SUBLETTE COUNTY – Noted archeologist Dave Vlcek may be based in Pinedale but his territory cover hundreds of square miles, many of which appear almost vertical.

Vlcek, who retired from the Bureau of Land Management after several decades exploring cultural and archeological sites discovered during oil and gas development, formed Bonneville Archeology to continue his expeditions for signs of long-past habitation and use.

Using his experience, he looks to discover prehistoric sites, from flat stones that hint at a seat to noting the disappearance of lithic remains. These adventures start with intense curiosity and carry ethical and legal responsibilities, Vlcek told an audience of 30 on May 16.

The Sublette Chapter of the Wyoming Archeology Society meets on the second Tuesday monthly at the Museum of the Mountain Man and although membership is welcome, often the program brings in people with a particular interest.

This month, Vlcek’s program focused on sites he’s reviewed, searched for or discovered above treeline in the wild backcountry of the Wind River Range behind Green River Lakes. He described hiking through many draws, passes, game trails and small lakes as high as 11,000 feet above sea level.

Five years ago, he received a Forest Service permit to explore the complex geological area with a focus on “the backside of White Rock Mountain.”

On that project and other hiking and sheep-hunting trips, Vlcek was always on the lookout for steatite, or soapstone, outcrops and other signs of quarrying. Soapstone was carved for bowls, with excellent examples on display in the Pinedale museum.

He also looks for lithic artifacts – points, flakes and cores – to catalogue but not move except to photograph. He also marks items with GPS. As a BLM employee and now a private professional archeologist, he said over the years people have cleaned out many old sites he’d visited earlier.

“I understand that people want to pick some thing up and keep it,” he said. “It’s illegal without a permit. Photograph it with something to show the scale, GPS it and hand the data in.”

Someone asked if an interesting artifact should be buried.

“That puts it out of context,” Vlcek said. One special piece he found, he took photos and data and covered it with a concave rock.

Other possible manmade structures might be rocks arranged for a “fasting bed” or hunting blinds or wildlife traps, he explained. Many sites he’s found are Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric; he’s never found a 9,500-year-old PaleoIndian site in the that territory.

Although Vlcek was free and open with his maps and photos, he never revealed any specifics about certain artifacts, rock art or structures. He doesn’t dig below the surface on public lands, either.

“Legally, professionally and ethically, I am not supposed to divulge the location of sites,” he said. “We’re losing the resources and I want to get this stuff recorded, get the data.”

He shared very sensible “clues,” though. Ice patches, outcroppings and ancient game trails are good places to look for signs of the past.