A Cultural Resource Inventory for the Bicknell Water Project Wayne County, Utah
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Bighorn Archaeological Consultants, LLC 1712 North 320 West, Orem, Utah 84057 (801) 368-8091 (801) 437-1736 fax Report Number 12-23 A Cultural Resource Inventory for the Bicknell Water Project Wayne County, Utah by Robert B. Nash & Jon R. Baxter Prepared for Fishlake National Forest 115 East 900 North Richfield, UT 84701 Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Richfield Field Office 150 East 900 North Richfield, Utah 84701 Sunrise Engineering 12227 S. Business Park Dr, Suite 220 Draper, UT 84020 Utah Project Authorization Number U12-HO-0297b,s,p Federal Antiquities Permit Number 12UT81316 May 2012 Bighorn Archaeological Consultants, LLC ii Bicknell Water Project Abstract At the request of Sunrise Engineering, Inc., Bighorn Archaeological Consultants, LLC conducted a Class I cultural resource file search and Class III intensive level pedestrian cultural resources inventory for the proposed Bicknell Water Project in Wayne County, Utah under Utah State Project Number U12-HO-0297b,s,p. The project area covers a total of 5.8 acres, including 2.5 acres of land administered by the Bureua of Land Management (BLM) and 3.3 acres of land administered by the USDA Fishlake National Forest (Fishlake). The inventory was conducted in order to determine the presence/absence of cultural resources prior to the proposed Bicknell Town culinary water system improvement project. No new sites or isolated finds were encountered during examination of the project area; however, two previously recorded sites (42Wn807 and 42Wn808) were relocated and updated. Sites 42Wn807 and 42Wn808 are lithic scatters of undetermined cultural affiliation that are considered non-significant. These two sites, initially recorded in 1975, were re-recorded by Bighorn as one site under site number 42Wn807. Site 42Wn807 is located outside the area of potential effect (APE), and will not impact the project. In the unlikely event that additional archaeological remains are encountered during project construction or operations, all ground disturbing activities in the immediate vicinity should cease and a representative of the Fishlake National Forest or Bureau of Land Management should be contacted within 24 hours of the accidental discovery to evaluate the find. Bighorn Archaeological Consultants, LLC iii Bicknell Water Project Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Project Location& Planned Operations ...........................................................................................1 Environment .....................................................................................................................................3 Geology ......................................................................................................................................3 Flora ...........................................................................................................................................3 Fauna ..........................................................................................................................................3 Regional Cultural Overview ............................................................................................................3 PaleoIndian ................................................................................................................................3 Archaic .......................................................................................................................................4 Formative ...................................................................................................................................5 Late Prehistoric ..........................................................................................................................6 Protohistoric/Historic .................................................................................................................6 Previous Research ............................................................................................................................7 File Search Results ....................................................................................................................7 Inventory Methods ...........................................................................................................................7 Inventory Results .............................................................................................................................8 Summary & Project Recommendations ...........................................................................................9 References Cited ............................................................................................................................10 Appendix A – Project and Site Location Map List of Figures Figure 1. Project Location Map ......................................................................................................2 List of Tables Table 1. Cultural Phases of the Region ...........................................................................................4 Table 2. Previous Cultural Resource Inventories within One Mile of the APE .............................7 Table 3. Previously Recorded Cultural Resource Sites within One Mile of the APE ....................7 Bighorn Archaeological Consultants, LLC 1 Bicknell Water Project Introduction Bighorn Archaeological Consultants, LLC (Bighorn) has completed a Class I cultural resource file search and Class III intensive level pedestrian cultural resources inventory for the proposed Bicknell Water Project Wayne County, Utah. The project was undertaken at the request of Sunrise Engineering, Inc. to assist in fulfilling requirements under various federal and state environmental protection laws, including, but not limited to, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The inventory was conducted under Utah Project Authorization Number U12-HO-0297b,s,p. The Class I cultural resource file search was completed by Jon Baxter of Bighorn through the Utah Division of State History, Antiquities and Historic Preservation sections in May of 2012. Fieldwork was completed by Robert Nash on 08 May 2012. Field conditions for the inventory were excellent. Project Location & Planned Operations The Bicknell Water Project consists of a proposal to replace/upgrade the existing culinary waterline and related infrastructure for the town of Bicknell, Wayne County, Utah. The project area covers a total of 5.8 acres, including 2.5 acres for construction of a new 250,000-gallon water storage tank and chlorination building on public lands administered by the BLM-Richfield Office at the north end of the town of Bicknell. The project also includes 3.3 acres for development and redevelopment of the Bicknell Springs, which serve as the water source for the town of Bicknell, and which are on the Thousand Lake Mountain on the Fishlake National Forest administered by the USFS-Fremont River Ranger District. Five existing springs will be redeveloped to improve their production, and a new spring will be developed to obtain additional water. Operations on the five existing springs will occur within fenced areas, each 60 feet wide and 180 feet long with a 20-foot buffer. Spring 4 will be expanded to the north and west to collect adjacent areas to the spring site, which will require an additional 0.2 acres. Development of the proposed new spring and installation of a new pipeline will require an additional 0.6 acres of forest land. The project is located on the Bicknell and Lyman, Utah quadrangles: T. 28 S., R. 3 E., Section 25 T. 28 S., R. 4 E., Section 7 No new sites or isolated finds were encountered during examination of the project area; however, two previously recorded sites (42Wn807 and 42Wn808) were relocated and updated. Sites 42Wn807 and 42Wn808 are lithic scatters of undetermined cultural affiliation that are considered non-significant. These two sites, initially recorded in 1975, were re-recorded by Bighorn as one site under site number 42Wn807. +$ & & Legend Fremont Waterworks Project Location Map Wayne County & Proposed Watertank T28S, R3/4E +$ Proposed Spring 1:24,000 & Existing Watertank 01mi Existing Waterline USFS Bighorn Private Archaeological 01km Consultants, LLC BLM USGS 7.5' Series Quads: Lyman, Bicknell, UT ¤ Bighorn Archaeological Consultants, LLC 3 Bicknell Water Project Environment Geology The project is located within the Southern High Plateaus Section of the Great Basin-Colorado Colorado Plateau Transition Province (Stokes 1986). The project is located on and at the southern base of the Thousand Lake Mountain, “a basalt capped, mesa-like outlier” of the greater plateaus to the west and south (Stokes 1986:250) that rises to almost 11,300 ft. Elevations within