Richard M. Rothaus, Ph.D.

Cultural Resource Management, Archaeology and History drawing on two decades of worldwide project success.  Rothaus has expertise and experience in management, research, compliance and mitigation.  He maintains a tight focus on project goals.  Rothaus provides effective, best-value service by making sure the clients goals are his goals.  Rothaus meets the Secretary of the Interior qualification standards for Prehistoric Archaeology, Historic Archaeology and History.

Career Highlights

  • Founder and President of Trefoil Cultural and Environmental.
  • Administration of over $60 million in grants and contracts.
  • 15 years service as a University Professor and research Administrator.
  • Successful completion of complex compliance projects with multiple agencies, including USDA-RUS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Western Area Power Association.
  • Successful project reviews with multiple State Historic Preservation Offices, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.
  • Mitigation of a pioneer cemetery in St. Cloud, MN during mid-winter.
  • Five-county mortuary survey and other collaborative partnerships with American Indian Tribes.
  • Interpretive programs and trails in Mille Lacs Kathio State Park generated from research partnership.
  • Public excavation of a prehistoric site in Elk River, MN that allowed over 500 people to participate.
  • Discovery of multiple archaeological sites in North America, Europe and the Middle East though remote sensing and GIS modeling.
  • Earthquake damage evaluations in Turkey and India.
  • Documentation of historic tsunami events in the Middle East.

Areas of Expertise

  • National Register of Historic Places Evaluations and Nominations
  • Archaeological Survey
  • Archaeological Deep Testing
  • Archaeological Excavation
  • Battlefield Survey
  • Architectural Survey
  • Site Mitigation
  • Mortuary Survey
  • Cemetery Excavation and Mitigation
  • Multi-Agency Consultation
  • Tribal Consultation
  • NHPA (National Historic Preservation Act—Section 106)
  • NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act)
  • NAGPRA (North American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act)
  • TCP (Traditional Cultural Properties)  
  • GIS Mapping and Modeling
  • GPS Surveys
  • Geomorphology
  • Inadvertent Discovery Training and Protocols
  • Public Interpretation
  • Remote Sensing
  • Palaeoenvironmental Sampling and Analysis

Project Experience

  • Wind Farm Surveys (over 1000 turbines completed)
  • Linear Corridor Archaeological Survey (over 4000 miles completed)
  • Electrical Utility Survey (archaeology and evaluation of infrastructure over 50 years old)
  • Standing Structure Surveys (Architectural)
  • Broadband Cable Surveys
  • Telecommunications Towers Surveys
  • Lakeshore Development
  • Railroad Corridor Survey
  • Levee and Floodway Survey and Mitigation
  • Construction Monitoring
  • Site Mitigation
  • Burial Detection and Mitigation
  • Construction Monitoring
  • Artifact Analysis
  • Ethnographic Survey
  • Traditional Cultural Property Survey

Professional Employment

Trefoil Cultural and Environmental Heritage.  President and Principal Investigator.  Cultural Resource Management, Archaeology and History.  Supervise full-time and seasonal employees, interact with regulatory agencies and clients, facilitate tribal consultation, conduct surveys and research, author reports and correspondence. 2005-present
Consulting Archaeologist.  Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Provide independent evaluation of archaeological and cultural resource issues. 2006-present
Assistant Vice-President for Research and Faculty Development.  St. Cloud State University.  Administer and provide oversight for all externally and internally funded research projects ($5-6 million/year).  Compliance responsibility for all federal and state-funded research.  2000-2008
Assistant Vice-President for Research and Faculty Development.  St. Cloud State University.  Administer and provide oversight for all externally and internally funded research projects ($5-6 million/year).  Compliance responsibility for all federal and state-funded research.  1997-2008
Professor.  Department of History.  St. Cloud State University.  Undergraduate and Graduate level teaching and research. 1995-2008

Technical Reports

Over 100 technical reports.  Example reports include:

2010

R. Rothaus.  Phase I Cultural Resources Survey, Dairyland Trail (Soo Line), Stearns County, Minnesota.  Report prepared for Stearns County Parks and Recreation.

2010

R. Rothaus.  National Register of Historic Places Evaluation, Bristol-Groton Transmission Line, Brown and Day Counties, South Dakota.  Report prepared for Just Wind and the Western Area Power Administration.

2010

R. Rothaus and Ayla Aymond.  Standing Structure Survey, Jerome’s Addition, Crookston, Polk County, Minnesota. Report prepared for Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc.

