August 26, 2007

Rancheria among endangered places

Historic places fading away

Sites on the 2007 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places include:Historic Route 66 motels, Illinois to California: Bypassed by interstates and faced with competition from chain hotels, the quirkier mom-and-pop motels, often featuring neon-drenched signs, are fading from “the Mother Road.”

Stewart’s Point Rancheria, Sonoma County, Calif.: A lack of funds has hampered efforts to preserve lands of the Kashia Pomo Indian tribe. Though officially protected by a federal tribal lands preservation program, the site has been looted of sacred and historic artifacts.

Minidoka Internment National Monument, Jerome County, Idaho: Thousands of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants were sent to this “relocation center” camp from 1942 to 1945. A lack of National Park Service funds and plans for a massive local feed operation nearby threaten the site, which has experienced vandalism and looting.

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