Public discussion of Bill H.3982: Speak Up For Democracy and Transparency on December 7 between 1-4 PM

Boston bureaucrats are crushing more than 30 bills into 3 hours of comment! That gives less than six minutes of comment for each bill maximum. At 3 minutes per speaker, that means only 2 people in 8 million people of Massachusetts can speak on each bill. This is a mockery of democratic process.

Native American cultural rights and property rights are thrown in with rocks and tick control! That's an insult to human rights and Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Everything about this is wrong.

Please help us stop bureaucrats from manufacturing consent, covering up neocolonial seizure of Indigenous rights, and reducing law to virtue signaling.  State and regional tribes objected to the last version of this bill.  Little was changed:

H.3982 is a bill that will allow Boston cronies to seize Native American human rights and cultural legacy in violation of international human rights law, international agreements on Indigenous Rights signed by the USA, and both non discrimination, equal protection ethics and transparency policies of Massachusetts. There is not a single guaranteed seat for Native Americans on our own rights and legacy.

Read our competing bill that gives regional tribes a seat at the table - and complies with human rights and equality law: https://www.ethicarch.org/post/speak-up-for-human-rights-democratic-process-and-transparency-tuesday-december-7th-from-1-4-pm

Critical topics are given the short shrift - like climate crisis resiliency, human rights and biodiversity. Also hidden in this haystack are bills to dredge sensitive aquatic habitats, burn public lands, etc.

Dedicated archaeologists and friends were working to negotiate a bill to review our preservation laws that fulfills equality, social justice and human rights talking points legislators love so much.  See our bill below.

You can speak for 3 minutes for democratic process, justice and equality - but you must register by Sunday December 5th.

The state is pulling a fast one on short notice, again during holiday distractions.

You can also write in, but the window for comment is small.   Thanks to Greg and Rochelle for sharing this.

They may also shift the date of this meeting at the last minute with little notice - so head's up.

BIG THANKS!

Peace Grows from the Seed of Justice,

Nohham (they/them/two-spirit)

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE 

Date of Hearing: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 

Time: 1:00 PM-4:00 PM 

Location: Virtual Hearing 

Stream Live: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4112

 

Forestry, Funding and Administrative Infrastructure 

The Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture will host a virtual hearing on Tuesday December 7, 2021 at 1PM on the legislation listed in the docket below.    

Persons seeking to provide oral testimony must pre-register via this form:    

https://forms.office.com/g/AjGFgHJZeW  

Please pre-register by Sunday, December 5, 2021 at 5PM. Once registered, you will receive an invitation to join the hearing one day prior to the hearing. Please note there is a time limit of 3 minutes per person for oral testimony.    

Written testimony may also be submitted to the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture by email to: JointCommittee.Environment@malegislature.gov. 

Pre-registration through the above form is not required for written testimony.  There is no formal deadline for written testimony, though a timely submission allows the Committee time to thoroughly review testimony.  

Please contact Shannon Emmett, the committee's Research Director, with any questions at: shannon.emmett@mahouse.gov.   

