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Why landscape-scale planning and early Tribal engagement can improve energy development.

By the time an archaeological survey begins, some of the most consequential decisions affecting cultural resources may already have been made.

A developer has identified a property. Preliminary engineering has established a preferred layout. Access roads and transmission connections are being considered. Project schedules and financial assumptions may already depend on the selected location.

Archaeological investigations and Tribal consultation can still influence those decisions. But the flexibility to avoid sensitive places may be considerably narrower than it was during initial planning.

What if cultural-resource considerations entered the process before individual project boundaries were established?

California’s approach to regional energy planning offers an opportunity to examine that question.

Looking Beyond Individual Project Sites

Project-level environmental review generally focuses on a defined undertaking or proposed development.

Landscape-scale planning begins with a different perspective.

Rather than asking only what cultural resources might be affected by a particular project, regional planning can consider broader patterns of land use, environmental sensitivity, cultural landscapes, and potential development conflicts.

This distinction matters for energy development.

Energy production facilities, transmission corridors, pipelines, access roads, and associated infrastructure can affect extensive areas. Their impacts may extend beyond individual archaeological sites to include culturally significant landscapes, traditional places, access routes, and relationships between communities and their ancestral lands.

Identifying these considerations earlier can create opportunities to evaluate alternatives before substantial commitments have been made.

However, regional planning presents its own challenges. Cultural significance cannot always be represented through conventional archaeological site records or generalized GIS datasets.

And information that is useful for planning may also be culturally sensitive.

A California Example: San Joaquin Valley Solar Planning

In May 2026, the California Energy Commission (CEC) presented information about regional approaches to incorporating Tribal cultural-resource considerations into renewable-energy planning.

One example was the San Joaquin Valley solar-planning initiative, which examined potential least-conflict areas across approximately 9.5 million acres in eight counties.

The effort brought together agencies, agricultural interests, conservation organizations, industry representatives, and Tribes.

Its approach to Tribal cultural resources included early consultation, virtual and in-person meetings, and Tribally led information gathering and GIS mapping.

Tribal participants also reviewed the resulting information before approved findings were incorporated into publicly available planning materials.

This is an important distinction from planning approaches that rely exclusively on existing archaeological inventories.

Previously recorded archaeological sites represent only part of the cultural landscape. Survey coverage varies, archaeological records may be incomplete, and many places of cultural importance are not identifiable through conventional archaeological methods.

Tribally led information gathering can contribute knowledge and perspectives that would otherwise be missing from regional planning.

An important component of this approach is Tribal participation in determining how cultural information is used and what may be publicly disclosed. The CEC presentation identifies Tribal review and approved publication as part of the planning process. This illustrates how landscape-scale planning can incorporate culturally sensitive information without requiring unrestricted public access to the underlying data.

Earlier Planning Does Not Replace Project-Level Review

Regional planning can provide valuable context for development decisions, but it is necessarily broader and less detailed than investigations conducted for individual projects. Understanding that distinction is essential to using landscape-scale information appropriately.

Regional datasets have limitations. Cultural landscapes may extend beyond mapped boundaries. New information may emerge through consultation, archaeological investigation, or changes in project design.

For federal undertakings subject to the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106 requirements remain applicable regardless of earlier regional planning. Similarly, projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) must address applicable environmental review requirements, including consideration of historical resources and Tribal cultural resources.

Landscape-scale planning does not replace project-specific cultural-resource identification, evaluation, impact assessment, or consultation required under applicable federal and state law.

Instead, regional planning can help identify potential conflicts and inform the evaluation of development alternatives before individual projects are fully defined.

The value of early planning is not that it eliminates subsequent review. It is that better information earlier in the process may create more opportunities for avoidance, thoughtful design, and meaningful consideration of alternatives.

What This Means for Project Development

For developers and environmental consultants, early cultural-resource planning can improve the quality of initial decisions.

It can help identify issues that warrant additional investigation before property acquisition or engineering commitments become difficult to change.

It may also reduce the likelihood that significant cultural-resource concerns first emerge when project schedules are already under pressure.

For Tribes, earlier engagement can provide opportunities to influence broader planning decisions rather than responding only to individual proposals.

But these benefits depend on meaningful participation.

Early outreach alone is not sufficient if the planning process cannot accommodate Tribal recommendations or if sensitive information is collected without appropriate agreements governing its use.

The objective should be to develop planning approaches that are technically useful, culturally informed, and responsive to the communities whose ancestral landscapes may be affected.

