Why join CASSP?

Site stewards help protect cultural resources by reporting damage early, before more irreplaceable resources are lost. Their presence can be a deterant to potential vandals and pot-hunters. Site stewards are giving back to the communities in very personal ways.

Site stewardship benefits include:

• Going to beautiful places.
• Engaging in heathy mental and physical exercise.
• Making a difference by doing meaningful work.
• Learning about the past.
• Experiencing archaeological field work.
• Spending time with archeologists and other specialists at the land management agency where you volunteer.

How to become a site steward

The CASSP volunteer training workshop takes two days. First, we provide one day of online classes taught by archaeologists, other agency staff, Native American representatives, and volunteers. You must register, but there is no cost and anyone can attend. Several weeks later, we go on a field trip to visit actual archaeological sites and practice the field work and reporting that you will do as a site steward.

The field trip requires another registration, a $25 fee and signing a confidentiality agreement to not reveal sensitive site information, such as location. Alums who previously paid the $25 fee do not have to pay it again to join another field trip. The field trip costs the host land management agency or its sponsors $2,500. All payments are made to Partners for Archaeological Site Stewardship, a 501c3 nonprofit which administers CASSP.

After completing both parts of the training workshop, you will receive a site assignment at the land management agency where you volunteer. You coordinate your site visits with, and submit your photos and written reports to the archaeologist at that agency, who is your supervisor 

Costs

There is no membership fee, but we welcome donations. Volunteers pay their own travel expenses and contribute their time to the agencies where they work.