I checked with Mr. Tonetti this morning about this proposal and learned that it was not implemented.
"Costs of Implementing the Recommendations Made to the House Select Committee Studying the Effectiveness of Ohio?s Historical Programs and Partnerships"
Alan C. Tonetti -- Trustee, Ohio Archaeological Council
February 1, 2002
"Avocational Archaeology Outreach, State Register of Archaeological Landmarks, State Archaeological Preserve, and Abandoned Cemetery and Unmarked Human Burial Ground Protection Programs"
"The
estimated cost of these programs, $200,000, is based on our cost
estimates for establishing a three-person office for developing and
implementing these programs. These programs involve outreach to
private organizations and citizens, state agencies, and local
governments to protect archaeological sites and places of human burial.
The State Historic Preservation Office frequently works with these
stakeholders and should develop and implement these programs. The Ohio
Revised Code requires the Ohio Historical Society to cooperate with
avocational archaeologists and develop a State Registry of
Archaeological Landmarks and an Archaeological Preserve program."
"Although the Ohio Revised Code does not require the
Ohio Historical Society to develop and implement an abandoned cemetery
and unmarked human burial ground preservation program, a program to
help protect the tens of thousands of abandoned cemeteries and unmarked
human burial grounds in Ohio is urgently needed from both a social and
economic standpoint. Ohio is one of the few states that does not have
state legislation specifically designed to protect such places. The
lack of such a process results in stalled economic development projects
while disputes concerning the ownership and treatment of such places
are addressed in lengthy legal proceedings. The protection of
abandoned and unmarked cemeteries is strongly supported by the public.
Successful protection programs demonstrate that protection is most
effectively accomplished by inviting the participation of local
government planning agencies, law enforcement agencies, affected
landowners, preservation organizations, and citizens into the process
of creating and implementing the program."