Better Decisions Begin Before Project Design

Meeting California’s energy needs will require substantial infrastructure development.

Meeting those needs while protecting cultural resources demands more than increasingly sophisticated archaeological investigations after project locations have been selected.

It also requires considering cultural landscapes, Tribal knowledge, and potential development conflicts during earlier planning.

The San Joaquin Valley example demonstrates one approach to incorporating Tribally led information gathering and spatial analysis into that process.

It does not eliminate the need for subsequent Section 106 or CEQA review where applicable, nor does it resolve every challenge associated with sensitive cultural information.

But it illustrates an important principle.

The most effective opportunity to avoid a cultural-resource conflict may come long before anyone draws the final project boundary.

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Further Reading

California Energy Commission. Tribal Affairs Roundtable 11, May 12, 2026. Publicly docketed May 28, 2026, TN 270325. See presentation slides 90–92 for the San Joaquin Valley example and slides 99–101 for advance planning. CEC Public Docket — 25-OIIP-01.

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Section 106 Regulations, 36 CFR Part 800. ACHP — Section 106 Regulations.

California Environmental Quality Act. California Public Resources Code, Division 13, and CEQA Guidelines, including provisions addressing historical resources and Tribal cultural resources.

Imagine beginning an archaeological investigation with a detailed three-dimensional model of the landscape.

Subtle earthworks, abandoned roads, terraces, and other modifications may be visible in the data even when they are difficult to recognize on the ground. These features can help archaeologists identify areas worth investigating more closely.

But what happens when a promising feature is identified? And what about archaeological deposits that leave no visible surface expression at all?

That’s where integrated archaeological prospection becomes particularly valuable.

The goal isn’t simply to find more anomalies. It’s to combine different kinds of evidence to better understand what’s present, where it occurs, and whether ground disturbance is necessary.

Archaeological Prospection Isn’t New

Archaeologists have used geophysical techniques—including magnetometry, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity, and electromagnetic methods—for decades.

Each measures different physical properties of the ground and can help identify archaeological features under suitable conditions.

LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, adds another dimension. Airborne LiDAR uses laser measurements to produce detailed elevation data. When processed into bare-earth terrain models, these data can reveal subtle landscape features that conventional aerial photography or pedestrian survey may overlook.

Increasingly accessible high-resolution elevation datasets, improved processing techniques, and GIS-based analytical tools make it easier to integrate landscape-scale observations with more focused investigations.

But no single method provides a complete picture.

LiDAR primarily documents surface topography. GPR can reveal subsurface contrasts and help estimate the depth and geometry of certain features. Magnetometry identifies variations in magnetic properties, while electrical and electromagnetic methods detect other subsurface contrasts.

Their effectiveness depends on geology, soil conditions, vegetation, feature characteristics, data quality, and survey design.

The real advantage comes from using these methods together—not assuming that one instrument can answer every archaeological question.

From Landscape Anomalies to Archaeological Interpretation

Consider a landscape where LiDAR reveals a faint linear depression.

It might represent an abandoned road, a defensive ditch, an irrigation feature, or a natural drainage channel.

The elevation data alone cannot establish its origin.

Historical maps and previous archaeological records may provide context. Field observations can identify associated surface materials or disturbances. Magnetometry or GPR might reveal related subsurface features.

Each additional source of evidence helps researchers evaluate competing interpretations.

Importantly, the process doesn’t always begin with LiDAR. In some environments, historical research, pedestrian survey, or geophysical measurements may provide the initial clues.

And many significant archaeological deposits—including pre-contact lithic scatters, buried occupation surfaces, and other deposits without substantial topographic expression—may be invisible to LiDAR altogether.

An anomaly is a starting point for investigation, not an archaeological conclusion.

Fort Union: Combining LiDAR and Geophysical Investigation

At Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico, researchers demonstrated the value of integrating landscape-scale elevation data with subsequent archaeological investigations.

A 2013 aerial LiDAR survey produced high-resolution topographic information for the nineteenth-century military complex, including a digital elevation model with 0.5-meter resolution.

In 2014, archaeologists used the LiDAR data during a comprehensive geophysical investigation of the Second Fort. Analysis of the elevation data identified a previously unrecognized structure within the fort.

A subsequent metal-detection survey also incorporated the LiDAR information and earlier field observations, helping researchers identify two possible Civil War regimental encampments.

The project illustrates how high-resolution landscape mapping can support increasingly focused archaeological investigations.

Rather than treating LiDAR as a stand-alone discovery tool, researchers incorporated it into a broader investigative process.

