, the children
and veterans were able to speak directly to the team's divers on the bottom of
Pearl Harbor as they examined the USS Arizona; and
WHEREAS, the center has also
shown live broadcasts from New Mexico's Rock lake and the Blue Hole in Santa
Rosa; and
WHEREAS, the center designed an
underwater dredge to remove tons of sediment clogging the natural artery
feeding over three thousand gallons of water a minute to one of the top ten
diving locations in the United States, the Blue Hole, and has worked with and
trained New Mexico state police divers in removal operations, thereby enhancing
the natural beauty of the area and ensuring the economic prosperity of the
business community of Santa Rosa; and
WHEREAS, the center has
provided assistance to the New Mexico state police by providing sophisticated
underwater technology to assist them in searching for victims of drowning
tragedies and murder; and
WHEREAS, the center ran a
shipwreck study seminar in 1981, in partnership with the school of American
research in Santa Fe, which resulted in the publication by the university of
New Mexico press of Shipwreck Anthropology, a work recognized to set new
standards in theory and methods for shipwreck archaeology; and
WHEREAS, other major research
projects include a shipwreck survey of ten major vessels at Isle Royale
national park; a survey of ten radiation-laden shipwrecks of the Bikini Atoll
nuclear tests, including the USS Saratoga; major underwater surveys of the
Hawaiian Islands and Palau; an underwater survey of the Aleutian Islands in
partnership with the United States navy pacific fleet; a survey of the wreck
Brig Somers off of Veracruz, in partnership with the Mexican government;
underwater surveys of Guam, Truk Ponape, Kosrae and the Marshall Islands in
Micronesia; a shipwreck survey of Dry Tortugas national park; and uncovering
and evaluating the confederate submarine H. L. Hunley off Charleston harbor;
and
WHEREAS,
the center was the primary contributor of material on underwater archaeology to
the congressional office of technology assessment's report on prehistoric
preservation technologies; and
WHEREAS, for thirty years,
under the leadership of retired chief, Daniel J. Lenihan, and the current
chief, Larry Murphy, the submerged resources center in Santa Fe has built a
reputation for innovation and technological sophistication in submerged
resources research and is an internationally recognized center of excellence
for underwater archaeology;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Santa Fe's
submerged resources center be recognized for its invaluable contributions to
the preservation of prehistoric and historic sites and for its contributions to
scientific procedures and technologies in underwater archaeology; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the
submerged resources center and its scientists, divers, staff and volunteers be
honored as "stewards for an international heritage"; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the members of the submerged
resources center.