From Past to Present: Ecosystem Services and People of the Guana Peninsula - NERRS/NSC(NERRS Science Collaborative)

For over 6,000 years, people have called the Guana Peninsula home, largely due to the bountiful resources of the estuary. These resources, both natural and cultural, are at risk now more than ever due to threats from climate change impacts and development. The GTM Research Reserve directly manages the

southern portion of the Guana Peninsula, providing stewardship, visitor access, and, along with the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission and the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, education and interpretive programming. This project aimed to better

understand how resources were used in the past and how they currently are being used by communities to ensure responsive resource management and relationship building with visitors, descendants, and other community stakeholders and for program development to expand the narrative of the Gullah/Geechee in northeast Florida.

The project used a combination of archaeological investigations and applied anthropological methods and is the inaugural case study of the North American Heritage at Risk (NAHAR) research pipeline for addressing heritage at risk and engaging a variety of stakeholders. The project produced predictive models of climate change impacts, 38 site assessments for 19 archaeological sites, five new archaeological sites documented, stakeholder survey and follow up interview analysis, a technical report that describes the results of fieldwork, engagement of the public and outreach products, and three-dimensional models of artifacts, shorelines, and point cloud comparisons of shorelines over time. The modeling, monitoring, meeting, and methodizing data are available for further interpretation of the ecosystem services of the Guana Peninsula and to inform management strategies for cultural and environmental resources to best fit the needs of the Reserve and the surrounding community.

As climate change and development threaten the natural and cultural resources of the Guana Peninsula, this 2021 collaborative research project used a combination of archaeological investigations and applied anthropological methods to increase understanding of how people past and present have used the resources to inform their future management.

==Project Lead

Sarah Miller, Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN), semiller@flagler.edu

==Collaborative Lead

Emily Jane Murray, FPAN, EMurray@flagler.edu

==Technical Lead

Lori Lee, Flagler College, llee@flagler.edu

==Partners

Florida Public Archaeology Network; Flagler College; Eastern Tennessee State University; South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; University of Washington; McLeod Heritage Consulting; LegionGIS, LLC; National Park Service; Gullah/Geechee Nation

7 related datasets are described in this document:

1. GTM NERR SLAMM archaeological triage assessment

2. People of Guana survey data

3. Community Conversations data

4. HMS Scout Report Data

5. Shoreline Mapping data

6. 3D shoreline models

7. 3D artifact models

The distributor does not assume liability.

None

Cite this dataset when used as a source: NOAA retains the right to analyze, synthesize and publish summaries of the NERRS/NSC data. The NERRS/NSC retains the right to be fully credited for having collected and process the data. Following academic courtesy standards, the NERR site where the data were collected should be contacted and fully acknowledged in any subsequent publications in which any part of the data are used. The data enclosed within this package/transmission are only as accurate as the quality assurance and quality control procedures that are described in the associated metadata reporting statement allow. The user bears all responsibility for its subsequent use/misuse in any further analyses or comparisons. The Federal government does not assume liability to the Recipient or third persons, nor will the Federal government reimburse or indemnify the Recipient for its liability due to any losses resulting in any way from the use of this data. Requested citation format: NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative(NSC).

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This information is detailed within the project links.

This information is detailed within the project links.