It was in this capacity that Jesse L. Nusbaum issued in November 1929 a report to the Department of the Interior raising concerns about the damages caused by an increasing number of visitors on Pueblo ruins, including theft and vandalism. He recommended measures towards a better education of the public and a better organization of visits. Nusbaum continued this dual capacity of National Park Service Superintendent and archeologist until January 1930, when he took a leave of absence subsequent to the Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur approving his appointment as Acting Director of the new Laboratory of Anthropology at Santa Fe, New Mexico. This new laboratory was created to focus on ancient Southwestern Native American cultures, and was initially funded with several hundred thousand Dollars by several prominent personalities, including and mostly John D. Rockefeller Jr.. In 1947, the Laboratory of Anthropology and the Museum of New Mexico were merged into the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Nusbaum continued as director of the Laboratory of Anthropology until 1935, having earlier returned to the National Park Service and resumed his dual duties as Mesa Verde National Park Superintendent and Department of the Interior archeologist enforcing the Antiquities Act. Nusbaum continued this dual position for many years, serving a combined total of seventeen years as Mesa Verde National Park Superintendent, from June 3, 1921, to January 1946, with interruptions for additional temporary assignments. In 1946 he left Mesa Verde National Park and his dual role for Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the National Park Service regional office there, he took up increased duties as the senior archeologist of the NPS. In this capacity, Nusbaum began one of the first salvage archeology projects when he persuaded El Paso Natural Gas Company to allow archeological excavation along their pipelines. For his many other accomplishments, Jesse L. Nusbaum received the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of the Interior in 1954, with Horace M. Albright, a former Director of the National Park Service, stating that Jesse L. Nusbaum was “one of the best Superintendents we ever had.” After a year's extension Nusbaum was forced to retire from the National Park Service at the age of 71 in 1957. Residing on Santa Fe, New Mexico, he remained involved in archeology and with Mesa Verde, providing advice and contributing to various books and publications. He died in Santa Fe, New Mexico in December 1975, at the age of 88. In January 1981, the National Park Service inhouse magazine, 'The Courier', published a 'Person of the Month' article dedicated to Jesse L. Nusbaum, titled "Jesse L. Nusbaum: Defender of American antiquities"..