The same general approach has potential applications at historic military installations, industrial complexes, transportation corridors, and other archaeological landscapes in California and elsewhere.

California’s Central Coast: Prospection and Collaborative Archaeology

Integrated prospection is equally valuable for investigating Indigenous archaeological deposits, including those with little visible surface expression.

Along California’s Central Coast, researchers working with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the University of California, Berkeley, and California State Parks have developed collaborative archaeological approaches that emphasize minimally invasive investigation.

A 2021 study published in Remote Sensing describes how landscape mapping, surface archaeological observations, and geophysical techniques can inform decisions about subsequent investigations.

At the Butano Mound, researchers combined digital elevation information, systematic surface survey, and GPR to investigate archaeological deposits associated with ancestral Indigenous occupation.

The results helped guide limited, targeted excavation undertaken as part of a collaborative investigation into historical salmon ecology.

The study also describes a broader approach in which topographic mapping, LiDAR where appropriate, surface archaeology, and multiple geophysical methods can be integrated to develop increasingly focused research strategies.

Importantly, the researchers do not claim that LiDAR independently identified the Butano Mound deposits.

The work demonstrates something arguably more important: how complementary methods can improve archaeological decision-making while minimizing unnecessary disturbance.

The research was undertaken at the request of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and incorporated Tribal priorities into research design and decisions about archaeological investigation.

This collaborative approach illustrates how technical methods and Indigenous stewardship can reinforce one another.

Better Information Before Ground Disturbance

For cultural-resource management, integrated prospection offers several potential benefits.

Landscape-scale mapping can help identify areas that warrant closer attention. Geophysical investigations can provide information about subsurface features without immediately resorting to excavation. Historical research, existing archaeological records, and Tribal knowledge can help researchers interpret the resulting evidence.

Together, these methods can support more focused field strategies, better evaluation of potential project impacts, and more informed decisions about avoidance, preservation, or additional investigation.

They can also be valuable when archaeological sites are threatened by erosion, development, or other environmental changes.

But remote sensing and geophysical investigation have limitations.

A lack of detectable anomalies does not establish that archaeological resources are absent. Nor does identifying a possible feature establish its age, cultural affiliation, integrity, or significance.

Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies must make a reasonable and good-faith effort to identify historic properties. The appropriate identification strategy depends on the undertaking, potential effects, existing information, consultation, and other relevant circumstances.

Remote sensing can strengthen archaeological identification, but it does not automatically replace fieldwork, consultation, or professional judgment.

Sensitive archaeological information also requires appropriate protection, and investigations involving Indigenous cultural landscapes should incorporate Tribal perspectives on research priorities, methods, permissions, and data governance.

The Future Is Integrated

Archaeological prospection has a long history. What’s changing is our ability to bring increasingly detailed datasets and complementary analytical methods together.

LiDAR can reveal subtle landscape features. Geophysical instruments can investigate subsurface conditions. Historical records, GIS, and archaeological fieldwork provide additional evidence needed to interpret the results.

Sometimes these methods will identify promising locations for targeted investigation. Sometimes they’ll demonstrate that an apparent anomaly is unrelated to human activity. And sometimes they’ll help researchers avoid disturbing sensitive archaeological deposits altogether.

The objective isn’t to replace traditional archaeological methods with technology.

It’s to use the available tools more intelligently, selecting methods appropriate to the landscape, archaeological questions, and communities involved.

Better archaeological investigations don’t necessarily begin with more excavation. They begin with better questions—and the right combination of methods to answer them.

Further Reading

National Park Service / USGS. Aerial LiDAR Survey of Fort Union National Monument, New Mexico (2014). Documents the integration of LiDAR, geophysical investigation, and metal detection at a historic military complex.

Sanchez, Gabriel M., et al. (2021). Sensing the Past: Perspectives on Collaborative Archaeology and Ground Penetrating Radar Techniques from Coastal California. Remote Sensing 13(2):285. Examines minimally invasive archaeological research developed collaboratively with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.

Grammer, Benedikt, et al. (2017). LiDAR-guided Archaeological Survey of a Mediterranean Landscape: Lessons from the Ancient Greek Polis of Kolophon (Ionia, Western Anatolia). Archaeological Prospection 24(4):311–333. Discusses integrating LiDAR, field observations, and geophysical evidence in a Mediterranean archaeological landscape.

Could collaborative research partnerships unlock decades of untapped archaeological knowledge?

