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Annual Report for Heritage Monitoring Scouts 2017-2018

       
Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida)
Annual Report August 1, 2017- July 30, 2018
Sarah E. Miller and Emily Jane Murray
Florida Public Archaeology Network | March 15, 2019


HMS Florida Celebrates Second Year
Historical resources in Florida are in danger from impacts of climate change including increased storminess, rising temperatures, and sea level rise. An estimated 6,874 archaeological sites will be underwater with a 2 m (6.6 foot) rise in sea level in Florida alone (Anderson et al. 2017). In response to this threat, the Florida Public Archaeology Network launched Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) in 2016, a citizen science program focused on tracking changes to heritage sites at risk, particularly those impacted by climate change in the form of erosion and sea level rise. This report is a follow up to the first annual report for HMS Florida 2016-2017. Over the course of HMS Florida's second year an additional 199 new people applied to become Heritage Monitoring Scouts, agreed to the ethics statement to do no harm to sites, and received monthly updates on training and resources. Scouts submitted 552 monitoring reports on 438 sites during the second year, bringing the overall total to 864 reports submitted as of July 31, 2018. 
Archaeological sites at risk in the Southeast (Anderson et al. 2017).

Highlights from the 2nd year of HMS Florida.

Program Accomplishments 2017-2018

Partnership with State Parks

The Florida State Park Service partnered with FPAN to offer the first Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) training specifically for state land managers in April. The workshop, hosted at Tomoka State Park, trained 15 State Park staff on how to use HMS Florida for site assessments as well as how to use the Arches platform to record monitoring data. In June, staff also offered a short presentation on HMS Florida to 29 state land managers in Tallahassee at an Archaeological Resource Monitoring (ARM) training sponsored by the Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR). Similar trainings are scheduled to continued in HMS Florida's third year of operations. 
Land managers learn about HMS Florida and visit Dr. Davidson's UF fieldschool .


Tidally United Summit

The second “Tidally United: Cultural Resources Shoreline Monitoring and Public Engagement Summit” took place August 4-5, 2017 at the Native Learning Center in Hollywood, Florida. Partners for the summit included the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Florida Atlantic University, and Everglades National Park. It was an honor to partner with the Seminole Tribe and engage in conversations with the local community including Betty Osceola (Miccosukee Tribe, Panther Clan), Jr. Miss Florida Seminole Princess Kailani Osceola, Samuel Tommie (Seminole Tribe, Bird Clan), and Big Cypress Representative Joe Frank (Seminole Tribe Board of Directors). 

For more information check out the official website for the current year of Tidally United and the archive of past Tidally United (2016). 



Assessment of HMS Florida 
Dr. Laura Clark, a post-doc at the FPAN Coordinating Center in Pensacola, conducted an assessment of several FPAN programs, including HMS Florida. Dr. Clark collected survey data and conducted unobtrusive observations followed up with select interviews, then combined the quantitative and qualitative data. The study provided a glimpse into the demographics of HMS Florida workshop attendees. The preliminary results were presented by Sarah Miller and Laura Clark at the Society for Historical Archaeology, Florida Anthropological Society, and International Conference on Climate Change annual meetings. HMS Florida scouts described the program as: 

  • an effective way to provide information and training for preserving cultural sites 
  • successful in relating educational information through hands-on experiences 
  • an experience participants can get in few other contexts
  • delivered by a highly responsive staff 
  • effective in raising awareness and appreciation for cultural heritage



Learning from Loss Program

In June Sarah Miller and William Lees traveled to Scotland to take part in the Learning from Loss program sponsored by the Scottish Universities Insight Institute through a grant submitted by Tom Dawson and Joanna Hambly at University of St. Andrews. FPAN staff shared information about HMS Florida with local communities in Scotland and learned about long term and sustained impacts of their own public engagement program, Scotland's Coastal Archaeology a Risk program (SCHARP). Information on triage and prioritization was exchanged with Historic Environment Scotland and we observed novel ways of engaging the public through conversation and technology. Look for Learning from Loss inspired programming in the next fiscal year as we engage in further conversations with the community on loss of coastal heritage.

