Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, March 10, 2024
A. The state of
Colorado holds title to all historical, prehistorical and archaeological
materials collected from areas owned by the state or any of its political
subdivisions.
B. While the society
is the official trustee of the State of Colorado (CRS
24-80-202), the society wishes to
advance a collaborative partnership with county and local museums or curatorial
repositories, (a curatorial repository is a permanent, nonprofit educational or
research oriented agency or institution, having professionally trained on-site
staff, that provides housing and collections care in-perpetuity), to ensure
long-term preservation and interpretation of these items. These institutions
help to preserve, interpret and promote the natural and cultural inheritance of
humanity in Colorado and work in close collaboration with the communities from
which their collections originate as well as those they serve. Such an
arrangement with the State is advantageous to everyone in Colorado.
C. All materials, except human remains and
associated funerary objects, collected from state lands or political
subdivisions must be curated in a museum, unless a reputable museum,
university, college or other recognized scientific or educational institution
can assure permanent preservation on the site.
1. Historical, archaeological, prehistorical,
and paleontological collections made under permit may include ceramic, lithic,
glass, metal, faunal, floral, and synthetic materials, as well as documents,
photographs, organic samples (such as coprolites or soil samples), fossils
(vertebrates, invertebrates, paleobotanical, ichnofossils, and associated rock
or sediment samples), and human remains and associated funerary
objects.
2. Permittees proposing to
transport collections out of Colorado must secure a loan agreement between an
out-of-state facility and a permanent approved on-site institution, reputable
in-state museum, or curatorial repository, subject to the approval of the
society, except that ancillary samples may be transported and analyzed without
such a loan agreement. Out-of-state analysis of human remains and associated
funerary objects is subject to the approval of the society.
3. Proposed analysis of artifacts or fossils
which would cause their destruction or damage, such as trace-element analysis
of materials, may be performed only with the written consent of the society
through the state archaeologist, who shall consider whether such artifacts are
unique or duplicated in state-owned collections. The society will supply
notification of consent to the affected museum within thirty days.
4. State, County and local agencies or
research/educational institutions wishing to ensure collections care of
artifacts or specimens permanently on-site (or within close proximity to the
origin of the excavated materials) must either be approved through a request to
serve as an approved museum or curatorial repository as specified in Section 9
(I) of this chapter or through execution of a special held-in-trust collections
agreement with the society.
D. Reburial or repatriation of human remains
may supersede their placement in an approved museum.
E. Collections from state or political
subdivision lands obtained from an issued permit in accordance with CRS
24-4-104 must be curated in an
approved reputable Colorado museum or curatorial repository. The relationship
between the society and another reputable Colorado museum or a curatorial
repository is an express trust. Title and ownership of these collections is not
transferred and the society has the authority to transfer and approve
stewardship of the collections through an on-site held-in-trust collections
agreement or through the approval of a reputable museum or curatorial
repository as outlined in Section 9 (I) of this chapter.
F. Collections recovered from lands owned or
controlled by the state or any of its political subdivisions shall be deposited
at an approved museum, curatorial repository, an approved on-site agency, or
institution within six months after submission of the permittee's final report.
Collections made from permitted archaeological or paleontological projects
occurring over multiple years should not be deposited with different museums or
curatorial repositories unless an approved museum, curatorial repository,
on-site agency or institution, lacks expertise or environmental conditions
necessary to ensure the collection's long-term preservation.
G. Responsibilities and requirements of
approved museums or curatorial repositories
Museums and curatorial repositories must be open to the
public. They must agree to provide curation of archaeological or
paleontological resources in a systematic and accessible manner, and to make
them available free of charge for study by qualified students and
researchers.
1. Provide a copy and
maintain a current and active fine art or other commercial insurance policy or
if the museum or curatorial repository whose collections are primarily owned or
overseen by a governmental entity, acknowledge that the state collection and
any associated state property are covered for liability from any loss or
damage.
2. If accepting collections
from outside researchers, institutions issuing curation or similarly worded
"intent-to-curate" agreements to third-party permitted researchers must first
have their template agreement language approved by the state archaeologist or
his/her staff designee to avoid confusion that the collections have state of
Colorado title.
