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Here are the minutes from the 2023 UPAC meeting that will be approved at the business meeting this week:
Utah Professional Archaeological Council 2023 Business Meeting
3760 Highland Drive, Millcreek, Utah (Salt Lake City location)
March 9, 2023
Welcome and Call to Order
Suzy Eskenazi called the meeting to order.
UPAC Board Updates
President (Suzy Eskenazi):
Suzy thanked everyone for coming.
UPAC had great responses and suggestions from our member survey sent out last spring. We plan to do another survey to make sure we are on the right track going forward.
In 2022, UPAC had a presence at the Tribal Summit, had a happy hour, and talked to the University of Utah Anthropology Club.
VP of Membership and Ethnics (Tina Hart):
Tina started with a motion to approve the 2022 minutes. Seth Button seconded the motion. The membership did a verbal vote, none opposed, and the 2022 minutes were approved.
We have 131 paid members, which is up 35% from last year.
Membership is a calendar year, Jan through Dec.
This is a change from previous years. Membership used to start from when you paid your dues. This was cumbersome to keep track of and it does not follow our bylaws.
Tina mentioned that one of our modes of communication is through the MailChimp emails. If you are not receiving emails, please let the UPAC board (theupac@gmail.com) know so we can update/add your email address to the list.
We are working on updating our membership tracking system.
Tina thanked the group for approving the revised ethnic committee bylaws. They were approved 10/2022.
Treasurer (Seth Button):
$6,571.81 in our account and $1,125.53 in PayPal
The UPAC account has finally been switched to the current treasurer, Seth.
This was a difficult process and Seth is streamlining it for the next treasurer.
We do not have due reminders set up, just email Seth if you have any questions. When you pay for your dues, you should receive a confirmation email from Seth.
Breakdown of expenses in 2022:
Utah Archaeology Journal
The 2021 journals cost $1,209 to print. You will get this journal if you were a paying member in 2021.
The 2022 journals costed $1,470 to print. You’ll get this journal if you were a paying member in 2022.
We will make a motion later in the meeting to move to electronic versions so that our money can be used for the annual meeting expenses and community building events.
UPAC Table banner for the Tribal Summit. This will be used for future events.
Award for Doug
Social hour at Piper Down
We renewed our affiliation with RPA. When you renew your RPA membership, you can get a discount because of our affiliation.
The tax-exempt status for 2022 was renewed, and Seth is working on the 2023 renewal.
Journal Editor (Tim Riley):
Tim thanked David and Katie for their past work and announced that 2020 and 2021 have been printed and will be available for pick up Saturday.
The 2022 version is in-progress and is a themed journal of the Keller Collection at Utah State University. Articles are in the editing stage.
There is more room in the 2023 version. Tim’s goal is to circulate this journal during the 2023 calendar year.
Looking for papers, there is no theme at this time.
Tim asked people to give him feedback on whether the journals should have an advocate/site stewardship corner, should there be a section for tribal relations, or book reviews? Awards and obituaries? He suggested more papers about historic-related topics.
If you are open to review papers, please let Tim know (tim.riley@usu.edu).
VP of Government Affairs and Research (Julie Kramer):
UPAC had 30 requests for comments in 2022, of which we mostly didn’t comment.
1 grazing permit; 17 recreation- related; 3 vegetation restoration/fuel reduction; 2 industry; 4 infrastructure; 1 land development; 1 scoping for BENM; 1 NASA
UPAC is a consulting party for the BENM.
UPAC is a consulting party for NASA, Mars sediment sample recovery.
Jules went over the Infrastructure Bill, passed 11/2021, because it directly impacts our work. $250 milling in funding for western water, superfunds, restoration, and transportation. The funding will last for the next 10 years.
In May 2022 Biden announced he will be addressing legacy pollution and environmental injustice action. As a note, the Utah BLM has 14 legacy drill pads.
Secretary (Lisa Krussow):
Minutes were already approved and there were no further updates.
Media Coordinator (Maisie Schwartz):
UPAC News was a new rollout and is a platform for spreading the community news.
We will continue to contact and coordinate with university and organizations to advertise for UPAC and jobs in CRM.
We are trying to incorporate more student feedback. Reach out to Maisie (theupac@gmail.com) if you want UPAC to come to your university.
Now that we have a larger membership base, Maisie’s goal is to figure out more ways to involve the community and expand.
The photo contest is open, tag UPAC, and share posts for prizes. We will announce the winner at the Lightning Round tomorrow.
Curriculum Director/ USAS Liaison (Michelle Knoll):
There has not been a USAS president or vice president since 2021, according to their bylaws the positions should be elected every year.
There are still members, but they are struggling and might join with URARA.