Bill No.	Sponsor	Title
H856	Blais, Natalie M. (HOU)	An Act authorizing the establishment of old growth forest reserves
H874	Cutler, Josh S. (HOU)	An Act creating a special commission to scope a state grant or low interest loan program for properties prone to flooding
H899	Dykema, Carolyn C. (HOU)	An Act relative to the control of tick-borne illness
H905	Ehrlich, Lori A. (HOU)	An Act establishing the municipal reforestation program
H912	Finn, Michael J. (HOU)	An Act relative to forest protection
H922	Garballey, Sean (HOU)	An Act to create a special commission to study the effects of rat poison on wildlife
H945	Hunt, Daniel J. (HOU)	An Act relative to DCR retained revenue
H951	Kearney, Patrick Joseph (HOU)	An Act requiring a Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership Seat on the seaport economic counsel
H972	Mark, Paul W. (HOU)	An Act relative to harvesting of forest products
H977	Muradian, Jr., David K. (HOU)	An Act relative to critical wildlife habitat management
H983	Peake, Sarah K. (HOU)	An Act establishing a Massachusetts flood risk protection program
H999	Rogers, David M. (HOU)	An Act responding to the threat of invasive species
H1000	Roy, Jeffrey N. (HOU)	An Act to assist municipal and district ratepayers
H1002	Sabadosa, Lindsay N. (HOU)	An Act relative to increased protection of wildlife management areas
H1003	Sabadosa, Lindsay N. (HOU)	An Act to Ensure Accountability and Public Rights Regarding Commercial Tree Harvesting on Commonwealth-owned Lands
H1027	Whipps, Susannah M. (HOU)	An Act improving access to the natural and recreational resources of Massachusetts
H3835	Fernandes, Dylan A. (HOU)	An Act to overcome coastal and environmental acidification and nutrient pollution
H3955	Kearney, Patrick Joseph (HOU)	An Act relative to a marine special activity license program
H3982	Carey, Daniel R. (HOU)	Resolve relative to protecting the archaeological, geological and fossil resources of Massachusetts
H4022	Fernandes, Dylan A. (HOU)	An Act to protect Cape Cod's environment and water supply
H4102	Fernandes, Dylan A. (HOU)	An Act establishing the Blue Communities Program
S504	Creem, Cynthia Stone (SEN)	An Act establishing the municipal reforestation program
S531	Eldridge, James B. (SEN)	An Act relative to critical wildlife habitat management
S557	Hinds, Adam G. (SEN)	An Act preserving old growth forests
S558	Hinds, Adam G. (SEN)	An Act to protect public and private woodlands and woodlots in the Commonwealth
S561	Hinds, Adam G. (SEN)	An Act promoting and protecting Massachusetts forests
S562	Hinds, Adam G. (SEN)	An Act reducing unnecessary destruction of forests
S563	Jehlen, Patricia D. (SEN)	An Act responding to the threat of invasive species
S565	Kennedy, Edward J. (SEN)	An Act re-establishing the Clean Environment Fund
S586	Moore, Michael O. (SEN)	An Act to assist municipal and district ratepayers
S588	Moore, Michael O. (SEN)	An Act establishing an environmental police cadet program
S594	O'Connor, Patrick M. (SEN)	An Act establishing a regional dredge grants program
S598	O'Connor, Patrick M. (SEN)	An Act relative to the financing of dredging projects
S603	Pacheco, Marc R. (SEN)	An Act establishing a Massachusetts Flood Risk Protection Program
S616	Tarr, Bruce E. (SEN)	An Act creating a special commission to scope a state grant or low interest loan program for properties prone to flooding<

Please be advised that the schedule and agenda are subject to change at the discretion of the Chairs per committee rules. 

Best, 

Shannon Emmett
Research Director

Chair Carolyn C. Dykema
Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture
State House | Boston, MA 02133
(C): 978-882-5633

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Rhode Island Arrowheads

From Josh in Rhode Island:

I found [these] side by side looking like one shouldered sandia points. These two points were found at low tide right next two each other made from argillite.  One was knapped well and the other was a flake retouched. maybe they were eroded from a burial...either way I was happy to find them! North Kingstown, RI in July 2019

Josh also writes:

I've found some interesting material that looks paleo.  Looks like a paleo base made from ohio flint ridge chert but I'm not sure.  Found what looks to be a small paleo projectile point made from quartz at the same spot.  Many other points as well.

Cairn Complexes in the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington

 New Approaches to Evaluating Cultural Landscapes - Katherine Kelly

   “As I participated in the field research for this project, I had the opportunity to discuss my findings and theories with local DNR Range Managers and other staff, both in the field and in the office. In every case, the DNR staff expressed a high level of interest in the cultural resources research and the implications for their land management strategies. The cairn identification process we developed was clear and concise enough to lend itself to quick adoption by the Range Managers, who soon outstripped the archaeologists in their understanding of where to locate these resources. Darren Mitchell, a DNR Range Manager based in Ephrata, has such a deep understanding of the land under his management that after a few brief discussions, he was able to add considerable depth to our predictive model for the area. John Fleckenstein (a DNR zoologist) felt inspired to look for cairns while conducting his own research in the area. He sent me two contact sheets with cairn photographs and coordinates the cairn shown in Figure 32 is one of the finer examples of the cairns he recorded…”

Figure 32. Cairn recorded by John Fleckenstein approximately 14 miles from the Land Exchange area.

https://www.academia.edu/4771964/Cairn_Complexes_in_the_Channeled_Scablands_of_Eastern_Washington_New_Approaches_to_Evaluating_Cultural_Landscapes

National Archives photo

 If this is tagged "bureau of indian affairs,"

Then this is a photo of...

https://nara.getarchive.net/media/a-pile-of-stone-ready-for-crushing-20c664

https://nara.getarchive.net/collections

On the northern edge of Quissett Harbor

After finding that arrowhead, I went to have a closer look out the path to the Knob. Not seeing anything interesting, I walked back along the shoreline on the edge of Quissett Harbor. Saw this and didn't think too much of it:

Maybe just someone having a fire by the beach. Then there was another:

And another:

It looked like there might be a secondary ring outside the first. 

