The primary mission of the Utah Cultural Site Stewardship program (UCSS) is to monitor archaeological sites across the state to protect them from damage and vandalism. But look a little closer and you’ll find the program does something far deeper by building a tight-knit community for volunteers and deepening their personal connection to Utah’s rich history. Nobody understands that transformative impact better than Joan West, the UCSS Regional Coordinator for Grand County. Emma Farley, Marketing and Design Specialist for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, sat down with Joan to chat about her journey, the power of returning to the same stretch of earth time after time, and what the program has meant for her life. 

Emma: Everyone who joins this program has their own reason for doing it. Take us back to your beginning, what first drew you to the UCSS? 

Joan: For me, it really started just because I loved being outdoors and recreating on our public lands, and I wanted to give something back. But after a while, I kept seeing a lot of graffiti popping up, and it made me feel completely powerless. Joining the program was my way of changing that.

Since then, stepping into the Regional Coordinator role has been even more rewarding. Now I get to help place stewards at different sites and make sure they feel supported. I love seeing our volunteers develop such a deep care for these places as they get to know them. 

Emma: It sounds like the program has fostered a strong sense of connection and community for you personally out in Moab. 

Joan: Well, it’s funny because Moab is such a small community and everyone already kind of knows each other already. But what I’ve found through this program is a much deeper, more meaningful type of connection. It’s incredible how many like-minded people you meet from completely different walks of life, people I wouldn’t have ever crossed paths with otherwise.

We’ve started doing steward get-togethers to build that community socially, too. We had a great turnout for an Old Spanish Trail event and a fun, casual meetup at the local bowling alley. Connection is exactly what stewards are looking for. The program attracts people who just want to meet up and share a love for the outdoors and a passion for history. I love that this program gave me that.

Emma: UCSS provides that great community feeling for a lot of people, but it’s also a way for stewards to continue to learn, grow and educate themselves on history and get an inside look into the professional archaeological world.

Joan: Oh, absolutely. I am a lifelong learner, and this program has been a way for me to always continue to learn. Like, I didn’t even know I wanted to learn about the Old Spanish Trail! But we did a book club about it, visited different sites, and I just became completely fascinated by that history. Plus, the volunteers in this program are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate. We are constantly learning from one another. 

Emma: There really is a unique spirit among the volunteers in UCSS. Stewards are always so eager to jump in and help with any task. It attracts great people. From what you have seen, how does becoming a steward end up changing people’s lives in your region?

Joan: You know, I was actually just talking to a new steward the other day about this exact thing. What I love most about what we do is the deep immersion you get in a place. This particular volunteer was being assigned to a site she’d visited once a decade ago, but she hadn’t been back since. We discussed how going back to the same single place repeatedly, watching it change through the seasons and documenting its history, creates a bond and transforms your commitment to a place. It shifts how you view your surroundings when you dedicate yourself to one specific place over time. 

Emma: That is so true. And when you take a new steward out, you almost have to train them to see things that aren’t obvious at first glance. It completely changes how someone views a landscape. New stewards might go in looking for massive, dramatic damages at their site, but you’re training them to notice the tiny details, like new tire tracks or animal droppings. 

Joan: Right! I took one steward out to a site that had a small cist, which is just a specific alignment of rocks, which was one of the features we needed her to monitor. She had lived in the area for a very long time, but she told me she would have completely overlooked or stepped right over this feature before. She learned so much just from that initial placement about how to read the landscape.

Emma: Do you feel that same way about the specific sites you monitor? 

Joan: Definitely. I’ve been to some of my sites dozens of times, and that long-term relationship is an amazing gift. Going back to a place in different seasons gives it such richness. Sometimes I’ll see an artifact just emerge out of the sand and think, “Wow, this hasn’t seen the light of day in a long time.” You learn a little more about the history of the site through those pieces.

On the flip side, it can be heartbreaking when you see a negative change, like someone digging into the site. And I must say, it can be tough sometimes, it’s hard when stewards see these damages, care deeply, and there isn’t always a lot that the land managers can immediately do about it. That powerlessness is hard. But overwhelmingly, simply being a witness to those changes, documenting and recording them so land managers know what’s happening out on these vast landscapes, is a really empowering thing to do. I’m not trained as an archaeologist, but I can be an effective observer. It’s just cool to be part of something bigger.

Emma: It really is. We have a lot of exciting transitions and bright horizons ahead for the UCSS program right now. Do you have any parting thoughts for our stewards out there?  

Joan: I just hope everyone remembers how much they matter. Everyone wants this program to stay awesome and to feel like they’re part of something exciting moving forward, and we are!

I know everyone is super busy right now, but please take this as your reminder: The program is absolutely keeping on. So keep doing what you’re doing, and keep heading out to your sites. It feels so good to give back, to keep learning new things, and to look at a piece of history and know you are the one watching over it. We are all part of something much bigger than ourselves.