3. Within ten
working days refer to the state archaeologist of Colorado all requests (written
and oral) for transfer or repatriation of the state collection (or any part
thereof).
4. Maintain separately
all written and digital descriptive information associated with the curated
state collection, including field notes, site forms and reports in a safe and
secure manner.
5. Do not release to
any third-party any precise information relating to the exact physical location
of a prehistoric site (locale) from which the state collection (or any part
thereof) derives, except to qualified researchers or after obtaining from the
state archaeologist of Colorado prior written permission. If there are
questions as to releasing this information, approved museums or curatorial
repositories will consult with the state archaeologist of Colorado.
6. In accordance with these regulations, be
open and subject to inspection by the state archaeologist or his/her designee
at least once every three years.
7.
Accept state collections from permitted work for their specific regional or
local area guided by these current rules and procedures and the approved
museum's or curatorial repository's collection management policy.
8. Annually report back to the state
archaeologist or his/her designee any changes to the state's collection
condition or insurance policy changes, loan agreement status and any other
tracking requirement methods adopted by the society and the office of the state
archaeologist.
9. Properly maintain
any State of Colorado property (shelving, cabinetry etc.) in its possession
associated with the care of the state collection.
10. Maintain the collection within inert and
acid-free storage or packaging.
11.
With the exception of approved repatriation, not sell, transfer, assign,
pledge, encumber, discard, or otherwise dispose of the state collection (or any
part thereof) or any associated State of Colorado property in its possession
without written and signed permission from the state archaeologist.
12. Have an established collections
management policy and emergency management plan.
13. Within five calendar days of the
discovery of any loss or theft of, deterioration or damage to, destruction of
the state collection (or any part thereof), or any State of Colorado items of
property used to support and care for a state collection in the museum's or
curatorial repository's possession, the museum or repository will provide to
the society written notification of the circumstances surrounding the loss,
theft, deterioration, damage, or destruction, and will report to the state
archaeologist or his/her designee those actions taken to stabilize the
collection, or State of Colorado items or property, and to correct any
deficiencies in the physical plant or operating procedures that may have
contributed to the loss, theft, deterioration, damage, or
destruction.
14. Other than
routine, small and simple paleontological specimen or artifact mending repairs,
any planned actions that involve major repair or restoration beyond basic
re-attachment of the state collection (or any part thereof) or any other State
of Colorado property associated with the state collection must be approved of
in advance after consultation with the state archaeologist.
15. The society (in co-ordination with other
reputable museums, nonprofit or governmental educational institutions) reserves
the right to take custody of state collections in the care of an approved
museum, curatorial repository, on-site agency or institution through a loan
agreement for temporary exhibit purposes.
H. Approved Uses
1. Approved museums or curatorial
repositories and the society may fully exhibit and charge reasonable
nondiscriminatory admission fees, comparable to fees charged at similar
facilities to view these items prepared for interpretive display (either for
permanent, temporary or travelling exhibition purposes). Additionally, approved
museums or curatorial repositories and the society may photograph and
nondestructively study the state collection (or any part thereof) on the museum
or curatorial repository's premises, subject to the museum or repository's own
collections management policies and in accordance with these regulations.
Physical reproduction of any state collection item(s) must be approved of in
advance by the state archaeologist.
2. State paleontological resources curated at
an approved museum or curatorial repository may be cleaned, treated, stabilized
and prepared for research, exhibition or loan transportation purposes under
standard professional best practices for natural history collections.
3. A held-in-trust state collection may be
loaned out by an approved museum or curatorial repository to other institutions
and organizations (including for temporary exhibition or study by the society)
by securing a loan agreement between the other facilities provided notice of
the arrangement is sent to the state archaeologist for tracking purposes. The
director of the approved museum or curatorial repository is responsible for all
loan transactions of state collections and for ensuring that appropriate and
timely administration of the loans is conducted. Relocation inventories must be
conducted and included as part of the written loan agreement. Other loan
conditions must be addressed in the Collections Management Policy of the
curatorial facility that is loaning the material. The loan and transportation
of the state collection must be insured for liability purposes through securing
a commercial fine art or other insurance policy or be adequately covered by
governmental self insurance to fulfill any damage or loss incident. Collections
that are not inventoried or cataloged shall not be loaned. Commercial use of
loaned collections is prohibited without written consent from the society.
