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Tom Francis, 1999
Tom Francis received the award in 1999. As the CAL FIRE Area Forester in Tuolumne County, Tom evaluates archaeological and historical resources for timber harvesting, prescribed burns, and CAL FIRE Engineering projects. Tom completed CAL FIRE/CLFA Archaeological Training Course #32 in 1993 and Course #56R in 1998. Like many RPFs in California, Tom has developed an excellent working relationship with professional archaeologists, and regularly consults with them to receive advice and technical guidance on archaeological or historical research, surveying, significance evaluations, and report writing. He uses these skills to protect historic and prehistoric resources during his review and impact evaluations for CAL FIRE projects in his area.
There are three major reasons why Tom was selected to receive this award:
1. Diligence in locating and protecting archaeological sites: Although CAL FIRE held a only a minor responsibility in overseeing archaeological concerns for a new County fire station, Tom assumed a lead role to ensure resource protection. He requested an Archaeological Records Check from the Central California Information Center that noted that the project parcel was part of an old mining claim, but no sites had ever been recorded. He realized there was a high probability that a survey of the fire station property would likely result in the discovery of a significant, previously unknown historical site so Tom surveyed the parcel, found the site, and ensured that it was recorded in accordance with CEQA and professional archaeological standards.
2. Ability to negotiate archaeological problems: Tuolumne County has a rich history, and THPs in this county contain a remarkably high average of three archaeological sites per plan. As a forest practice inspector, Tom reviews each of these plans and relocates each archaeological site in the field. He has an outstanding ability to determine if the proposed protection measures are adequate. In order to protect sites, Tom treats each site uniquely, and is able to recommend a variety of protection measures when he negotiates with other RPFs. He finds ways to develop archaeological site protection into plans without undue cost and enjoys working out solutions to problems.
3. Research ability for CAL FIRE projects such as prescribed burn projects and minor capital improvement projects: Tom regularly completes remarkably-thorough prefield research prior to conducting archaeological surveys for CAL FIRE projects. This research provides clues as to what he might expect to find, where to find such sites, and provides the context to evaluate site significance. He enjoys interviewing people as part of his research. By emphasizing prefield research, Tom is able to find sites that might otherwise be overlooked during a survey. As an example, his excellent prefield work prior to the field survey for the Priest Coulterville VMP enabled Tom to locate 15 sites, both prehistoric and historic, which were previously unknown to science. He recorded the sites to professional archaeological standards and protected them from damaging effects. This survey effort by Tom was noticed by Ranger Unit, Region, and Sacramento Headquarters staff as a truly remarkable and outstanding piece of work. This one and several other survey reports prepared by Tom Francis have made a significant contribution to our body of knowledge of the history of Tuolumne County.
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