The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) has awarded a grant to GARI in the amount of $20,000 to evaluate archeological sites in Citrus County beginning in the fall of 2020 and ending in August 2021. The project, Rapid Midden Assessment of the Cross Florida Greenway, is the second such NCPTT grant awarded to GARI to demonstrate and refine our innovative methodology to quickly determine preservation conditions of archeological sites on Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) lands.

These archeological sites are endangered by centuries of storms, erosion, floods, looting, and other human disturbances. Our holistic and unique approach will capture the effects of historic sea-level rise and determine the future pathways of land fragmentation, forest retreat, and soil loss under localized sea level scenarios. The NCPTT recognizes the valuable contribution this local effort could have on the FDEP’s larger scale resilience planning efforts underway for more urbanized areas. By mapping the Withlacoochee estuary and its embedded pre-historic sites, we should get a reflective of ecosystem maturation and stress response. Getting this baseline of local geological relevance without too many local infrastructure impacts to deal with should allow for more informed actions now in the early stages of coastal resources prioritization efforts.

Our goal is to provide an additional tool for any decision maker to apply in any nearby ecosystem resilience and vulnerability assessment by Connecting the Past to Our Future.

Sean Norman is the project lead and can be reached at spn@gulfarchaeology.org