Between June 26th and July 1st, 2016, the Buffalo Field Office hosted its 8th Passport in Time (PIT) project
at Welch Recreation Area in Sheridan County, Wyoming. Five volunteers spent the
week camped out at Welch and worked each day to identify and record
archaeological sites. Volunteers came from the local area (Buffalo, Wyoming)
and as far away as North Carolina to work and experience Wyoming’s great
outdoors. Working in tandem with professional archaeologists, volunteers
learned how to identify and describe prehistoric and historic tools and
artifacts, photograph tools, make maps using a Trimble Geo7x, and hand draw
feature maps. During the week the PIT crew completely rerecorded 14 previously
identified archaeological sites and also found and recorded two new prehistoric
archaeological sites. The Welch Recreation Area is used by hunters, fishers,
and hikers, and is part of a grazing allotment managed for winter cattle
grazing. The area is rich in prehistoric and historic cultural sites and the
information gathered during the PIT project will make it easier for BLM to
protect these sites while facilitating recreational and range activities.