Archaeologists have spent generations excavating sites, documenting discoveries, analyzing artifacts, and depositing collections in museums and repositories.

The result is an extraordinary accumulation of archaeological knowledge.

Yet much of that information remains scattered across technical reports, field records, artifact catalogs, laboratory databases, and collections that have never been fully synthesized.

As opportunities for new excavation and access to existing collections change, an important question emerges:

Could the next significant archaeological discovery come from information we already possess?

The Untapped Potential of Legacy Collections

Consider an archaeological assemblage excavated forty years ago.

The original investigation may have focused on establishing chronology, describing artifact types, or evaluating a site’s significance. Its researchers worked with the analytical techniques, comparative collections, and theoretical questions available at the time.

Today, that same assemblage might contribute to entirely different questions.

Existing lithic datasets could support investigations of technological organization, mobility, raw-material procurement, or environmental adaptation. Previously documented archaeological materials might be examined alongside newer geochemical sourcing results, regional settlement data, or updated chronologies.

And sometimes the most valuable resource isn’t the physical collection at all.

Original field notes, provenience records, photographs, artifact measurements, and analytical tables can contain information that was never fully explored.

The research potential of an archaeological collection is not exhausted when its original report is completed.

A Changing Research Landscape

California offers an especially relevant context for reconsidering collections-based research.

Implementation of CalNAGPRA, alongside the revised federal NAGPRA regulations that took effect January 12, 2024, has prompted institutions to reassess collections management, repatriation responsibilities, consultation, and research access.

These changes reflect important obligations to Native American communities and longstanding concerns about how archaeological collections were acquired, studied, and controlled.

They also have practical consequences for researchers and repositories.

For example, the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley currently reports that access to collections for teaching and research remains limited while staff and resources prioritize repatriation activities.

This changing environment invites us to reconsider how archaeological research is designed, supported, and conducted.

Importantly, this discussion is not about proposing additional study of Native American ancestral human remains or cultural items subject to NAGPRA or CalNAGPRA. Those materials and associated responsibilities are outside the research opportunities considered here.

Nor should archaeologists assume that an object is available for research simply because it does not appear to fall within a particular statutory category.

Research Partnerships, Not Simply Research Permissions

For collections associated with Indigenous communities, responsible research begins well before anyone requests access to an artifact.

It begins with relationships.

Tribal governments and communities can contribute essential perspectives on research questions, appropriate methods, cultural sensitivities, interpretation, and the management of resulting information.

This is more meaningful than developing a research proposal independently and approaching a Tribe only after the methodology has been finalized.

A collaborative approach also recognizes that archaeological research does not necessarily have the same priorities or value for every participating community.

Some questions may be welcomed. Others may need to be modified, deferred, or abandoned.

Successful partnerships require recognizing those distinctions and respecting the decisions that follow.

What Could a New Approach Look Like?

Imagine a regional research initiative beginning not with an excavation permit, but with an assessment of existing archaeological information.

Researchers could identify relevant legacy reports, collections catalogs, radiocarbon datasets, spatial records, and previous analytical results.

Working with appropriate Tribal partners, repositories, and collection stewards, they could then evaluate which questions are worth pursuing, what materials and information may appropriately be used, and what additional permissions are necessary.

The resulting research might involve digitizing existing records, standardizing artifact measurements, reassessing chronological relationships, or integrating previously disconnected datasets.

New technologies—including GIS, statistical modeling, digital imaging, and carefully governed AI-assisted data analysis—could help identify patterns that earlier investigators could not readily recognize.

None of these methods eliminates the need for archaeological expertise, reliable provenience information, or careful interpretation.

And digitization should never be confused with unrestricted public access. Sensitive archaeological information requires appropriate protections, whether it exists in a repository or a digital database.

A Different Measure of Archaeological Progress

New excavations will remain essential to many archaeological investigations. Existing collections cannot answer every question, and legacy documentation varies considerably in quality.

But archaeological progress need not be measured primarily by how much additional material we recover.

It can also be measured by how effectively we preserve, integrate, interpret, and responsibly use the information already available.

That requires investment in collections stewardship, data management, methodological innovation, and relationships with the communities whose histories archaeology seeks to understand.

The next important archaeological discovery may not require a new excavation. It may begin with a collection we’ve had for decades, a question we haven’t asked, and a research partnership we haven’t yet built.

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Further Reading

• U.S. Department of the Interior — Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
• California Native American Heritage Commission — CalNAGPRA
• Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, UC Berkeley
• Society for Historical Archaeology — Collections and Curation Resources

Why archaeological monitoring works best as part of a larger cultural-resource strategy.

