STATEMENT OF SUE MASICA, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR PARK PLANNING, FACILITIES, AND LANDS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, RECREATION, AND PUBLIC LANDS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES, CONCERNING H.R. 3258, AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, TO CONSTRUCT AND OCCUPY A PORTION OF THE HIBBEN CENTER FOR ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the Department of the Interior’s views on H.R. 3258, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico, to construct and occupy a portion of the Hibben Center for Archeological Research at the University of New Mexico, and for other purposes.
The Department supports H.R. 3258 if amended as stated in this testimony. Passage of the Hibben Center legislation would be the final step in carrying out the federal government’s responsibility for the protection of the archeological resources that were collected during the Chaco Project in the 1970’s. Although there are significant costs associated with this legislation, the bill directly supports a key park mission by authorizing a better curatorial facility for park resources.
H.R. 3258 would authorize an appropriation for construction costs, tenant improvements and costs associated with a long-term lease for a portion of the Hibben Center at the University of New Mexico. It also calls for the Secretary to contribute to the Hibben Center’s annual operating expenses. The facility will provide for the protection of the cultural resources from federal lands at Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument. The project is currently on the National Park Service (NPS) five-year list for line item projects and passage of this legislation is necessary for federal funds to be expended.
On June 10, 2003, the Department testified in support of S. 643, a similar bill, and we had previously supported another similar bill in the 107th Congress. The Senate passed an amended version of S. 643 in July 2003. H.R. 3258 is identical to S. 643 as passed by the Senate. H.R. 3258 was introduced after S. 643 was amended and reflects some significant changes that were made to S. 643 that the Department feels changed the original intent of this project.
Section 2(c) commits the Secretary to annual operating expenses of the Hibben Center. The original intent was to authorize funds, already identified by NPS for a portion of the construction and tenant improvements to the interior of the Hibben Center, not to add a line item to the NPS budget for annual operating expenses. We suggest that Section 2(c) be deleted from H.R. 3258 to reflect the long-standing understanding between the partners.
H.R. 3258 also does not specify the funding required for the improvements listed in Section 2(d). The original intent was for NPS to contribute $4,238,000 to the cost of construction and tenant improvements, with UNM providing the remainder of the construction costs and annual operating and maintenance expenses. We recommend that Section 3 of the bill be rewritten as follows:
“Upon execution of the lease, the Secretary may contribute to the University of New Mexico –
(1) up to 37 percent of the cost of construction of the Hibben Center, not to exceed $1,750,000, and
(2) the cost of improvements not to exceed $2,488,000.”
Chaco Canyon and the University of New Mexico (UNM) have been partners since Chaco Canyon National Monument was established in 1907. Until 1949, the State of New Mexico owned sections of land within the monument’s boundary. The university conducted an archaeological field school in Chaco Canyon from 1929-1948 and excavated many important sites resulting in extensive museum collections still held by UNM. Dr. Frank C. Hibben was a teaching assistant at the UNM field school, and remained interested in Chaco throughout his long career.
In 1949 the university deeded its land to the United States. Since then, the UNM-NPS partnership has continued through a series of formal agreements to conduct research and to care for the UNM and NPS Chaco museum collections. Since 1970, the main NPS Chaco collection has been housed on the UNM campus with the collection containing approximately 1.5 million artifacts, representing nearly 6,000 year of prehistory and history.
In 1970 Congress created the Chaco Project – a multi-year, multi-disciplinary research partnership with the UNM to study Chacoan archaeology. The million-dollar project was the largest archaeological project in the country at that time, and it generated the bulk of the Chaco archaeological collections. However, the Chaco Project did not address the long-term storage needs of the collections.
In 1983, UNM committed to providing temporary storage space for the collection until a joint UNM/NPS repository could be built. However, the UNM storage space was rapidly filled to capacity. Over the past 20 years, the collection (including office and work space) has spilled over into inappropriate and substandard spaces throughout the UNM campus.
Both NPS and UNM have long recognized that the storage facilities provided by UNM are inadequate and do not meet DOI standards for the care of archeological collections. In 1987, UNM and NPS museum staff began planning a new facility that would house the archaeological collections of both institutions and meet all federal standards. Finding funding for such a facility was the main stumbling block. In 1997, Dr. Hibben committed $3 million to help fund a new research and curation facility at UNM, and asked Chaco Culture NHP to partner with him. In 2001, the park’s project to match Dr. Hibben’s funding for a new curation facility was added to the NPS Line Item Construction Program for funding in FY 2003, pending Congressional authorization. In the FY 2004 priority list this project is slated for funding in FY 2006.
The Hibben Center for Archaeological Research was designed to be adjacent to the UNM Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. The building is three stories with a full basement. During planning it was decided that UNM would occupy the basement and the ground floor; the NPS would occupy the entire second floor and three-fourths of the third floor. Due to Dr. Hibben’s advanced age and failing health, UNM proceeded with the construction of the Hibben Center, which was dedicated in October 2002, a few months after Dr. Hibben’s death. Dr. Hibben’s funds completed the building shell and build outs of the basement and ground floor. With passage of this bill, the NPS will build out the second and third floors.
Currently the bulk of the Chaco Museum Collection is stored in a room in the UNM Anthropology Building, built in 1937. This room has no temperature or environmental controls, no smoke detection or fire suppression system, and only a rudimentary security system. Pipes that run through the ceiling of the room frequently leak, exposed phone and data lines pose a fire risk, and insect infestations are a constant problem. This space is currently at 99% capacity. The remainder of the NPS archeology collection is housed in the Maxwell Museum warehouse. The conditions at the warehouse are the same, except there is no heating, cooling or ventilation system and rodent and insect infestations are an ongoing problem. This facility exceeded 100% capacity several years ago.
The Chaco Museum Archive is housed on the third and floor levels of UNM’s Zimmerman Library, built in 1950. There are no temperature or environmental controls, fire suppression, or security systems. The antiquated evaporative cooling system in the library fluctuates dramatically during the summer season, pouring excessively harmful humidity into the archive and dust from the aging building covers everything.
None of the storage areas meet DOI standards set forth in 36 CFR 79, Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archaeological Collection (1990) or NPS museum standards.
The NPS is committed to supporting Secretary Norton’s 4 C’s of cooperation, consultation, and communication, all in the service of conservation and believe this project supports that goal. Partnerships are a cost-effective way of doing business. If the NPS were to construct a new facility on its own, it would cost more than three-and-a-half times as much. Under this project, the NPS will invest now in tenant improvements and will enter into a 40-year lease with UNM at a cost of $1 dollar per year. UNM will bear the annual operations and maintenance cost. As a result, the cost of this facility to the federal government, amortized over the forty-year lease, will be $7.14 per square foot. A comparable GSA-leased space would cost $20.00 per square foot.
In addition to monetary benefits, this project will continue collaboration, which, since 1949, has been a model of federal and State partnerships. The NPS will continue to benefit by having its Chaco Museum Collection housed in a research university setting, while UNM will continue to benefit by having a World Heritage Site collection readily available to its faculty and students for research and training.
That concludes my testimony. I would be glad to answer any questions that you or the members of the subcommittee may have.