A Class Iii Cultural Resource Inventory for the Front Range- Midway Solar Project in El Paso County, Colorado
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f A CLASS III CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY FOR THE FRONT RANGE- MIDWAY SOLAR PROJECT IN EL PASO COUNTY, COLORADO Western Area Power Administration by Christopher C. Kinneer Eva M. Donkin Kristin A. Gensmer Benjamin F. Perlmutter Rosemarie L. Pavel July 2015 For Official Use Only: Disclosure of Site Locations Prohibited (43 CFR 7.18) A CLASS III CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY FOR THE FRONT RANGE- MIDWAY SOLAR PROJECT IN EL PASO COUNTY, COLORADO Western Area Power Administration by Christopher C. Kinneer Eva M. Donkin Kristin A. Gensmer Benjamin F. Perlmutter and Rosemarie L. Pavel Submitted to: Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc. Cheyenne, Wyoming and Front Range-Midway Solar Project, LLC Lenexa, Kansas Submitted by: Centennial Archaeology, LLC. Fort Collins, Colorado Principal Investigator: Christopher C. Kinneer All Work Performed under the Terms and Conditions of State of Colorado Archaeological Permit No. 2015-44 July 2015 OAHP1421 Colorado Historical Society - Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation COLORADO CULTURAL RESOURCE SURVEY Cultural Resource Survey Management Information Form I. PROJECT SIZE Total federal acres in project 0 Total federal acres surveyed 0 Total state acres in project 0 Total state acres surveyed 0 Total private acres in project 1,162.16 Total private acres surveyed 1,109.52 Total other acres in project 0 Total other acres surveyed 0 II. PROJECT LOCATION County: El Paso USGS Quad Map: Buttes (1994) Principal Meridian: 6th NOTE: The legal location information below is meant to summarize the location of the survey and does not need to be precise. Township: 17S Range: 65W Sec: 17, and 20-22 III. SITES Resource Type Eligibility Management Recommendations Smithsonian Number Test Other Other Historic Historic District Eligible Eligible Monitor Monitor Unknown Unknown Prehistoric Prehistoric Excavate Excavate Need Data Need Data Supporting Supporting Not Eligible NotEligible Paleontological Paleontological Contributes to Contributesa Non Supporting Supporting Non Preserve / Avoid Preserve / Avoid No Further Work NoWork Further Archival Research Research Archival 5EP7621 X X X 5EP7623 X X X 5EP7625 X X X 5EP7627 X X X 5EP7632 X X X 5EP7640 X X X IV. ISOLATED FINDS Resource Type Resource Type Smithsonian Smithsonian Number Number Historic Historic Historic Unknown Unknown Unknown Prehistoric Prehistoric Prehistoric Paleontological Paleontological Paleontological 5EP7613 X 5EP7634 X 5EP7614 X 5EP7635 X 5EP7615 X 5EP7636 X 5EP7616 X 5EP7637 X 5EP7617 X 5EP7638 X 5EP7618 X 5EP7639 X 5EP7619 X 5EP7641 X 5EP7620 X 5EP7642 X 5EP7622 X 5EP7643 X 5EP7624 X 5EP7644 X 5EP7626 X 5EP7645 X 5EP7628 X 5EP7646 X 5EP7629 X 5EP7647 X 5EP7630 X 5EP7648 X 5EP7631 X 5EP7649 X 5EP7633 X 5EP7650 X ABSTRACT Centennial Archaeology LLC (Centennial) conducted a Class III cultural resource inventory for the Front Range - Midway Solar project, El Paso County, Colorado for Front Range - Midway Solar Project, LLC. The goal of the project is to construct a solar power generation facility adjacent to the existing Midway substation. Project oversight was provided by the Western Area Power Administration. The project area encompasses an area of 1,162.16 acres, all of which are privately held. Two parcels within the project were not included in the inventory because they are electrical facilities. Total pedestrian survey acreage was 1,109.52. The surrounding area within a two-mile buffer of the project boundary was subjected to a Class I file search and analyzed to determine if any NRHP-listed or eligible sites would incur visual impacts from the proposed solar project. A total of six sites and 32 isolated finds (IFs) were documented within the project area, all six sites were newly recorded by Centennial. All of the sites and IFs are prehistoric. Five sites are open lithic scatters, and one consisted of a possible hearth. The IFs all consist of either single occurrences or small quantities of prehistoric debitage. Two sites (5EP7625 and 5EP7632) require additional information to determine eligibility recommendations, but will be avoided by the proposed project. The four remaining sites and all of the IFs are assessed as not eligible for the NRHP, and no further work is recommended. The visual impact analysis did not identify any sites that could be potentially impacted within the two-mile buffer. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Project Description...............................................................................................................1 Administrative Data .............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 - ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING .............................................................................4 Physiography, Geology, and Hydrology ..............................................................................4 Climate ................................................................................................................................4 Flora and Fauna....................................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 3 – CULTURAL-HISTORICAL CONTEXT ..............................................................7 Prehistoric Narrative ............................................................................................................7 Historic Narrative ..............................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 4 – CLASS I FILE SEARCH DATA .........................................................................17 CHAPTER 5 – SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA AND FIELD METHODS ....................................27 Criteria for Significance Evaluation ..................................................................................27 Field Methods ...................................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 6 - CLASS III INVENTORY RESULTS ...................................................................29 Sites ................................................................................................................................30 5EP7621 .................................................................................................................30 5EP7623 .................................................................................................................32 5EP7625 .................................................................................................................34 5EP7627 .................................................................................................................36 5EP7632 .................................................................................................................36 5EP7640 .................................................................................................................39 Isolated Finds .....................................................................................................................41 CHAPTER 6 - PROJECT SUMMARY AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS .......42 Survey Summary ................................................................................................................42 Significance Assessments and Management Recommendations .......................................42 REFERENCES CITED ..................................................................................................................44 APPENDIX A: X-RAY FLUORESECENE ANALYSIS REPORT ............................................50 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1 Map of central Colorado showing the Front Range-Midway Solar study area ............2 2 USGS 1:24,000 scale map showing the Front Range-Midway Solar project area ........3 3 View of study area, facing west .....................................................................................5 4 View of study area, facing east ......................................................................................5 5 Site 5EP7621 plan map ................................................................................................31 6 Site 5EP7632 plan map ................................................................................................33 7 Site 5EP7625 plan map ................................................................................................35 8 Site 5EP7627 plan map. ...............................................................................................37 9 Site 5EP7632 plan map ................................................................................................38 10 Site 5EP7640 plan map ................................................................................................40 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Class I File Search Data: Previous Cultural Resource Inventories Conducted within Two Miles of Project Area ...........................................................................................17 2 Class I File Search Results: Previous Cultural Resources within Two Miles of Project Area ..............................................................................................................................22 3 Cultural Resource Summary Data for the Front Range-Midway Solar Project ...........29 iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Project Description Centennial Archaeology LLC (Centennial) performed a Class III