This article does good job highlighting the current struggle for the management of cultural and natural resources on public lands in the USA - underfunding from the federal government and diverging stakeholder opinions.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/6/parks-and-regulation-conservation-fund-on-life-support.html

Tucson, Arizona is applying to UNESCO to be North America's first Creative City of Gastronomy.  As explained in the article, for the application, the city needed to explain the unique cultural heritage of Tucson and how it relates to its food culture from prehistoric times to present.  Evidence from archaeological sites was utilized along with ethnographic research.  For those of you interested in local heritage and food culture, this is an interesting read.

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/the-road-to-unesco/Content?oid=5983515

~Tylia

Another interesting and relevant newsitem, courtesy of Lesley...

Edinburgh's world heritage status in peril as developers move in

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/31/edinburgh-world-heritage-status-in-peril-developers?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail

Avebury Resident's Pack - For those of you going on the trip Saturday

Hi Guys

For those of you going on the trip Saturday to Avebury I thought you would be interested in the Avebury Resident's Pack.

Personally I think this was a brilliant way to get the local community involved in the WHS's management. I'm not sure how much Anastasia will talk to you about this, or how much you will discuss the role of stakeholders in Avebury's management but I recommend discussing this.

Please read this article by Sarah Simmonds for an explanation:

https://icomosuk.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/avebury-world-heritage-site-residents%E2%80%99-pack/

I hope you enjoy the trip, I'm sad I am unable to attend.

All the best

Sophie Johnson

:)

Hymns ring out over Uluru on 'bittersweet' handback anniversary

A very interested article on the anniversary of the handback of Uluru and Kata Tjuta to the Anangu people in central Australia and the issues that remain to be resolved regarding access to resources and benefits from cultural tourism to the local communities.

With many thanks to Lesley who brought it to our attention!

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/25/uluru-bittersweet-handover-anniversary-indigenous-australians?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail

Skeates book has a lot of excellent management of sites examples ref ethical and political of USA sites. Especially in the first half of his book. It's on the reading list for today. I especially thought his Hawaii examples are stupendous. I am jealous of those who are from the USA as Being English I can't use these examples. I do think his narrative is slightly biased towards western hegemony ideas and concepts though.
By the way there is a conference soon at UCl on the destructions at Palmyra an appalling tradegy.

Ace cafe with quite a nice ancient monument attached?

Excellent article by Alison Feeney-Hart in BBC News Magazine, inspired by the new Stonehenge visitor centre but looking more widely at cafes at heritage sites.

Museum's Association survey 2013

A key finding of the Museums Association’s Cuts Survey 2013 is that 47% of UK museums saw an increase in the number of volunteers and interns while 37% saw staff cuts over the past year.

Some coverage on the association site.

World Monuments Fund (WMF) watch list 

Some interesting new additions to the list, including Battersea Power Station

The Heritage Journal

Some interesting recent posts on the journal blog -  including depressing ones regarding metal-detecting