Engagement Levels  

 As a public engagement program, HMS Florida is evaluated not only by how many sites are visited each year, but in the context of frameworks including Rosenblatt's engagement pyramid model. Since the launch in August 2016, a conservative estimate of over 18,000 people observe and follow the program measured by members of the EnvArch Facebook page, page views on the HMS Florida landing page, and media coverage (see full list below). A total of 432 Scouts have signed up for the program to date with 199 new applicants approved during HMS Florida's 2nd year. Scouts stay active by submitting monitoring forms, with some scouts covering multiple sites over the course of the year. FPAN staff are currently leading the program, but several independent scouts are working up the pyramid by training others and leading monitoring events on their own.  



 Scout Activity Reports

  • 199 applications received and accepted, all have signed ethics statement
  • Applicants from 39 counties in 87 different Florida communities, 1 out of state
  • Scouts monitored 438 different sites during 2017-2018, cumulative total of 702 with 48 sites monitored both years
  • Data gaps -- 41 sites reported not listed on the Florida Master Site File
  • 68 Contributing Scouts (1+ site monitored) 
  • Trained 35 state land managers from 20 different state parks and forests
  • Scouts received 12 updates and challenges over the course of the year


Summary of Sites Monitored

Most of the sites monitored through HMS Florida are on state land, followed by private, then unidentified, municipal, county and a handful of federally owned sites. For the second year of HMS the percentage of state owned lands increased and fewer sites had unknown ownership. We expect some of these numbers to shift as a historic structures site type is folded into our reporting. As a majority of the sites monitored are on state land, HMS Florida is helping assist Florida Division of Historical Resources as described in FPAN's mission and goals.






Program Sustainability

In HMS Florida's second year, it is interesting to note a shift in where Scouts live and where they monitor sites. The first graph below shows that HMS Florida is active in 57 counties, but active in different ways depending on where Scouts live, where they monitor, where training events occur, and where partner organizations are located. The second graph shows Scouts that applied to the program both years, 2016-2017 in blue and 2017-2018 in orange. The third graph shows sites monitored by county and demonstrates the importance of a single Scout. For instance, in graph 3 Jefferson County is the second highest monitored county for the first year, dependent on a single Scout living in a different county, but was not active in year two. 

For a county to be active in the program, either a Scout lives there, a site was monitored there, a training event took place there, or a partner organization is located there. For sustainability, however, counties with all these criteria combined appear to have even numbers in active Scouts and sites monitored year to year. It will be interesting to follow this pattern over the next few years to see how volatile the program is when it depends on a single Scout to produce all the numbers for a given county, as was seen in the Jefferson County example.

HMS Florida is active in all counties except Calhoun, DeSoto, Glades, Gulf, Hardee, Highlands, Lafayette, Union, and Washington. This number (n=9) is substantially lower than the count last year, which was 25. It is reasonable to assume the program could be active in all Florida counties by the end of the third year.






 Media Coverage 

Print and social media sites frequently reported on HMS Florida activities during the second year.


Program Improvements

Response to Storm Events

HMS Florida launched just before Hurricanes Hermine and Mathew hit during the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. This year Hurricane Irma hit Florida as a Category 4 and the strongest Atlantic storm on record. HMS Florida was used to document impacts at 68 sites within the weeks following Irma. A majority of those sites were in south Florida and a special trip was made to Monroe County to assess impacts to historic cemeteries in the Keys. FPAN staff are now networked with the Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF) co-sponsored by FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution. This has led to an increase in storm alerts and training opportunities for cultural site stewards.   




Increased Funding and Programmatic Support of HMS Florida 

At present HMS Florida is supported by the regular operating funds of the Florida Public Archaeology Network. With additional funding HMS Florida would invest in accurate and time-saving survey equipment, increase program access to submerged and partially inundated sites along the coast by boat, collect environmental data from submerged sites, and upgrade essential database and program management as interest in HMS Florida continues to rise. FPAN again applied for a Florida Department of State Special Category grant for 2019-2021 and will continue to look for other funding opportunities.