Ancillary samples may be transported and analyzed without a formal loan
agreement; however, the museum or curatorial repository will provide to the
society two copies of any publications, reports, and other documents prepared
by researchers studying ancillary samples.
4. All exhibits, reproductions, and studies
will credit the state archaeologist of Colorado as follows: "Courtesy of
History Colorado, Office of the State Archaeologist." The museum or curatorial
repository will provide to the society two copies of any publications, reports,
and other documents prepared by museum or curatorial repository staff studying
or exhibiting the state collection (or any part thereof).
5. Approved museums or curatorial
repositories and the society may charge a competitive deposit fee for the
collections and reasonable administrative processing fees for "curation" or
similarly worded "intent-to-curate" agreements with permittees. Permitted
researchers that deliver collections not according to the state archaeologist's
current Submission Guidelines for State-Owned Archaeological Collections and
these regulations may be subject to corrective hourly labor rate fees plus the
cost of supplies by the state approved museum or curatorial
repository.
I. Procedures
for approving museums
1. Any institution
wishing to serve as a museum for collections from state lands (or any
subdivision of state lands) or collected as a result of work carried out under
a permit issued under authority of this Act shall apply to the society through
the state archaeologist for approval.
2. The museum or curatorial repository shall
fill out a
Request to Serve as an Approved Museum or Curatorial
Repository for Held-in-Trust Collections form, signed by the director
of the institution and must evidence reputable status with any of the following
credentials (or their equivalent successor museum program/designations):
a. Received from the American Association for
State and Local History (AASLH) silver or gold certificates by participating in
the Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (StEPs) in the
stewardship of collections section within the last five years.
b. Show evidence of participation in the
Museum Assessment Program in the area of collections stewardship from the
American Alliance of Museums within the last five years.
c. Received Core Documents Verification from
the American Alliance of Museums within the last five years.
d. Received and maintain formal Accreditation
status from the American Alliance of Museums.
e. Considered a designated Federal Repository
for curating federally-owned and administered archaeological or paleontological
collections under the requirements of Federal Regulations
36 CFR
79.
3. Provide proof to the state archaeologist
of a fine art or other appropriate umbrella insurance policy that will
adequately cover the care for the state collection from any one claim or
aggregate claim arising from a damage or a loss incident. With the insurance
policy documents, the society and the approved museum or curatorial repository
should be shown as co-beneficiaries (or additionally insured).
a. If the museum or curatorial repository's
collections are primarily owned or overseen by a Colorado governmental entity
(considered a "public entity" within the meaning of the Colorado Governmental
Immunity Act, CRS
24-10-101, et seq.), the museum or
curatorial repository must indicate to the state archaeologist that they are
self insured in lieu of the fine art or other umbrella insurance policy
requirement stated above. If self insured, it is understood that the public
entity of the approved museum or curatorial repository will ensure liability to
the state collections under its care arising from a damage or a loss
incident.
b. In the event of a loss
incident, a liability assessment of the value of the collection shall be
determined by mutual agreement with the society as the sum of the estimated
current fair market value and the estimated costs of replacing the scientific
and educational information from the lost artifacts or specimen. A
determination of these replacement costs may include, but are not limited to:
(a) research design development;
(b) fieldwork;
(c) laboratory analysis;
(d) curation;
(e) reports or educational materials; and
(f) lost visitor services or
experience. In some cases, it may be appropriate for the estimated cost of
replacement value to be peer reviewed by archaeologists or paleontologists with
appropriate expertise and with no conflicts of interest.
4. If the museum or the curatorial
repository curates collections from permitted researchers outside of their
approved institution, provide a template copy of a "curation" or similarly
worded "intent-to-curate" agreement for approval by the state archaeologist or
his/her designee. The agreement form must clearly acknowledge that title to the
artifacts or specimens as well as all associated reports, original field notes,
maps, drawings, photographs etc., resulting from the investigations to be
curated remains solely with the State of Colorado.