By this time, maybe I was seeing things:

Anyway, the question arises: could these things be old? They are a little peculiar. In the first three, the larger rock has a kind of "eye socket" flaked out of it.

Closer to my car, here is a midden that people around here have never mentioned, so they may not know about it:

The midden is a layer of broken shells, showing white in the picture, above left of the right-hand boulder.
Back near the car, the juniper berries are a nice deep blue:

Squibnocket Stemmed point from the Knob

The Knob is a popular stroll in Falmouth - a little peninsula sticking out into Buzzard's Bay. I heard they widened the path and today confirmed that the workers went through at least one archaic site in the process. There are still plenty of little bits of quartz on the path. Found this:

It's so nice: you are walking along chatting with friends, look down, and - what do we have here?! Lots of people walked across it, lying flat in the gravel of the path. The real punch in the gut is realizing there was a person attached to this, at the other end of time.

Concerns about Massachusetts Bill H.3982

The other day I posted a note from Curt Hoffman about supporting this bill, along with the full text of the bill. Since then, I received a message that the bill may not be quite right. Looks like we all should read the thing. Here is the new concern, from "Al"

***

Here's the link to Greg's email:

The Commonwealth is Back Big Time with New Proposed Legislation – Nayyag Preserve

He's saying that this is a re-introduction of a similar bill which it lay dormant since 2014 after public opposition and if I understand correctly his concerns are both whether the final bill will give the state full ownership and control of all sites and artifacts discovered in Massachusetts and to what extent indigenous folks will actually be involved in the process of crafting the bill this time. He writes the following which I find concerning given that the bill is already quietly working its way through the legislature:

"I spoke to John Brown, Chief Tribal Preservation Officer of the Narragansett, and he said he had not been made aware that the bill was reintroduced. No consultation. Mark Andrews of the Aquinnah Wampanoag – same thing."

Again, given his experience over the past year in leading the public opposition to the roundabout project in Northampton (which has for now succeeded in stopping the destruction of a rare Archaic habitation site although the artifacts recovered are still stored somewhere and have yet to be made accessible to the public, last I heard) I trust Greg has good reason to be drawing our attention to this. If you click the "subscribe" link at the top of his page you can sign up to receive updates as he learns more:

http://nayyag.org/

Summing up, I just wanted to be sure you're aware of the situation. I believe adding the link to Greg's letter to your post will be of interest to others and I'd be interested in reading any knowledgeable replies. Hopefully the more attention paid to the process will result in a bill acceptable to everyone.

Best mounds in Woods Hole

This one is hard to find:

This one, not so hard. They are across from each other in a little valley behind the fire station.

There is a third, which I did not see this time, at the foot of the slope, in the above photo.

Catamount (Mountain Lion, Puma) or Anthropomorphic

 Lost a little in looking for tool marks at my house, here are the results of my Stonerorschach Test: 

Nose too long for a bear, I'd have to say "Big Cat" or maybe a human - or a human who can shape shift into a big cat, such as a panther - possibly an underwater panther!

11/15/2021 - Jeremy Haloskie: “Reminds me of the face in Balanced rock, NY.”

(And I realize he means this view below:)

Cellar Steps Something Interesting

On the left:

In the terrace retaining wall in front of the house,

exposed to weather, a similarly dressed stone:

The other end of the other side of the stone outside:

The snake above is on the end on the right in the drawing,

 a different snake at the other end:

And then there's that turtle motif of "forelegs extended laterally,

on each side of a head stone" - this one with

that feather and plug mark at the nuchal notch:

I know there's a bale of these sort of turtles around:

I've just got to collect a bunch of similar images

or take new and better photos...

My "there is something more interesting in the photo" photo.

 "But maybe there is something more interesting in the photo. Do you see it?" Peter asks (of a different photo).

I have one of those photos too:

There is the obvious:

But maybe there is something more interesting in the photo. Do you see it?

Small structures on knolls in Wrentham State Forest (Madison Street)

Wrentham State Forest is full of little knolls of bedrock sticking out above the wet lowlands. There are things to see on most of them. Saw this feature, symmetric, and clearly purposeful. 

I would guess that this has something to do with light passing through the slit. 

A few yards away on the same knoll:

Makes me think we need a name for this type of thing.  

Scene in Wrentham

I took this because of the nice fall colors (muted a bit in the photo) and because of the sense that one is supposed to look through the spaces:

But maybe there is something more interesting in the photo. Do you see it?

Bill H.3982 will allow investigating Massachusetts archaeology resource management.

