In an article written for Atlas Obscura on July 27, 2018 - "How a California Landfill Became a Landmark" - Andy Wright describes the process of granting National Landmark Status to Fresno Sanitary Landfill, led by University of Houston Professor of History and Founding Director of the Center for Public History, Dr. Martin Melosi.

Wright explains that Melosi recognized that no landfill sites had received National Historic Landmark (NHL) status, despite their intrinsic economic, environmental, social, or political impacts. Melosi worked with the NPS (National Parks Service) starting in 1999 to nominate a sanitation site for landmark status. Wright also discusses the process of gaining landmark status, the history behind Fresno Sanitary Landfill and its’ environmental and historical significance, and Melosi’s research on Fresno, and the aftermath of receiving NHL status.