Arizona Site Stewards Volunteer Program
2025 SSP Statewide Conference at Cliff Castle Casino Hotel
Camp Verde, Arizona
April 4–6, 2025
We are thrilled about holding the 2025 SSP State-wide Conference in Camp Verde. The town and the surrounding areas have so much to offer and we look forward to taking advantage of its many sites and activities. Most importantly, there are a number of local tribal members, archaeologists and Verde Region Stewards who will be providing everything from sessions to excursions.
The 2025 SSP Conference offers 2 full days of engaging sessions tailored to Site Stewards and professionals and 1 day of excursions/hikes. Sessions and activities are geared to increase skills and knowledge to better monitor archaeological sites, staying safe while hiking and exploring and to learn more about cultural awareness as it relates to tribal history. As a bonus -recent renovations have made the Cliff Castle Hotel/Casino into a gorgeous facility and a unique location for our conference with many fun activities and a great weekend get-a-way destination.
Click Here for Conference Flyer
MUNGUÍA RANCH (2022) San Pedro River Valley Arizona
This is an educational film produced for and supported by the Arizona Site Steward Program, Arizona Bureau of Land Management, and Arizona State Parks.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, mestizo families from the Tucson Presidio area populated and developed ranches near the San Pedro River which provided cattle and produce to Tucson and surrounding forts. Surnames such as Soza, Apodaca, Gamez, Araiza, Pacheco, and Vasquez are just a few of the families that thrived and prospered along the beloved river and contributed greatly to the development of Tucson.
One of these ranchers was Don Tomás Munguía, whose home still stands along the San Pedro River after 135+ years. In 2005, preservation archaeologist Jacquie Dale, submitted the Munguía homestead to the Arizona Site Steward program for protection and monitoring. 17 years later, filmmaker and site steward Kiersten Dunbar Chace, visited the Munguía site to monitor and document the home. In the process, she learned of her own connection to Munguía's rich Arizona ancestry, dating back to the 18th century.
https://vimeo.com/767172572
sitesteward@azstateparks.gov Is Now The Official Email For The Arizona Site Steward Program!
Download Our Updated Site Etiquette Guide (NEW 2023)
How To Become A Site Steward
Help protect Arizona's irreplaceable cultural resources by becoming a Steward of the past. If you are interested in becoming a Site Steward view the information below and watch the videos near the bottom of the page. If this is something you would like to do please click here (www.azsitesteward.org) to register and complete an application.
There are 24 regions to choose from. Please view the Site Steward Regional Map to make your selections.
About the Site Steward Program
The Arizona Site Steward program was developed by Governor Bruce Babbitt and his Archaeology Advisory Commission in an attempt to support the protection of cultural sites on public lands. Starting with three regions and four partners, the program has grown to encompass the entire state and 32 local, state, federal and non-profit partners. Currently administered by Arizona State Parks, the program is supported by the Arizona State Parks Foundation – a 501(c)3.
Site Stewards are volunteers dedicated to protecting and preserving cultural resources and the heritage of Arizona.
The Arizona Site Stewards Program is an organization of volunteers, sponsored by the public land managers of Arizona, whose members are selected, trained and certified by the State Historic Preservation Office. The chief objective of the Stewards Program is to report to the land managers destruction or vandalism of prehistoric and historic archaeological and paleontological sites in Arizona through site monitoring. Stewards are also active in public education and outreach activities. All questions concerning the Site Steward program, training, application, and recognition should be directed to Sean Hammond, Site Steward program coordinator, at (602) 542-7130.
Arizona Site Steward Program Foundation
The Foundation is incorporated as an Arizona nonprofit. An application for federal tax deductible status under 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code is pending. Our purposes are:
1. To promote the monitoring and preservation of cultural resources;
2. To support the administration of the Arizona Site Steward Program; and
3. To solicit funds to advance the purposes of the Arizona Site Steward Program.
The Board of Directors will be comprised of no less than five, no more than 19, voting directors, and honorary non-voting members as the Board may elect. There will be two land manager representatives, two regional coordinator representatives, four site steward representatives, and one tribal representative.
For more information about the Foundation and how you can help support the Arizona Site Steward Program, contact Nicole Armstrong-Best at asspfoundation@gmail.com. Also, check out their newly built website!
Read The Watch - Site Steward Quarterly Newsletter
Spring 2018 Summer 2018 Spring 2019 Fall 2019 Spring 2020 Fall 2021
The Watch is a quarterly newsletter for the Arizona Site Steward Program. The quarterly digital publication features articles written by site stewards, regional updates, and a message from the State Historic Preservation Office. To subscribe to The Watch, please contact: sitesteward@azstateparks.gov
Goals of the Arizona Site Steward Program
Site Steward Photograph
- To preserve major prehistoric, historic and paleontological resources for the purposes of conservation, scientific study, and interpretation.
- To increase public awareness of the significance and value of cultural resources and the damage done by vandalism.
- To discourage site vandalism and the sale and trade of antiquities.
- To support the adoption and enforcement of national, state, and local preservation laws and regulations.
- To support and encourage high standards of cultural resource investigation throughout the state.
- To promote better understanding and cooperation among agencies, organizations, and individuals concerned about the preservation of cultural resources.
- To enhance the completeness of the statewide archaeological and paleontological inventory.
Site Steward Training
Volunteer training involves at least 10 hours of classroom instruction and field training. The training sessions include antiquity laws, crime scene management, artifact, site and feature identification, and map & GPS reading. The program seeks volunteers with strong interests in cultural resource conservation who enjoy the outdoors.
Site Stewards in Action
Take a look at what it takes to be a Site Steward and the various challenges that face them as they try to protect Arizona's archaeologic treasures. Also, read about these Site Stewards in Action!
