PC-24-X04: Battle of the Pacific: Guam – A Multi-Partner Collaboration on Underwater Cultural Heritage, Mapping, and Engagement

This study will complement an ongoing desktop-based, cultural resources study that will provide a geospatial database of underwater cultural heritage for Guam based on historical research and protocols for engagement and consultation with indigenous Pacific Islander communities. However, the locations of much of the underwater cultural heritage associated with World War II are described only cursorily in historical literature or are not yet located. Baseline environmental and archaeological surveys are required to provide the necessary data on these Pacific Theatre sites (including unexploded ordnance), as well as the locations of other submerged archaeological sites. To avoid duplication of any previous research and resurveying known sites, prime project partners include Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command/Underwater Archaeology Branch and National Park Service Submerged Resources Center have been briefed on this project and have expressed interest in potential partnership. These project partners will coordinate on search areas, survey protocols, and permissions associated with this survey, particularly for sites believed to be associated with sunken military craft of Allied or Japanese ownership or missing military personnel.The objectives of this study are to analyze archival data of submerged archaeological resources, conduct field investigations, gather mapping and survey information in areas of potential offshore wind interest (when feasible), and increase our understanding of intangible heritage that could be affected by offshore leasing activities. BOEM will use the results of this study in delineating battlefield landscapes and conducting individual site assessments; these data will be crucial for National Historic Preservation Act section 106 and National Environmental Policy Act consultations for offshore wind development