82-504. State Archaeology Office; created; powers; State Archaeologist; qualifications.

(1) There is hereby established the State Archaeology Office which shall be a division within the Nebraska State Historical Society. The purpose of the office shall be to coordinate and encourage appropriate archaeological undertakings and to preserve archaeological resources. The State Archaeology Office may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of the Nebraska Archaeological Resources Preservation Act.

(2) The State Archaeology Office shall be headed by the State Archaeologist. The State Archaeologist shall be a graduate of a recognized college or university with a graduate degree in archaeology or anthropology and shall have sufficient practical experience and knowledge of archaeology to carry out the purposes of the act.

(3) The State Archaeology Office may:

(a) Promote development of archaeological resources for educational, cultural, tourism, and scientific purposes;

(b) Support popular and avocational interest in archaeological resources through field trips, demonstrations, seminars, and excavations throughout the state;

(c) Conduct a program of locating, identifying, quantifying, and assessing the significance of the state's archaeological resources;

(d) Maintain the master archaeological site file;

(e) Advise state agencies, political subdivisions, nongovernmental organizations, commercial and business interests, private property owners, individuals, and others as to the provisions and requirements of the act;

(f) Serve as the liaison office in transactions dealing with archaeological resources between state agencies and between the state and the federal government;

(g) Cooperate with state agencies and others in overseeing the execution of undertakings required by the act;

(h) Serve as the liaison office between state agencies and Indian tribes, the Commission on Indian Affairs, or other constituent groups culturally affiliated with archaeological sites involved in undertakings;

(i) Maintain a list of archaeologists qualified to conduct research projects required by the act;

(j) Maintain a permanent repository and electronic data base of published and unpublished sources on the archaeological resources of the state;

(k) Prepare, publish, and distribute for professional use and public education reports, bulletins, pamphlets, maps, and other products necessary to achieve the purposes of the act;

(l) Implement a program of emergency salvage archaeology, which includes surveys and either salvage or preservation of archaeological resources imperiled by development activities or natural forces;

(m) Administer and manage grants, bequests, devises, tax incentives, and easements of property to the state for the purposes of preserving archaeological sites and resources;

(n) Ensure the long-term curation and management of collections and records resulting from undertakings within the state;

(o) Identify properties included in the National Register of Historic Places that are endangered, and coordinate or facilitate the purchase and maintenance of such properties by other public or private agencies in order to preserve archaeological sites or resources located on the properties; and

(p) Conduct all other activities necessary to carry out the purposes of the act.

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