Grants submitted for increased HMS Florida funding. 

Database Updates  

During the second year of the program, FPAN launched an improved HMS Florida database using the ARCHES management system developed by the Getty Conservation Institute and World Monuments Fund. Adam Cox at Legion GIS worked closely with FPAN staff Kevin Gidusko, Emily Jane Murray, and Rebecca O'Sullivan to test and fix errors. The landing page now has separate portals to accomodate volunteer Scouts and state land managers. Trainings on the new database began in spring 2018 and will continue into 2019. 



HMS Florida Partners by County


ALACHUA
University of Florida
Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Florida - IFAS


BREVARD
Florida Solar Energy Center
Sams House at Pine Island Preserve
Space Coast Science Education Alliance

BROWARD
Native Learning Center

CHARLOTTE

Charlotte County History Center

Charlotte County Environmental Center
CITRUS
Gulf Archaeology Research Institute
CLAY
Clay County Archives
COLLIER

Conservation Collier

Rookery Bay NERR
DADE

Florida International University

History Miami

DUVAL

North Florida Land Trust

University of North Florida
ESCAMBIA
Destination Archaeology Resource Center
Goat Lips Chew and Brewhouse
University of West Florida
FLAGLER
Bing's Landing County Park
Marineland Dolphin Adventures

FRANKLIN
Apalachicola National Estuary Research Reserve

HENDRY
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum
Seminole Tribe of Florida Tribal Historic Preservation Office

HILLSBOROUGH
University of South Florida

LAKE
Trout Lake Nature Preserve

LEE
Randell Research Center
Cape Coral Library
Koreshan State Historic Site
South County Regional Library

Mound House

IMAG History and Science Center


MANATEE
Emerson Point Preserve
Manatee County Parks and Recreation
Time Sifters Archaeological Society
NASSAU
Amelia Island Museum of History
City of Fernandina Beach
Fort Clinch State Park

OKALOOSA
City of Mary Ester

ORANGE
University of Central Florida, Department of Anthropology
PALM BEACH
Florida Atlantic University

PINELLAS
Central Gulf Coast Archaeological Society
Weeden Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center

PUTNAM

Historic Melrose, Inc.

Log Cabin Winery

Santa Rosa

City of Gulf Breeze

SARASOTA
New College
ST. JOHNS
City of St. Augustine
Flagler College
Flagler College Archaeology Club
GTM Research Reserve
Guana River Wildlife Management Area
Historic Tours of America
Lighthouse Archaeology Maritime Program
Northeast Florida Aquatic Preserves
River to Sea Preserve
St. Augustine Archaeological Association
St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum
St. Augustine Distillery
St. Johns County Environmental Division
St. Johns County Public Library

ST. LUCIE
Richard E. Becker Preserve
St. Lucie Parks and Recreation
VOLUSIA
New Smyrna Museum of History
Town of Ponce Inlet
Ormond Beach Environmental Discovery Center
STATEWIDE/NATIONAL
Environmental Remediation and Recovery, Inc.
Florida Archaeological Council
Florida Coastal Office
Florida Department of Historical Resources
Florida Trust for Historic Preservation
National Park Service

International
Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion (SCAPE)
Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network (CITiZAN)
Climate Heritage and Environments of Reefs, Islands and Headlands (CHERISH)


Table 1. HMS Florida statistics by each county.
*White = current year 2017-2018, Blue= cumulative 2016-2018
Applied Scouts
Sites Monitored
Trainings Held
Program Partners
Alachua  
10
11
4
5
1
1
3
3
Baker  


