Welcome to Passport in Time!

Passport in Time (PIT) is a volunteer archaeology and historic preservation program of the USDA Forest Service (FS). PIT volunteers work with professional FS archaeologists and historians on national forests throughout the U.S. on such diverse activities as archaeological survey and excavation, rock art restoration, survey, archival research, historic structure restoration, oral history gathering, and analysis and curation of artifacts. The FS professional staff of archaeologists and historians will be your hosts, guides, and co-workers.

Over the years, volunteers have helped us stabilize ancient cliff dwellings in New Mexico, excavate a 10,000-year-old village site in Minnesota, restore a historic lookout tower in Oregon, clean vandalized rock art in Colorado, survey for sites in a rugged Montana wilderness, and excavate a 19th-century Chinese mining site in Hell’s Canyon in Idaho.

New PIT volunteers receive a “Passport” and a PIT Passport number. Each time a volunteer visits a project, the project leader stamps the volunteer's passport and documents their hours. Volunteers for multiple projects can fill up their passports with stamps from projects all over the country!

There is no fee to participate, however, you must get yourself to the project, and accommodations may vary. Many involve backcountry camping where you are responsible for your own food and gear. Others include meals prepared by a “camp cook,” often for a small fee. Still others provide hookups for RVs, or volunteers may stay at local hotels and travel to the site each day. The projects vary in length from two days to two weeks or longer.

To find out what projects are available, click here or on “Current Projects” in the menu above. For those who do not have email or internet access, the Clearinghouse can send printed project listings, upon request.

The goal of PIT is to preserve the nation’s past with the help of the public. As a PIT volunteer, you contribute to vital environmental and historical research on public lands. Your participation helps us understand the human story in North America, and preserve the sites and memories that chronicle that story for our children and grandchildren. We cannot do it without you!

Special note: All the email addresses on this webpage are graphics, not links, to discourage email spam. You will have to type the email address into your email.

The PIT Clearinghouse

The PIT Clearinghouse is managed by the SRI Foundation (SRIF) http://www.srifoundation.org, through a cooperative agreement with the USDA Forest Service. The foundation is located in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, The mission of SRIF is to advance historic preservation through education, training, and research. To meet these goals, SRIF has assembled a team of individuals with diverse backgrounds in historic preservation law and complicance, education and outreach, tribal issues, and archaeological and historical research. The Foundation's activities include continuing professional educational courses, public outreach , regulatory and compliance consulting, and research projects and overviews for a great variety of clients. Serving as the PIT Clearinghouse for the USDA Forest Service provides SRIF with a wonderful opportunity to fulfill its goals and commitment to public service.

The SRIF PIT Clearinghouse team consists of Carol J. Ellick, clearinghouse coordinator and project manager; Matt Dawson, PIT volunteer services coordinator; and Stacey Chambliss project assistant and webmaster, with support from other SRIF staff. If you call (800) 281-9176 or email the PIT Clearinghouse at volunteer@passportintime.com, you will likely be in contact with Matt, who will be more than happy to take your calls and emails.

PIT and People with Disabilities

We try to make PIT available to as many people as possible. The level of accessibility ranges from most difficult to easy depending on the activity and location of the project. If you have specific questions about accessibility or physical requirements for any project, please contact the clearinghouse at:

(800) 281-9176 (voice, TTY)

(505) 896-0734 (local calls), or email at

If we can’t answer your questions, we will put you in touch with the project leaders, who will do their best to accommodate your needs.

We hope everyone will challenge their abilities in Passport in Time and have a great experience in the process!

V I R T U A L   P I T See the growing list of “virtual PIT” web sites featured on our Related Links page. Web Site Award! In November 2001, the PIT web site became the first web site to be featured by www.archaeologyfieldwork.com.

More about PIT

Listed below are links to more stories about PIT. We will make others available as we add to the site.

• Forest Service Wins Award!
• PIT’s Beginnings
• The Story of the PIT Moose
• The PIT Volunteer Honor Roll
• The Infamous PIT Wedding at Devil’s Ford Creek
• Forest Fire Lookouts: A Century of Service
• What Are You Trying to Do—Be a Hermit?
• Questions, Answers, and Lessons Learned (Archaeology, Ethics, and PIT)
• The PIT Experience: Life Lessons and So Much More

last updated 10-Jun-08 sc