Legislation passed by the House Resources Committee last week is another step in completing the move of Chaco Canyon artifacts from storage.
The Hibben Center Act, sponsored by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-NM, would provide $1.7 million for the National Park Service to move the collection from three UNM storage areas to the UNM Hibben Center for Archaeological Research.
"If they get the money, the collaboration will be centered at Hibben Center for the future," said Garth Bawden, director of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
Bawden said the Department of Anthropology and the National Park Service have been collaborating since Chaco Canyon was made a national park.
The collection is split between the Maxwell museum and north campus.
Bawden said the storage at the Maxwell museum keeps the artifacts in acceptable condition, but the pieces housed at north campus need to be stored better.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
He said the move to the Hibben Center would put the collection in state-of-the-art storage because it would feature updated fire suppression and climate control.
Construction of the Hibben Center was completed in 2002 and was funded by a $4 million grant provided by Frank Hibben, who died the same year.
"He gave all the money for the Hibben Center, and in that, it was planned that all collections would go over to the building," Bawden said.
The University part of the Chaco Canyon collection is already at the Hibben Center. Moving the other artifacts would complete the collection.
"It would allow us to get material and expertise available to UNM students and scholars," Bawden said.
He said the artifacts are mostly stored for research purposes, but some items might be on public display.
Joel Hannahs, spokesman for Rep. Wilson, said she introduced the bill because the items have significance.
"It's important to New Mexico history," he said.
A full House vote on the bill is not scheduled, Hannahs said.
Terry Yates, vice provost for research, testified to the subcommittee in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday in an effort to get the bill passed.
"The ruins are incredibly important to understanding Anasazi history and the history of New Mexico," he said.
The funds will provide a facility to keep the collection safe and accessible, he said.
The amount of the bill was established by an estimate from the Department of Facility Planning, Yates said.
The University will be reimbursed for completing the interior of the two floors, where the park service collection will be housed.
The collection is made of 1.5 million items, including 2,000 volumes, 20,000 original images, 5,000 color images and 2,000 excavation and site maps.
Chaco Canyon is a national park in northwest New Mexico.
Bawden said the University owned the property before the national park was created.
UNM and the park service have collections from excavation of the site and have been collaborating since the 1940s, he added.
Active excavation of the site stopped in the mid-1980s.
