NWTA’s educational branch, the Trail Sustainability Institute (TSI), partnered with Oregon State Parks to offer Archaeology Training for volunteers at Stub Stewart State Park on Friday the 14th.
NWTA volunteers work across NW Oregon and SW Washington on federal, state, local, and private lands, lands that have been home to Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. Long before trappers, settlers, and loggers altered these landscapes, tribal communities stewarded these places, shaped their ecosystems, and left behind cultural knowledge and materials that remain significant today. As trail stewards, recognizing this history is a vital part of how we show respect for the land and the people connected to it.
Oregon State Parks Archaeologist Nancy Nelson provided volunteers with an engaging overview of human activity in the Pacific Northwest, helping illustrate how thousands of years of land use, Indigenous, settler, industrial, and recreational, can be reflected in archaeological features and materials we may encounter while doing trail work.
Because NWTA’s stewardship often involves digging and shaping soil, it is essential that our volunteers understand what to do if they encounter something that may be culturally or historically significant. Nancy walked participants through the correct procedures to follow, emphasizing the importance of pausing work, protecting the site, and notifying land managers immediately.
She also shared an unexpected but important reminder: archaeological findings don’t need to be ancient. Items as recent as 50 years old can be considered archaeological materials, offering insight into human behavior. This perspective reinforces why removing trash from recreation areas matters, not only for aesthetics and habitat health, but to prevent modern debris from someday requiring formal archaeological processing, which can impact where and how trails can be built.
NWTA extends our gratitude to Oregon State Parks and especially to Nancy Nelson for providing this invaluable training. With this knowledge, our volunteers are better equipped to steward trails responsibly, respectfully, and with a deeper awareness of the many histories held in the lands we care for.