5. Approval of a museum or a curatorial
repository shall be effective for a period of five years, after which time, the
curatorial facility may apply for renewal through the procedures in this
chapter.
6. The completed
documentation shall be reviewed by the state archaeologist or his/her designee
within 30 days of receipt. If clarification or additional information is
requested by the society, the facility shall have 30 days to furnish the
information required.
7. The museum
or curatorial repository may discontinue accepting new collections from outside
researchers by amending their agreement upon renewal to serve as an approved
facility. Once approval of a museum or a curatorial repository has been granted
however, the express trust arrangement with the State of Colorado continues and
is perpetual for any of the existing collections under the institution's
stewardship.
8. The society has
sole discretion to approve or not approve a museum's or curatorial repository's
application.
9. Approval may be
withdrawn by the society through the state archaeologist if deficiencies in
collections care and non-compliance to these regulations appear. Approval will
be suspended or revoked in accordance with CRS
24-4-104.
10. Under the authority of CRS
24-80-407, the society may
exercise the right to enter into agreement with museums, curatorial
repositories, or other public or private entities to fulfill the State's needs
for held-in-trust state collections concordant to these rules and
regulations.
11. For each deposited
historical, prehistorical, archaeological or paleontological state collection,
the approved museum or curatorial repository will sign and acknowledge an
official deposit receipt form with a simple inventory list of items accepted
for permanent curation by the facility, a copy of which will be forwarded to
the state archaeologist or his/her designee.
J. Continuance of pre-approved museums and
repositories
1. Previously approved
non-expiring museums and curatorial repositories shall honor existing "intent
to curate" or similarly worded executed curation agreements with third-party
researchers (permittees) up to five years after the effective date of these
revised rules unless individual contractual agreements expire within five
years. Notice from an approved museum or curatorial repository for continuing
the acceptance of collections from previously dated permittee agreements must
be given to the state archaeologist of Colorado or his/her designee within 30
days after the expiration date for renewal of approved status. The notice shall
be made through the Request to Serve as an Approved Museum or
Curatorial Repository for Held-in-Trust Collections form and the
museum or repository must list the number and names of all outstanding
agreements along with their expiration dates. Extended approval of these
previously approved museums or curatorial repositories shall then be made for a
period of up to five years based on furthest dated agreement and shall not
extend beyond five years following the effective date of these adopted and
revised rules.
2. Museums or
curatorial repositories that hold in custody held-in-trust state collections
that were collected as a result of CRS
24-04-104 that decide not to
become a newly approved museum or curatorial repository under these revised
rules should nonetheless attempt to provide the highest possible level of care
to the existing state collections currently maintained in their facilities. At
a minimum, a level of care that prevents deterioration of, damage to or loss of
items in the state collection should be maintained.
3. Within five years of the effective date of
the adoption of these revised rules, previously approved non-renewing museums
or curatorial repositories should either submit a plan for the state
archaeologist of Colorado's approval regarding the continued care and
management of the state collection or plan for the transfer of the state
collections to a museum or curatorial repository approved under the revised
8 CCR 1504-7 Section 9 (I) of this
chapter.
K.
Responsibilities of permittee submitting collection
1. In choosing a museum, permittees should
attempt to keep the collection in its area of origin and to keep materials from
the same site and the same project together. Permittees should confer with
staff of the selected museum and have a written agreement whose template
language was approved by the state archaeologist or his/her designee as
specified in Section I (4) of this chapter prior to collecting materials in the
field.
2. Permittees should follow
the guidance of museum staff in regard to collecting procedures. The permittee
should adhere to any specific methods of labeling, packaging, and shipment
required by the museum and the state archaeologist's current Submission
Guidelines for State-Owned Archaeological Collections. All collections must be
placed and delivered within inert and acid-free packaging.
3. The permittee is responsible for returning
to the office of the state archaeologist a fully signed official state deposit
receipt form by the approved museum, curatorial repository, on-site agency, or
institution and the office of the state archaeologist of Colorado. The form
must be accompanied by a simple inventory list of items accepted by the
approved facility for permanent curation.