This might be a good thing, however, USAS was developed before UPAC, in 1950, so it would be sad to see it go.
Michelle would like to call an emergency meeting with the USAS chapter officers this spring. They still have funding as a 501c corporation.
If you have any suggestions, please let Michelle know (theupac@gmail.com).
Webmaster (Elizabeth Hora):
Elizabeth was unable to attend so Suzy gave her update.
The website has been cleaned up and is more streamlined.
Elizabeth is always open to additional suggestions, use the “contact” button on the website.
We are not paying for this service.
Nate Thomas brought up the fact that GBAA does pay for their website, and it is a big expense.
UPAC News was a big and exciting change in 2022. Through this system we hope to reach subscribers and keep conversations going. You can opt to receive notifications or turn the notifications off. It is a place to post about professional development opportunities, discussions about best practices, and help crowdsourcing Utah-based archaeology questions.
There are 63 UPAC News member. It is free and unaffiliated with your UPAC membership.
Future goal: finding membership information online. Seth and Elizabeth continue to explore cost effective ways to do that, and they have investigated ways to streamline payment, but they do not make financial sense right now.
UPAC Officer Elections
Tina thanked our outgoing board officers: Lisa, Julie, and Maisie.
Tina announced the open positions and candidates and opened the floor to new nominations:
Secretary: Savannah Agardy and Erin Root
VP of Government Affairs and Research: Joey LaValley, Peter Steele, and Freeman Stevenson
Media Coordinator: Maisie Schwartz
The bylaws say that this position can be held up to 10 years. The other positions are only two years.
There were no additional nominations.
Ad-hoc Committee Updates
Tribal Relations Committee: Tina Hart
Thank you UPAC members for approving the ad-hoc committee. Members: Tina Hart (Chair), Savanna Agardy (Secretary), Don Montoya, Judson Finley, Tara Beresh, Tessie Burningham, Ken Cannon, and Renee Collins.
The newly formed group will meet monthly with a goal of presenting three action items and a set of recommendation for collaborating with tribes at the next UPAC business meeting.
The group has met twice already and have identified preliminary needs.
50-year rule: Sonia Hutmacher
Sonia presented the need for the committee and positions established thus far.
Heidi Roberts (committee member) will be summarizing the notes from the past meetings and draft a position paper. The paper will be due late March 2023 and the ad-hoc committee will review the draft. Mike Sheehan will draft a different position statement, which will be presented to the ad-hoc committee at the same time for review.
The group hopes to have the position statements reviewed and ready to present at the 2024 UPAC business meeting.
UPAC Awards
We honored Doug McFadden before his passing in 2022.
Tim Riley presented a memorial for the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation Chairman, Rupert Steele.
Chris Merritt said that the SHPO is receiving donations to present to the Goshute.
There was a call for nominations for 2023 UPAC Fellow(s) or any other awards/recognition that are apparent for the group.
If you win an award, you get a lifetime UPAC membership.
Discussion About Printing the Journals
Tim Riley opened up the discussion about continuing to print the Utah Archaeology Journal.
It was discussed that most students have been using electronic journals for years.
Joel Boomgarden motioned to produce electronic only versions of the journal. The motion was seconded. The UPAC membership did a verbal vote, and no one opposed.
New Business
Curation Ad-hoc Committee
Tim Riley suggested that after the PLPCO breakout session on curation issues in the state, that UPAC start an ad-hoc committee to address field collection and curation.
Jules Kramer made the motion to form the committee and Joel Boomgarden seconded it. Membership did a verbal vote, and all were in favor.
Tim will be the point of contact. They will have quarterly meetings. They will report back at the 2024 business meeting.
Erin Root invited everyone to participate in the Nine Mile Coalition Stewardship Day which is Sept 23, 2023. Email Erin.root@swca.com to volunteer or sponsor.
Mike Cannon said that after his breakout session about the status of CRM, the Utah universities would like to release a survey asking about curriculum needs. Mike asked the UPAC membership if we would support the survey, there was a verbal vote, and all were in favor.
Inland Port: Ron Rood
Ron wondered why UPAC was not taking action/consulting against the Inland Port or the old prison work.
There is concern of wetlands, human remains, previously recorded sites, and just the lack of communication and public outreach.
Chris Merritt said that the prison and Inland Port did consult with the SHPO. The Inland Port is not subject to Section 106 because it’s not considered an agency and there is no federal nexus. PLPCO and SHPO did meet with the group and gave them suggestions, and Chris said that UPAC could reach out to them if they wanted.
Freeman Stevenson mentioned that this type of action is exactly what UPAC was formed to address. Sonja Hutmacher made the motion to have UPAC prepare a position statement to submit to the Inland Port. Tim Riley second the motion.
Sonja made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Joel seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.
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