guymonmd Wrote:
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> Thanks for the photos.
> I remember one time I was volunteering for the
> USFS in Colorado.
> I was with some full time USFS employees.
> We came across a sheep herders campsite likely
> from the 1950's era.
> They had left a pile of garbage behind at the camp
> site.
> I did what I always do when I find garbage left
> behind by other campers,
> I started to clean up the mess and throw away the
> trash.
>
> I was told not to disturb the artifacts.
> My question is how long does it take trash left
> behind by careless people to become an artifact?
Years ago when I was collecting telegraph pole wire and hardware for the CATS, I had the good fortune to find a crew that was removing the old communications pole line near Tonopah Nev. I started working with the crew getting LOTS of hardware and wire heading otherwise to the dump. The foreman was telling me how the BLM guy who was overseeing their work found an old rusty can where they were working. He carefully took lots of photos of the can from many angles and got a GPS reading of its location, and after getting all of the information written down went back to his office to file an official report. The foreman said as soon as the BLM guy left they threw the can in the trash bucket they carry in their truck.