Cultural Resources

The Utah National Guard manages thousands of acres and hundreds of buildings and structures across the state. As stewards of both Federal and state lands, the Utah National Guard (UTNG) is responsible for the management of any cultural resources located on these lands. Historic preservation has been a Federal concern since the 1906 Antiquities Act was passed which provided for the protection of historic and prehistoric remains and monuments on Federal lands. Since that time, both the Federal and state governments have made historic preservation a responsibility of each agency, enacting multiple laws that reflect the importance the American people attach to safeguarding and maintaining the places that reflect our nation’s heritage. The Cultural Resources Management Program ensures the UTNG is meeting its compliance needs with respect to these important resources by developing programmatic compliance solutions and technical documents, and providing technical support to all UTNG facilities and training sites. The Cultural Resources Program seeks to support the mission by improving sustainability within the UTNG and developing cost-effective tools to improve compliance practices.

Management of cultural resources on UTNG-managed lands is driven by federal, state and local laws and guided by Army Regulations. Although additional laws may apply, the primary laws that influence cultural resources management include:

• National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
• National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
• Antiquities Act of 1906
• Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979
• Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978
• Utah Code Annotated 9-8-404 – Utah State Agency Responsibilities Relative to Historic Properties
• Utah Code Annotated 9-8-403 – Ownership and Disposition of Native American Remains on State Lands
• The primary Army Regulations which guide cultural resources management within the Utah National Guard include Army Regulation 200-1 – Environmental Protection and Enhancement and Army Regulation 200-4 – Cultural Resources Management.

Department of Defense Instruction 4715.3, Army Regulation (AR) 200-1, and Department of Army Pamphlet (PAM) 200-4 require state Army National Guard organizations to develop an Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan (ICRMP) as an internal compliance and management tool that integrates the entirety of the cultural resources program with ongoing mission activities. The ICRMP is the Utah National Guard commander’s decision document for conduct of cultural resources management actions and specific compliance procedures. The ICRMP for Utah was completed in 2002. A revision is scheduled to be complete in 2007.

Archaeology

The Utah National Guard (UTNG) manages a large number of archaeological sites on UTNG-managed lands throughout the state. These sites range from those representing the rich and varied Native American past as well as early settlement and agriculture to more contemporary sites related to the history of the Army and the Utah National Guard.

Generally, the UTNG can avoid impacting archaeological sites which are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In those rare instances where a UTNG project or training activities will impact an archaeological site, the UTNG consults with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office and Tribal governments to mitigate for those impacts. Usually this involves excavation of the site. Materials recovered during excavations are cleaned and analyzed and then curated in an approved facilities for the benefit of future scientists, educators, and museum specialists. Curation facilities include the Museum of Natural History of Utah, located near the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and the Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price.

Historic Buildings and Structures

The Utah National Guard (UTNG) manages and maintains nearly 500 buildings and structures across the state. Most of these are located at Camp W. G. Williams, the primary training site for the UTNG, which is located approximately 20 miles south of Salt Lake City. Of approximately 300 buildings at Camp Williams, 17 are currently determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. One of these 17, the ca. 1934 Camp Williams Officer’s Club, was listed on the National Register in 1984. Most of the other eligible buildings were constructed during World War II as the post was expanding to provide training facilities for the growing number soldiers entering the army.

The UTNG manages three buildings at historic Fort Douglas on Salt Lake’s east bench. The buildings include two ca. 1876 barracks and a ca. 1942 Fire Station. The Fort Douglas military museum is currently housed within the masonry barracks buildings, while the fire station is utilized for storage and maintenance of some of the museums equipment and historic vehicles. For information on this historic Army Post and the Military Museum, see www.fortdouglas.org.

Three of Utah’s armories are currently eligible for listing in the National Register as well. These include the ca. 1938 Fillmore Armory, the ca. 1956 American Fork and Springville Armories, the ca. 1957 Price Armory, the ca. 1958 Lehi Armory and the ca. 1959 Ogden Armory.

The UTNG recently completed the renovation of Hangar 5 at the historic Wendover Airfield. The ca. 1944 metal hangar was constructed as a heavy bomber maintenance hangar for B-17 and B-24 squadrons that trained at the base. The hangar is part of the Wendover Air Force Base Historic District which is managed by Tooele County. For more information on the airfield and its history, see www.wendoverairbase.com/museum.