Cultural Resource Management · Since 2002
Birchwood is a full-service cultural resource management firm. We help agencies, developers and property owners meet their federal and state preservation obligations, from the first background study to full-scale site mitigation and historic building documentation.
Our firm
We research, recover and analyze the material record of the past, both precontact and historic, and turn it into clear, defensible findings our clients can act on.
Our services range from initial background research and field surveys to the full-scale mitigation of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites. We also provide a wide range of architectural history and preservation services, including resource surveys, documentation and National Register nominations.
Birchwood is led by President and Principal Investigator David Moyer, MA, RPA, who meets the Secretary of the Interior’s professional qualification standards (36 CFR 61) and has written more than 500 cultural resource management reports.
Meet the principal investigator
What we do
Each project is fitted to its needs, with an emphasis on accurate, cost-effective and timely analysis that keeps it moving through review.
01 / Archaeology
02 / Architecture
How a project unfolds
Archaeology works from the surface down, and so does a cultural resource review. Each phase answers a question, and many projects are resolved early.
Archival research, historic maps, site files and walkover to assess where cultural resources are likely to be.
Systematic shovel testing and pedestrian survey to find out whether sites are present within the project area.
Test units and analysis to define a site’s boundaries, integrity and eligibility for the National Register.
When a significant site can’t be avoided, full-scale excavation, analysis and reporting preserve its information.
Architectural studies
From a sandstone county jail to a c.1800 Dutch-influenced barn, a selection of the historic structures we’ve researched and recorded. All studies
A room-by-room photographic record of a 1909 Ohio sandstone jail, sheriff’s residence and 1978 cell block, made before the complex was demolished.
View the study
A c.1800 threshing barn and its five additions, the Glensmere Guernsey dairy, and a creamery where you can still follow the milk from cow to bottle.
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A 1948 Colonial Revival firehouse, found eligible for the National Register, assessed alongside the alternatives to its demolition.
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A 1930s ground-level stable barn, its silos and its milk house, recorded under a federal Memorandum of Agreement before the land was developed.
View the studyResearch & outreach
Our work doesn’t end with the report. We publish and present our research at regional conferences, from rock art on the Northwestern Plains to brick chemistry in Albany County and gravestone traditions in central New York.
We also bring archaeology to the public, with classroom visits, public excavations and talks for historical societies and museums.
Tell us about your project. We’ll explain what review is likely to require and give you a clear, cost-effective path through it.