Imagine a construction crew excavating a trench for a new utility line. An archaeological monitor is standing nearby, watching the excavation.

The backhoe exposes a concentration of artifacts. The monitor recognizes that the material may represent a previously unidentified archaeological site.

Now what?

The answer depends considerably on what happened before construction began.

Was the area investigated? Were buried archaeological deposits anticipated? Is there an approved discovery procedure? Who has authority to suspend work? Who needs to be notified?

These questions illustrate an important distinction: archaeological monitoring is a valuable tool, but it is not a substitute for thoughtful cultural-resource planning.

What Archaeological Monitoring Actually Does

Archaeological monitoring generally involves a qualified archaeologist observing specified ground-disturbing activities to identify cultural materials, document observations, and initiate established procedures when potential discoveries occur.

It can be especially useful where buried deposits may be present but are difficult to identify through conventional surface investigations.

Monitoring may also be required as part of a project’s environmental commitments, historic-property treatment measures, or agency-approved discovery procedures.

But monitoring has an inherent limitation.

By the time an archaeological deposit becomes visible in an excavation, some disturbance may already have occurred.

A monitor can recognize a discovery and help prevent additional damage. They cannot reverse the disturbance that exposed it.

That’s why monitoring should be understood as one component of a larger identification, avoidance, and treatment strategy.

Identification and Monitoring Serve Different Purposes

For federal undertakings subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, agencies must make a reasonable and good-faith effort to identify historic properties that may be affected by a project.

That effort may involve records research, consultation, field survey, subsurface testing, or other appropriate methods.

The regulations also recognize that identification cannot always be completed in a single step. Phased identification may be appropriate for large corridors, restricted-access areas, and certain other circumstances, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.

Monitoring can play an important role in these situations.

The critical distinction is whether monitoring has been selected as part of a reasoned identification or treatment strategy—or simply added late in project planning as a precaution.

Those are not necessarily equivalent.

A Discovery Plan Should Answer Practical Questions

An effective monitoring and discovery plan needs to work in the field, not just on paper.

Before construction begins, the project team should understand:

Where and when is monitoring required?

Not every excavation necessarily presents the same archaeological risk. Monitoring requirements should reflect available information, consultation, project conditions, and applicable commitments.

Who has authority to suspend ground disturbance?

The monitor, construction superintendent, environmental compliance manager, and agency representative should understand their respective responsibilities. Stop-work authority should be established clearly rather than assumed.

What happens when something is discovered?

The plan should establish procedures for protecting the discovery, notifying the appropriate parties, evaluating its significance, and determining whether and how work may resume.

How are consulting parties involved?

Discovery procedures must account for applicable consultation requirements, including those involving Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Tribal cultural knowledge and Tribal monitoring responsibilities are not interchangeable with archaeological monitoring, and neither replaces required government-to-government consultation.

How will the work be documented?

Daily observations, discovery records, notifications, decisions, and final reporting should be sufficiently clear to demonstrate what occurred and how the project responded.

The exact procedures depend on the governing agreement, permit conditions, applicable law, and agency requirements.

The Cost of an Unclear Plan

Consider two otherwise similar construction projects.

On the first, the archaeological monitor identifies a potential discovery, but the construction crew is uncertain whether excavation should stop. The superintendent calls the environmental manager, who contacts the consultant, who then tries to determine the applicable notification requirements.

Meanwhile, equipment and personnel are waiting.

On the second project, the same discovery occurs, but the responsibilities are already established. The crew protects the area, the appropriate personnel are notified, and the project follows an agreed process for evaluating the discovery and determining next steps.

Neither project can guarantee that unexpected archaeological materials will never be encountered.

But the second is better prepared to respond responsibly and efficiently.

Good Monitoring Begins Before Construction

Archaeological monitoring is most effective when it is supported by appropriate prior investigations, meaningful consultation, clear procedures, and coordination with the construction team.

That preparation helps protect cultural resources while reducing uncertainty when discoveries occur.

It also recognizes something important about archaeological work: not every discovery can be anticipated, and not every risk can be eliminated.

The objective is to make informed decisions before construction begins—and to ensure that the people responsible for implementing those decisions know what to do when conditions change.

You can’t plan every discovery. You can plan what happens next.

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Further Reading

• 36 CFR § 800.4 — Identification of Historic Properties
• 36 CFR § 800.13 — Post-Review Discoveries
• Advisory Council on Historic Preservation — Section 106 Process