Preserving Culture

New Mexico has a long and proud cultural history, and occasionally our crews will come across pottery shards, ancient rock carvings or descansos– the roadside tributes set up by families to memorialize the location of a loved one’s passing.

Before any job starts, the project area is carefully assessed by our environmental team. Any cultural or archeological discoveries are examined, documented and if necessary protected to make sure they will be preserved after the work is finished.

We sometimes erect temporary fences to protect sensitive areas, such as a field containing centuries-old petroglyphs that display the artwork of ancient Native American inhabitants or the writings of Spanish colonial explorers.

When cultural resources are found after work begins, operations are halted until our staff archeologist can document the find and mitigate the impact. We always take great care to avoid or minimize the impact of our operations on cultural resources.