The mission of the Ancient Art Archive is to preserve and share humanity’s oldest stories.
There has been much bad news on the ancient art conservation front. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Below I break down three direct threats to ancient artworks in America and 2 actions you can take to help.
The Wall to Nowhere in Val Verde, Texas.
No matter where you stand on immigration and border security, the Wall to Nowhere in Val Verde County is colossally dumb.
This region is home to hundreds of Pecos River rock art sites. Taken as a whole, these sites represent a 4,000-year cultural tradition of painting and ceremony. Individual sites like Panther Cave are monumentally large murals older that the pyramids of Egypt. They are part of America’s cultural legacy.
The proposed barrier will slice through art sites and cut off access to some of America’s greatest artworks. Large parts of Seminole Canyon State Park as well as countless private ranches will be rendered inaccessible, essentially cut off from the United States and handed over to Mexico.
This part of the border is one of the most rugged and inaccessible places in the United States. The land is protected by sheer canyon walls and 200-foot cliffs rising from the Rio Grand River. It’s a landscape that I have spent time in; nothing can drive there as it is.
Yet, the Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $2.6 Billion contract to push a vehicle barrier through the canyonlands of Val Verde County. $2.6 BILLION DOLLARS to block vehicular traffic in a place that no vehicle has ever been able to drive.
This Wall to Nowhere is Big Government waste on an epic scale.
The existing Highway 90 right of way is a much more sensible and financially responsible location for a barrier. Constructing a barrier (or better yet remote sensing monitors) along that road won’t threaten hundreds of irreplaceble rock art sites.
What can you do to help preserve them?
Sign the Shumla petition (HERE). Our friends at Shumla.org have pioneered research and conservation of the artwork of the Lower Pecos for decades.
Contact Texas legislators. Val Verde County’s congressional seat is currently vacant, but you contact other Texas members of Congress directly through the contact information listed at the end of this post. Please be respectful in all communications.
Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante reduction
On July 13, backed by the Utah Governor and congressional delegation, the President gutted both Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (details here). The monuments have both been reduced by 90% from their original boundaries.
The reduction proclamation ignores decades of partnership and coalition building between land managers and indigenous leaders.
It’s important to note how wildly unpopular these reductions are. Widespread polling indicates that over 70% of the Utah electorate opposes the reductions. There is no grassroots support for this action either in Utah or the country more broadly. The White House’s claims that Monument protections prevented normal recreation on the land are simply false. Many businesses in remote San Juan County, Kane and Garfield Counties of Utah rely on the monuments. This decree pulls the rug from under them.
If you feel like this is a glitch in the matrix you are not alone. Nine Years ago (2017) a presidential proclamation arbitrarily reduced these monuments. That order was overturned.
The last time the President reduced Bears Ears National Monument, Utah lost the Outdoor Retailers Association Meeting and San Juan County ended up with a Native American controlled county commission for the first time in history.
What can you do?
Sign the Conservation Lands petition here: https://www.conservationlands.org/monuments
They will add you to a petition and allow you to email your member of congress. If you feel compelled to reach out to the Utah congressional representatives who stood cheered the president while he reduced protection, their names and office contacts are below. Please be respectful in any communication.
Sen. Mike Lee
- Phone (Salt Lake City): (801) 524-5933
- Phone (DC): (202) 224-5444
- Contact: lee.senate.gov/contact
Sen. John Curtis
- Phone (Salt Lake City): (801) 524-4380
- Phone (DC): (202) 224-5251
- Contact: curtis.senate.gov/share-your-opinion
Rep. Blake Moore (UT-01)
- Phone (Ogden district office): (801) 625-0107
- Phone (DC): (202) 225-0453
- Contact: blakemoore.house.gov/contact
Rep. Celeste Maloy (UT-02)
- Phone (Bountiful district office): (801) 364-5550
- Phone (DC): (202) 225-9730
- Contact: maloy.house.gov/contact
Rep. Mike Kennedy (UT-03, represents both Monuments)
- Phone (Provo district office): (801) 607-3238
- Phone (DC): (202) 225-7751
- Contact: mikekennedy.house.gov/contact
Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04)
- Phone (DC): (202) 225-3011
- Contact: owens.house.gov
Texas Congressional Representatives
U.S. Senators
- Ted Cruz — (202) 224-5922
- John Cornyn — (202) 224-2934
U.S. House of Representatives
- TX-1, Nathaniel Moran — (202) 225-3035
- TX-2, Dan Crenshaw — (202) 225-6565
- TX-3, Keith Self — (202) 225-4201
- TX-4, Pat Fallon — (202) 225-6673
- TX-5, Lance Gooden — (202) 225-3484
- TX-6, Jake Ellzey — (202) 225-2002
- TX-7, Lizzie Fletcher — (202) 225-2571
- TX-8, Morgan Luttrell — (202) 225-4901
- TX-9, Al Green — (202) 225-7508
- TX-10, Michael T. McCaul — (202) 225-2401
- TX-11, August Pfluger — (202) 225-3605
- TX-12, Craig A. Goldman — (202) 225-5071
- TX-13, Ronny Jackson — (202) 225-3706
- TX-14, Randy K. Weber Sr. — (202) 225-2831
- TX-15, Monica De La Cruz — (202) 225-9901
- TX-16, Veronica Escobar — (202) 225-4831
- TX-17, Pete Sessions — (202) 225-6105
- TX-18, Christian D. Menefee — (202) 225-3816
- TX-19, Jodey C. Arrington — (202) 225-4005
- TX-20, Joaquin Castro — (202) 225-3236
- TX-21, Chip Roy — (202) 225-4236
- TX-22, Troy E. Nehls — (202) 225-5951
- TX-23 — vacant (Tony Gonzales resigned April 14, 2026); constituent line (202) 225-4511 is staffed by the Clerk’s office pending a special election
- TX-24, Beth Van Duyne — (202) 225-6605
- TX-25, Roger Williams — (202) 225-9896
- TX-26, Brandon Gill — (202) 225-7772
- TX-27, Michael Cloud — (202) 225-7742
- TX-28, Henry Cuellar — (202) 225-1640
- TX-29, Sylvia R. Garcia — (202) 225-1688
- TX-30, Jasmine Crockett — (202) 225-8885
- TX-31, John R. Carter — (202) 225-3864
- TX-32, Julie Johnson — (202) 225-2231
- TX-33, Marc A. Veasey — (202) 225-9897
- TX-34, Vicente Gonzalez — (202) 225-2531
- TX-35, Greg Casar — (202) 225-5645
- TX-36, Brian Babin — (202) 225-1555
- TX-37, Lloyd Doggett — (202) 225-4865
- TX-38, Wesley Hunt — (202) 225-5646
