Not unrelated to museums, the Southeast Utah region is a high
desert/steppe part of the Colorado Plateau that is simultaneously
one of the archeologically richest parts of the US, one of the least
populous and therefore recreationally desirable for wilderness
experience, and possessed of substantial energy resources. So, there
is a simmering conservation 'war' all the way from the top (Pres.
Clinton's creation of the Grand Staircase/Escalante National
Monument last campaign was a pre-emptive strike against coal
mining [by a Dutch company, as I recall]) to the bottom (people
do go out and try to physically block county officials from grading roads
through the area to destroy its eligibility as a wilderness area). For
more information, check the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
site at <http://www.suwa.org/>.

Museums and archeologists are heavily involved in this area because
of the destructive impacts of energy extraction as well as the reputation
of the area as one of the most pothunted in America. Prehistoric Pueblo
sites abound.

I don't think there's enough soil for tunnels in most places, the towers
are already there (700 years old), twigloos won't be very impressive
in pinon-juniper pygmy forest, but lock-ons have been used and
benders might be interesting (cave dwellers are more common).

Best,
Tom
--

Tom Vaughan    "The Waggin' Tongue"
<[log in to unmask]>   (970) 533-1215
11795 Road 39.2, Mancos, CO 81328  USA
Cultural Resource Management, Interpretation, Planning, & Training