U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands are home to all sorts of historical and prehistorical resources. Our Nation's leaders have expressed that these "resources on public lands and Indian lands are an accessible and irreplaceable part of the Nation's heritage" (ARPA, 1979) and have declared that the protection and preservation of significant archaelogical and paleontological resources is in the broad public interest. The Corps is committed to its role as a steward of these resources. Unfortunately, some individuals believe it is acceptable to take these pieces of our shared history for their personal gain- many times destroying the knowledge legitimate researchers may have obtained. Therefore, the location and scope of cultural resources sites on Corps of Engineers projects are not released to the general public. In this way, we hope to preserve our Nation's story "for the present and future benefit of the American people".

National regulations and strong fines and possibility of imprisonment are in place to help protect our public resources. For more information see Public Law 96-96, Archaelogical Resources Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979 , October 31, 1979, and Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, 327.14 .