2009

R. Rothaus and A. Aymond.  Phase I Cultural Resources Survey, Lake Christina Restoration Project and Phase II Excavation, Christina- Pelican Site (21DL46), Douglas and Grant Counties, Minnesota.  Report Prepared for Houston Engineering, Inc. and Ducks Unlimited.

2009

R. Rothaus.  Phase I Archaeological Survey, Jerome’s Addition, Crookston, Polk County, Minnesota. Report prepared for Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc.

2009

R. Rothaus.  R.S. Blome Granitoid Pavement in Grand Forks.  National Register of Historic Places Registration Form.  Prepared for North Dakota Historical Society.

2009

R. Rothaus.  Ethnographic Overview: Communications Towers in Harrisburg and Tea, South Dakota (TCNS 48726 and 48727).  Report prepared for Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants, LLC.

2008

R. Rothaus.  Wild Rice Restoration Feasibility Study, Lake Ogechie, Minnesota:  Environmental and Cultural Issues.  Report prepared for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

2007

R. Rothaus.  Class II Archaeological Survey, Napoleon Wind Farm, North Dakota.  Report prepared for Houston Engineering, Inc.

2007

R. Rothaus and J. McFarlane.  Phase I Cultural Resources Survey CSAH 25 (SAP 48-625-16) Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.   Reported Prepared for Mille Lacs County Highway Department

2007

R. Rothaus. Phase I Archaeological Survey of Wilson Lake 115kV Project, Crow Wing County, Minnesota.   Report prepared for Houston Engineering, Inc.

2004

R. Rothaus, J. McFarlane and J. Haug.  Prehistoric and Euroamerican Archaeology of Elk River Township, Minnesota:  Probability Modeling and Reconnaissance Survey.  Report prepared for the City of Elk River.

2003

R. Rothaus.  Depression Era Mille Lacs Kathio State Park:  A Gazeteer of Homesteads and Sites.  Report prepared for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

2002

R. Rothaus. Excavation of the St. Cloud State University Pioneer Cemetery (21 SN-136).  Report prepared for the St. Cloud State University.

Academic Publications

Over 20 peer-reviewed publications.  Publications in the last five years include:

2009

N. Rauh, M. Dillon, R. Rothaus.  “New Evidence for Cilician Piracy.”  In M. Hoff (ed.), Rough Cilicia: New Archaeological and Historical Approaches.  Connecticut: David Brown Book Co.  Forthcoming.

2009

F.C. Nixon, E.G. Reinhardt, and R. Rothaus.  “Foraminifera and tidal notches: Dating neotectonic events at Korphos, Greece.” Marine Geology 257 (2009) 41-53.

2008

R. Rothaus, E.G. Reinhardt, and J.S. Noller.  “Earthquakes and Subsidence at Kenchreai: Using Recent Earthquakes to Reconsider the Archaeological and Literary Evidence.”  In W.R. Caraher, L.J. Hall, and R. S. Moore (eds.), Archaeology and History in Medieval and Post-Medieval Greece: Studies on Method and Meaning in Honor of Timothy E. Gregory, Ashgate.

2008

S.V. Donato, E.G. Reinhardt, J.L. Boyce, R. Rothaus, and T. Vosmer.  “Identifying tsunami deposits using bivalve shell taphonomy.”  Geology 36.3: 199-202.

2006

N.K. Rauh and R. Rothaus.  “Caveat Emptor: Ceramic Collection Procedures in the Rough Cilicia Survey.”  In D. Malfitana, J. Lund, J. Poblome (eds.), Old Pottery. Innovating Perspectives on Roman Pottery Studies.  Rome:  L’Erma di Bretschneider.

2006

N. K. Rauh, M. J. Dillon, C. Dore, R. Rothaus, and M. Korsholm.  “Viticulture, Oleoculture, and Economic Development in Roman Rough Cilicia.”  Münstersche Beiträge zur antiken Handelsgeschichte 25: 49-98.

2006

T. Tartaron, T.E. Gregory, D.S. Pullen, J.S. Noller, R. Rothaus, L. Diacopoulos, J. Rife, R. Schon, W. Caraher, D. Pettegrew, and D. Nakassis, “The Eastern Korinthia Archaeological Survey: Integrated Methods for a Dynamic Landscape.” Hesperia 75: 435-505.

 Professional Memberships

  • Council for Minnesota Archaeology
  • Midwest Archaeological Conference
  • Minnesota Archaeological Society
  • National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • North Dakota Archaeological Association
  • Plains Anthropological Society
  • Society for American Archaeology
  • Society for Commercial Archaeology
  • Society for Historical Archaeology
  • South Dakota Archaeological Society

Education

Ph.D The Ohio State University

M.A.  Vanderbilt University

B.A.  The Florida State University