1
1




Bay  
2
2
5
5
1
1
1
1
Bradford


2


Brevard  
2
12
2
3

3
6
Broward  
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
2
Calhoun


Charlotte  
8
13
14
23
1
3
2
4
Citrus  
10
10
7
7
2
2
2
3
Clay  
1
4
1
12

2
1
2
Collier  
3
5
9
11
1
1
2
3
Columbia  
1
1

Dade

1

12


1
Desoto


Dixie  
1
1
1
1
1
1


Duval  
8
21
12
19

1
2
3
Escambia  
15
19
1
3
2
2
4
7
Flagler  

2
2
14
1
1
2
4
Franklin  
3
35
38


1
2
Gadsden


Glade


Gulf


Hamilton  
1
1
32
32


Hardee


Highlands


Hendry  

2
4

2
4
Hernando  
1
2
1
1



Hillsborough
12
30
20
20


1
2
Holmes  
1
1

Indian River  

5
5


Jackson  
2
2


Jefferson

1

80


Lafayette


Lake  
1
4
2
2


1
2
Lee  
23
49
20
46
2
4
6
10
Leon  
2
7

14


Levy  
3
3
5
11
3
3


Liberty  
0
0
5
5

Madison  
0
0
47
47

3
3
Manatee  
18
33
13
21
3
5

3
Marion

1

Martin  
3
4
5
5
1
1
1
1
Miami-Dade   
24
24
15
15
1
1
2
2
Monroe  
18
18
34
35

Nassau  
6
11
18
31
1
4
3
6
Okaloosa  
2
2

1
1
2
2
Okeechobee  
2
2

Orange  
8
17
4
6

1
1
2
Osceola

2

Palm Beach  
10
16
3
4

1
2
Pasco  
4
7
1
1


Pinellas  
9
31
11
18
3
5
2
4
Polk  

2
2

Putnam  
1
4
13
31
1
2
2
3
Santa Rosa
2
Sarasota

12


1

1
Seminole

3

2

St. Johns  
20
45
46
104
3
10
13
22
St. Lucie  
1
6

3

1
2
4
Santa Rosa  
10
10
4
4
1
1
1
1
Sarasota  
10
10

1
1
Seminole  
2
2
18
18

Sumter  

1

Suwannee  
2
3
7
7

Taylor

1

Union

Volusia  
4
18
3
12
3
5
4
6
Wakulla  
1
2

Walton  
10
10
3
3
1
1
1
1
Washington

Out of State or UID
22
25
3
3
2
2

6

297
530
438
750
37
64
73
129


































































ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


HMS Florida would not be possible without the hard work of all FPAN staff across the state: William Lees, Della Scott-Ireton, Mike Thomin, Barbara Clark, Nicole Grinnan, Tristan Harrenstein, Jeff Moates, Kassie Kemp, Nigel Rudolph, Rachael Kangas, Sara Ayers-Rigsby, Mal Fenn, Emma Dietrich, and Robbie Boggs. Kevin Gidusko and Brittany Yabczanka have moved on from FPAN but we sincerely thank them for their efforts to establish HMS Florida and creativity they brought to the team. 

We also want to thank the Bureau of Archaeological Research in Florida's Division of Historical Resources staff who were again instrumental to the success of the program: State Archaeologist Mary Glowacki, Paulette McFadden, Josh Goodwin, and Ryan Duggins; Vincent Birdsong at Florida Master Site File; David Morgan and Margo Schwadron at Southeast Archaeological Center (NPS). Julia Duggins has moved on to Paleo West but during her time at the state made a substantial contribution to the growth of HMS Florida. And special thanks to William Stanton and Florida State Parks for fostering site stewardsip opportunities for Scouts and land managers.


And the 432 HMS Florida volunteers currently monitoring heritage sites in Florida.


 Works Cited  

Anderson DG, Bissett TG, Yerka SJ, Wells JJ, Kansa EC, Kansa SW, et al. (2017) Sea-level rise and archaeological site destruction: An example from the southeastern United States using DINAA (Digital Index of North American Archaeology). PLoS ONE 12(11): e0188142. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188142

First year annual report for HMS Florida 2016-2017 available here.

Text and images: Sarah Miller and Emily Jane Murray, FPAN staff except where noted


Based on "HMS Florida Year in Review, 2017-2018," paper presented by Sarah E. Miller at Tidally United August 10, 2018, Sarasota, Florida.

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