Class I Cultural Study
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Class I Cultural Study Petroleum Development Corporation Centralized Soil Treatment Facility OA Project No. 011-2627 June 2012 826 21 ½ Road | Grand Junction, CO 81505 | TEL 970.263.7800 | FAX 970.263.7456 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY: DISCLOSURE OF SITE LOCATIONS IS PROHIBITED (43 CFR 7.18) REPORT ON THE CLASS I ARCHAEOLOGICAL, CULTURAL, PALEONTOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORY FOR A LIMITED IMPACT REVIEW FOR A PROPOSED CENTRALIZED SOIL TREATMENT FACILITY PARCEL ON PRIVATE LAND IN GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO FOR THE PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Declaration of Negative Findings GRI Project No. 2012-16 10 February 2012 Prepared by Carl E. Conner, Principal Investigator and Barbara J. Davenport Grand River Institute P.O. Box 3543 Grand Junction, Colorado 81502 BLM Antiquities Permit No. C-52775 Submitted to Board of County Commissioners Garfield County, Colorado Abstract At the request of the Petroleum Development Corporation (PDC), Grand River Institute (GRI) conducted a Class I archaeological, cultural, paleontological and historic resources inventory for the proposed PDC Centralized Soil Treatment Facility Parcel. The project area is approximately 23 acres that are located on private land in Garfield County, Colorado. This work was performed under BLM Antiquities Permit No. C-52775. The Class I files search and report preparation were performed on the 9th of February 2012. The Class I inventory was undertaken to ensure the project's compliance with state and federal legislation governing the identification and protection of resources on lands that will be affected by a government action. The purpose of the resources investigation was to identify previously recorded resources within or near the proposed facility that may be adversely affected by the proposed action and to evaluate the potential of additional such resources in the project areas. As a result of the files search, no resources have been previously recorded within the proposed project area. Additionally, the files search also indicated that approximately seven acres of the 23 reviewed for this study have been subjected to a previous, Class III pedestrian survey with negative results. A total of twenty-five resources have been previously recorded within a mile of the project area. These consist of one prehistoric site, eight historic sites, ten paleontological localities and six isolates. The most significant nearby resource or site is the historic Havemeyer- Wilcox Canal (5GF654) of which remnant features and segments are located northeast and southwest of the present study area along the base of the ridge. This site played an important role in the history of the region and has been officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, since no known archaeological, cultural, paleontological or historic resources will be affected within the study area, no further consideration of such is recommended for the proposed project. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. 1 Location of the Project Area.. 2 Environment.. 2 Paleoclimate. 3 Files Search Results. 4 Discussion/Archaeological Assessment of Cultural Resources. 10 Summary and Recommendations.. 11 References.. 12 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1. Project location map . 3 Table 1. List of previously recorded resources near the proposed project area. 4 Table 2. List of projects previously conducted within or nearby the study area.. 5 iii Introduction At the request of the Petroleum Development Corporation (PDC), Grand River Institute (GRI) conducted a Class I archaeological, cultural, paleontological and historic resources inventory for the proposed PDC Centralized Soil Treatment Facility Parcel. The project area is approximately 23 acres that are located on private land in Garfield County, Colorado. This work was performed under BLM Antiquities Permit No. C-52775. The Class I files search and report preparation were performed on the 9th of February 2012 by Carl E. Conner, Principal Investigator and Barbara Davenport. The Class I inventory was undertaken to ensure the project's compliance with state and federal legislation governing the identification and protection of cultural resources on privately owned lands that will be affected by a government action. It was done to meet requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act (as amended in 1992), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701), and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq., as amended), and Article 80.1, Colorado Revised Statutes. These laws are concerned with the identification, evaluation, and protection of fragile, non-renewable evidence of human