Preservation Archaeologist
Kenny Wintch is a long-time agency archaeologist who is returning to the canyons and mesas of San Juan County, where his archaeological career began, to help BEP advocate for the public lands located between Bears Ears and Canyons of the Ancients National Monuments — one of the most threatened cultural landscapes in America.
Between 1986 and late 2019, Kenny worked for the State of Utah, creating and leading cultural resource management programs for the Utah Dept. of Transportation (UDOT) and the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). One of the benefits of this experience is a deep understanding of the importance of public engagement and advocacy in creating successful archaeological outcomes.
Prior to state employment, Kenny was a graduate student at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he focused on this same part of southeastern Utah and was integrally involved in the Recapture reservoir and Nancy Patterson Village archaeological projects. He received his Master’s Degree in Anthropology from BYU in 1990 and his Bachelor’s Degree from what is now Southern Utah University in 1981. Wintch is a charter member of the Utah Professional Archaeological Council (UPAC) and a long-time member of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA).