About Canines for Heritage Preservation

Who We Are

Canines for Heritage Preservation provides non-invasive cultural heritage support using specially trained detection canine teams and geospatial documentation tools. Our work supplies structured, clearly documented information to support respectful planning, consultation, and avoidance in culturally sensitive contexts.

Across many landscapes, cultural resources and ancestral places may be present but not always visible or documented. Detection canines offer a non-disturbing method to help identify areas that may warrant culturally informed consideration for preservation and record-keeping or before ground disturbance occurs.

We prioritize cultural sovereignty, confidentiality, and community values in every engagement.

Why This Work Exists

Development, land management, and infrastructure projects often occur in areas where historic or ancestral burials may be present but unmarked. Early identification of potential sensitivity helps reduce risk and supports more informed consultation and planning.

Our services are designed to provide additional, non-invasive information that may support avoidance strategies and culturally respectful stewardship.

Our Commitments

We are committed to discretion in the field, clear and defensible documentation, and respect for Tribal Nations and descendant communities. We emphasize collaboration with cultural resource professionals and agencies while using non-invasive methods that avoid ground disturbance. Our role is to support informed decision-making, not to replace established regulatory or consultation processes.

Experience and Capabilities

Background

Canines for Heritage Preservation is led by Melissa Kindt, a trained detection canine handler with experience supporting cultural resource management, heritage protection, and sensitive planning efforts across the western United States.

Her work has supported Tribal cultural offices, cultural resource management professionals, land managers, and projects operating under frameworks such as Section 106 and NAGPRA.

Melissa is pursuing a degree in Applied Anthropology, focusing on the integration of detection canines, GIS, aerial imagery, and other non-invasive tools in cultural heritage contexts.

Detection Canine Expertise

Our detection canines are professionally trained to locate odors associated with human decomposition in historic and cultural contexts using structured, non-invasive methods. Training, testing, and deployment protocols emphasize consistency, documentation, and reliability.

Surveys are planned with environmental conditions, soil types, and project-specific variables in mind. Multiple canines are deployed when feasible to support verification, and all responses are recorded using precise GPS to maintain defensible documentation.

Aerial Imagery and Geospatial Documentation

Detection work is supported by geospatial documentation tools. Melissa is an FAA Part 107 certified sUAS pilot and can provide aerial imagery to support planning context and documentation.

Survey data are recorded using precise GPS and may be integrated with mapping products to provide clear spatial references for project teams. Deliverables are structured to align with professional planning and reporting needs.

Collaborative and Respectful Engagement

Our experience emphasizes working in support of, not in place of, Tribes, cultural practitioners, Cultural Resource Management professionals, and agencies. We do not make determinations of significance or regulatory findings. Instead, our role is to provide additional information that supports informed consultation, avoidance strategies, and culturally appropriate decision-making.

Services

Overview

Canines for Heritage Preservation offers non-invasive services intended to support planning, consultation, and cultural preservation. Our work helps identify areas that may warrant culturally informed consideration and reduces the risk of inadvertent impacts without excavation or ground disturbance.

Services are tailored to project scope, cultural considerations, and logistical needs.

Detection Canine Support

Detection canine services are applied in project contexts to support early planning, consultation, avoidance strategies, and risk reduction. Our teams are frequently deployed to assess areas within known cemeteries, locate historic family or homesteader burials on private lands, evaluate historically documented battlefields, expand review areas after accidental discoveries, or assist reconnaissance where burial presence is uncertain.

Survey results, including spatial data, are delivered in clear formats compatible with professional planning, reporting, and consultation processes.

This work informs decision-making while remaining non-invasive and respectful of cultural values.

Planning and Consultation Support

Our services are often used during early project planning or in landscapes where cultural sensitivity is anticipated. Information generated through our work may assist in identifying areas that warrant avoidance or additional review, support Tribal consultation and community engagement, and inform cultural resource planning under Section 106.

We work in support of established regulatory and consultation frameworks, not in place of them.

When Our Services May Be Appropriate

We often work in project contexts such as defining cemetery boundaries, assessing areas within known cemeteries where unmarked burials may be present, locating historic family or homesteader burials on private ranch properties, supporting pre-construction planning in culturally sensitive landscapes, expanding review areas following accidental discoveries, evaluating historically documented battlefields where burial locations may be uncertain, or assisting early reconnaissance where burial presence is unclear. Engagements are tailored to site conditions and consultation needs.

Sensitive and Discretionary Engagements

We recognize that most projects involve culturally sensitive environments where discretion is essential. We minimize field presence, avoid disturbance, and respect community protocols.

Public documentation and distribution of results remain under client direction, with sensitivity to cultural stewardship and confidentiality.

Integration with Other Survey Methods

Our services can be integrated with other non-invasive survey methods, including ground-penetrating radar, aerial imagery, LiDAR, and metal detection. We coordinate with professionals operating these tools to provide complementary data that enhances site understanding and planning. Canine survey results are documented in formats that can be combined with geospatial and other survey data, supporting a cohesive, informed approach to project assessment.

Deliverables and Reporting

Projects conclude with a final written report prepared in accordance with the contracting agency’s or organization’s preferred style guide. Deliverables may include mapped detection locations, aerial imagery, coverage documentation, and narrative summaries suitable for inclusion in planning records, consultation materials, or internal decision-making processes.

What We Do Not Provide

For clarity, Canines for Heritage Preservation does not conduct excavation or subsurface investigation, does not identify or confirm human remains, and does not make archaeological determinations or regulatory findings. We do not provide compliance certifications, determinations of eligibility or significance, or regulatory decision-making. All such responsibilities remain with appropriate authorities and qualified professionals.

Engagements and Next Steps

Projects typically begin with a scope discussion to determine suitability, logistics, and deliverables. Final products include a written report and delivery of collected spatial data in agreed-upon formats.
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If you would like to discuss whether our work may be support your project or planning needs, please contact us to begin a conversation.