Curt Hoffman asked me to post the following bill, along with this text:

The Mass. House of Representatives is currently considering a bill filed by Daniel Carey of Easthampton, co-sponsored by Jack Lewis of Framingham, to create a commission to investigate the practices of the Mass. Historical Commission and to recommend changes.  I have expressed my concerns about MHC to Rep. Lewis, who is my state representative, and he has forwarded them to Rep. Carey.  If you are a Massachusetts resident, please consider contacting your state representative to urge passage of this bill.

 

Curt Hoffman

*************

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4255        FILED ON: 6/4/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3982

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Daniel R. Carey

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
               Court assembled:

               The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying resolve:

Resolve relative to protecting the archaeological, geological and fossil resources of Massachusetts.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Daniel R. Carey	2nd Hampshire	6/4/2021
Jack Patrick Lewis	7th Middlesex	6/9/2021

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4255        FILED ON: 6/4/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3982

By Mr. Carey of Easthampton, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Daniel R. Carey and Jack Patrick Lewis for an investigation and study by a special commission (including members of the General Court) relative to access to the archaeological, geological and fossil resources in the Commonwealth.  Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

^{_______________}

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

^{_______________}

 

Resolve relative to protecting the archaeological, geological and fossil resources of Massachusetts.

 

            Resolved, There is hereby established a special commission on protecting the archaeological, geological, and fossil resources of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Said special commission shall review existing special and general laws, may hold hearings at various locations across the Commonwealth to obtain written and oral testimony and may consult with state and federal agencies, educators, technical experts, town boards and commissions and Native American tribes to determine if existing state laws and regulations adequately protect and provide public access to the archaeological, geological and fossil resources located within or from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Said special commission shall be comprised of two members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker, whose districts have significant fossil, archaeological or geological deposits, one of which shall be from a district in western Massachusetts that includes a portion of the Connecticut river valley; two members of the Senate, appointed by the President, whose districts have significant fossil, archaeological or geological deposits, one of which shall be from a district in western Massachusetts that includes a portion of the Connecticut river valley; the State Geologist or a designee; nine of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, of which one shall be a professor of archaeology from a Massachusetts college or university, one of whom shall be a recognized authority on Massachusetts geological formations who is a professor at a Massachusetts college or university, one whom shall be an environmental police officer, two who shall be members of town historical commissions within the region and four of whom shall be of Native American descent or active in efforts to preserve and educate the public about Native American living, meeting, spiritual and burial sites and ways of life; one member shall be appointed by the secretary of the commonwealth, who shall be knowledgeable of the archaeological and historic resources of the Connecticut river valley. Said special commission shall review all statutes, regulations, ordinances and practices related to these resources, including but not limited to how public and private institutions and agencies collect, preserve, display, notify the public of discoveries, return objects and sacred remains to Native American tribes and related organizations and provide public access to educate and inform the public about these archaeological, geological and fossil discoveries.  Said special commission may receive funding through state appropriation or grants, federal appropriation or grants, private gifts and donations, provided, that said special commission shall file its report with the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture and the clerks of the House and Senate no later than November 1, 2022.

Serpent Stacking (CT)

 Cutting down the summer's screen of iris and fern and phlox, yesterday at the Nonnewaug Watch House, the stone serpents that make up the retaining wall in the front of the house are more easily seen.

If the courses of stones are laid down in a manner that resembles a usually larger snake head and body of stones of diminishing size

 - and sometimes a lighter colored stone for a rattle -

then you probably looking at distinguishing characteristics of Indigenous Stonework.

Call it "Serpent Stacking" in your field notes, if you like...

More Pix & Overlays:

 https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2021/10/stone-serpents-at-nonnewaug-watch-house.html

Columbus didn't discover America?

 [not rock pile related]

Italian sailors knew of America 150 years before Christopher Columbus, new analysis of ancient documents suggests (phys.org)

It seems likely to me, that Basque fishermen knew about America, long before even the above documentation.

Yay for Indigenous People's Day!

Large Stone Tool from the Woods Hole beach

Continuing a series of implausible stone tool types: I see deliberate flaking on rocks, regardless of the size of the rock. Often enough, a large rock has been flaked, presumably because the removed flake was useful. But here are examples of what is called "hinge flaking" that are coordinated with each other, suggesting that, rather than being a source for material, here the entire large rock was a tool.

Now look at the edge:

This is a comparatively soft material. 

This rock was on Devil's Foot island. I have found a couple others like this before, on the stretch of cobbles north of little Gansett beach. It leads to the question of what would large chopping tools be for, when used on a beach?

Circa 1700 Stonework (CT)

Snake or Great Serpent Dressed?

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2021/09/lions-woods-catwalk-walk-litchfield-ct.html