activity, occupation, and endeavor reflected in districts, sites, structures, artifacts, objects, ruins, works of art, architecture, and natural features that were of importance in human events. Such resources tend to be localized and highly sensitive to disturbance. All work was performed according to guidelines set forth by the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) of the Colorado Historical Society. Additionally, this work was undertaken to ensure the project's compliance with county, state, and federal laws and regulations governing the identification and protection of paleontological resources; federal and state legislation concerning fossils on public lands include: (1) The National Environmental Act of 1969 (NEPA)(P.L. 91-190; 31 Stat 852, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4327); (2) The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-579; 90 Stat. 2743, U.S.C. 1701-1782); (3) BLM Paleontology Resources Management Manual and Handbook H-8270-1 (revised 1998); (4) Colorado CRS 1973, 24-80-401 through 409, established similar paleontological resource protection guidelines for the State of Colorado. The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) was signed into law on March 30, 2009, as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act (OPLA) of 2009, Public Law 111-011. “P.L. 111-011, Title VI, Subtitle D on Paleontological Resources Preservation (OPLA-PRP) requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to manage and protect paleontological resources on Federal land using scientific principles and expertise...The OPLA-PRP reaffirms the authority for many of the policies the Federal land managing agencies already have in place for the management of paleontological resources...” 1 Location of the Project Area The study area is located about 10.0 miles west of the town of Rifle in Garfield County, CO. The 23-acre block area lies in T. 6 S., R. 95 W., Section 25; 6th P.M. (Figure 1). Environment The proposed project is within the Piceance Creek Basin, one of the major geologic subdivisions of Colorado. The Piceance Creek Basin is an elongate structural downwarp of the Colorado Plateau province that apparently began its subsidence approximately 70 million years ago during the Laramide Orogeny. Sediments from surrounding highlands were deposited in the basin, accumulating to a thickness of as much as 9000 feet by the lower Eocene epoch, when subsidence ceased. Regional uplift occurred in the Late Tertiary, and erosion of the area has continued since (Young and Young 1977:43-46). The project area lies north of the Colorado River on a terrace between Cottonwood and Balzac Gulches. The region has a cool desert climate. Precipitation ranges between 10 and 14 inches, although the surrounding mountain areas may receive up to 20 inches. Temperatures range from about 95 degrees F in the summer to -5 degrees F during January. A frost-free period of about 150 days is the maximum (USDA SCS 1978b:403). Paleo-environmental data for the area are scant, but it is agreed that gross climatic conditions have remained fairly constant over the last 12,000 years. Still, changes in effective moisture and cooling/ warming trends probably affected the prehistoric occupation of the area. Elevation of the project area averages 5200 feet, which falls within the Upper Sonoran zone. Natural vegetation within and surrounding the study location consists primarily of open sage/greasewood flats, and cheatgrass, with agricultural lands on the terraces south of the Colorado River and pinyon/ juniper forest on the nearby ridges. Ground visibility in the project area averages 30%. Present land uses in the vicinity are open range, agricultural fields and energy development. Wildlife inhabitants including mule deer, elk, coyote, and black bear are common in the surrounding area, as are cottontail rabbits and various rodents. Mountain lion, bobcat, fox, skunk, badger, and weasel are also likely inhabitants. Bird species observed in the area include the jay, raven, red-shafted flicker, long-eared owl, golden and bald eagles and various other raptors. Paleoclimate Relatively small changes in past climatic conditions altered the exploitative potential of an area and put stress upon aboriginal cultures by requiring adjustments in their subsistence 2 Composite Quadrangle Map Anvil Points (195211982) and Rulison (1960/1987) Garfield County - Colorado U.S.G.S. 7.5' Series (topographic) Scale 1:24000 Contour luterva140 Feet ~ T. 6 S, R. 95 W., 6th P.M. Zone 12 NAD 1983 Figure l. Project location map for 1he Class I resources inventory report for a proposed PDC Cenl:nllized Land Trealment Facility Parcel (23 acres) on private land in Garfield County, Colollldo for the Petroleum Development Corporation. The study area is indicated. [GRI Project#2012-16, 211012012) 3 patterns. Therefore,