The Central Arizona Project Historic Preservation Program: Conserving the Past While Building for the Future

On July 15, 1983, the chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) ratified a programmatic memorandum of agreement among the Arizona and New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), the Bureau of Reclamation, and the ACHP. The subject of that agreement was the construction of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) and its impact upon historic properties. That agreement was negotiated in compliance with Section 2(b) of Executive Order 11593, "Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment," and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The agreement stipulated that Reclamation prepare a comprehensive, project-wide plan for historic preservation. This document constitutes that plan. It is designed to be a tool that will insure adequate consideration of historic properties as the CAP is completed and lead to appropriate treatment of significant historic resources that lie within the path of construction.

A broad review of the published literature on the prehistory and history of the CAP area was conducted. Relevant, ongoing research projects were also examined in order to become familiar with the current directions of historic and prehistoric research.

In order to ensure that the internal agency perspective developed through this review and assessment was not myopic, letters were sent out to more than 240 people and institutions actively involved with regional historic preservation activities and research. Those contacted included other Federal, state and local agencies who deal with historic preservation issues, CAP contractors or potential contractors who perform cultural resource studies, Indian communities, academic archaeologists, historians, historical architects, students, museums, professional and amateur archaeological and historical societies, and members of the CAP Ad Hoc Committee for Cultural Resources (organized by Reclamation in 1976). Those contacted were asked for suggestions of specific avenues of research or other measures that might be pursued as mitigation for the impacts which construction of the CAP is having upon cultural resources.

The advantages of a more coherent, project-wide approach to the CAP's historic preservation activities were recognized for quite some time before the memorandum of agreement was negotiated. In fact, steps to prepare such a plan had been set in motion prior to ratification, but coping with day-to-day compliance activities of the burgeoning historic preservation program of a project as large as the CAP was overwhelming. This is outlined in the second chapter that analyzes the history of previously funded CAP cultural resource studies. The third chapter presents a summary description of the types of historic properties that have been inventoried within the region in which the CAP is being constructed. The fourth chapter attempts to convey a sense of the significance of those resources, and the fifth chapter presents a strategy and proposal for conserving or preserving historic values in conjunction with the completion of the CAP.

This document was prepared to enhance the thoroughness, efficiency and productivity of the CAP cultural resource program. The nature of the document has changed somewhat during the course of its preparation. Originally it was conceived of as a mitigation research design that would attempt to identify and assign priorities to various research issues and propose relatively specific research methodologies for pursuing that research. It is instead a broader document establishing a framework and procedures for identifying research goals as well as other opportunities of historic preservation.

As might be expected for a historic preservation plan, this plan tends to emphasize the history of the CAP program to date. Such an emphasis led to a firm understanding and assessment of the context of the ongoing program. The plan is somewhat more tentative about the future. This document is meant to be a dynamic basis for starting a more comprehensive approach not a static document that would surely grow obsolete quickly.

The completion of this document represents a triumph of a larger perspective over day-to-day compliance paperwork. The evolving system which enabled this plan to be developed reflects growing sophistication of the Federal historic preservation program and a return to more ultimate goals.

1983年7月15日，美国历史保护咨询委员会（Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, ACHP）主席批准了亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州历史保护官员（State Historic Preservation Officers, SHPOs）、美国垦务局（Bureau of Reclamation）与ACHP之间的项目性合作备忘录。该协议的主题为中央亚利桑那工程（Central Arizona Project, CAP）的建设及其对历史遗存的影响。本协议的磋商符合行政命令11593第2(b)条“保护与提升文化环境”以及《国家历史保护法》第106条的要求。协议规定垦务局需制定覆盖全项目的综合性历史保护规划。本文件即为该规划文本，旨在为CAP建设过程中充分考量历史遗存提供支撑，并对建设路径范围内的重要历史资源采取恰当的保护处理措施。

研究团队对CAP区域内史前史与历史相关的已发表文献开展了全面梳理，同时调研了相关的在研项目，以掌握当前历史与史前研究的前沿方向。

为确保本次综述与评估形成的机构内部视角不具狭隘性，项目组向240余名积极参与区域历史保护活动与研究的人员及机构发出征询函。受函对象涵盖其他联邦、州及地方历史保护相关机构、承担文化资源研究的CAP承包商或潜在承包商、印第安社区、学术考古学家、历史学家、历史建筑师、学生、博物馆、专业与业余考古及历史学会，以及1976年由垦务局组建的CAP文化资源特设委员会成员。项目组邀请上述受函对象提出具体研究路径或其他减缓措施建议，以应对CAP建设对文化资源造成的影响。

早在磋商该合作备忘录之前，业界就已意识到采用更连贯的全项目式方法开展CAP历史保护工作的优势。事实上，早在本规划获批前，相关编制工作就已启动，但应对CAP这类大型项目日益繁重的历史保护合规日常工作，一度令团队不堪重负。这一背景将在第二章中详述，该章节将梳理此前获批的CAP文化资源研究项目的发展历程。第三章将对CAP建设区域内已完成登记的历史遗存类型进行概述。第四章将阐释此类资源的价值意义，第五章则提出配合CAP建设推进历史资源保护与传承的策略与方案。

本文件旨在提升CAP文化资源项目的全面性、效率与产出质量。编制过程中，文件的定位几经调整。最初，其被构想为一项减缓研究设计，旨在识别各类研究议题并划分优先级，同时提出相对具体的研究方法。但最终，本文件成为一份更为宏观的文本，确立了研究目标识别框架与流程，以及其他历史保护相关的机遇路径。

正如预期的历史保护规划，本规划重点梳理了CAP项目至今的发展历程。这一梳理有助于全面理解并评估当前项目的实施背景。而针对未来规划，本文件则相对保持开放性。本文件旨在作为动态基础，推动更全面的保护工作开展，而非一成不变的静态文本——后者必然会快速过时。

本文件的完成，标志着宏观视角战胜了日常合规文书工作。支撑本规划制定的演进体系，反映出联邦历史保护项目的日益成熟，也呼应了回归历史保护核心终极目标的趋势。