Why join CASSP?
Site stewards help protect cultural resources by reporting damage early, before more irreplaceable reources are lost. Their presence can be a deterent to potential vandals and pothunters. Site stewards are giving back to the communities in very personal ways.
Site stewardship benefits include:
- Going to beautiful places.
- Engaging in heathy mental and physical exercise.
- Making a difference by doing meaningful work.
- Learning about the past.
- Experiencing archaeological field work.
- Spending time with archeologists and other specialists at the land management agency where you volunteer.
How to become a site steward
Training online. The CASSP volunteer training workshop takes two days. First, we provide one day of online classes taught by archaeologists, other agency staff, Native American representatives, and volunteers. You must register, but there is no cost and anyone can attend. Several weeks later, we go on a field trip to visit actual archaeological sites and practice the field work and reporting that you will do as a site steward. The field trip requires another registration, a $25 fee and signing a confidentiality agreement to not reveal sensitive site information, such as location.
Training in the field. After completing both parts of the training workshop, you will receive a site assignment at the land management agency where you volunteer. You coordinate your site visits with, and submit your photos and written reports to the archaeologist at that agency, who is your supervisor.