Cultural and Paleontological Resources Inventory Report for the East Highline Reservoir Project in El Centro, Imperial County, California Prepared for: Imperial Irrigation District 333 East Barioni Boulevard Imperial, California 92251-0937 Contact: Jessica Lovecchio Prepared by: Matthew DeCarlo, MA; Sarah Siren, MSc; Samantha Murray, MA; and Micah J. Hale, PhD, RPA 605 Third Street Encinitas, California 92024 OCTOBER 2018 Printed on 30% post-consumer recycled material. Cultural and Paleontological Resources Inventory Report for the East Highline Reservoir Project TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page No. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................... V NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATABASE INFORMATION ..................................VII MANAGEMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................. IX 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION ..............................................................1 1.1 Regulatory Context ................................................................................................. 2 1.1.1 36 CFR 800 and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.... 2 1.1.2 Bureau of Reclamation Cultural Resources Management Policy ............. 12 1.1.3 California Register of Historical Resources (California Public Resources Code, Section 5020 et seq.) ..................................................... 14 1.1.4 Native American Historic Cultural Sites (California Public Resources Code, Section 5097 et seq.)....................................................................... 15 1.1.5 California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act ...... 15 1.1.6 California Environmental Quality Act ...................................................... 15 1.1.7 California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 .................................. 20 1.1.8 Paleontological Resources Protection Act ................................................ 20 1.2 Project Personnel .................................................................................................. 20 1.3 Report Structure .................................................................................................... 21 2 SETTING ..........................................................................................................................23 2.1 Natural Setting ...................................................................................................... 23 2.2 Cultural Setting ..................................................................................................... 23 2.2.1 Late Pleistocene ........................................................................................ 23 2.2.2 Terminal Pleistocene to Very Early Holocene.......................................... 24 2.2.3 Mid-Holocene ........................................................................................... 25 2.2.4 Late Holocene ........................................................................................... 25 2.2.5 Ethnohistoric Period.................................................................................. 27 2.2.6 Historic Period .......................................................................................... 27 2.3 Paleontological Setting ......................................................................................... 33 3 RESEARCH DESIGN .....................................................................................................35 3.1 Integrity ................................................................................................................. 35 3.2 Chronological Placement ...................................................................................... 35 3.3 Site Function ......................................................................................................... 36 3.4 Paleoenvironmental Change and Resource Use ................................................... 36 10154-01 i October 2018 Cultural and Paleontological Resources Inventory Report for the East Highline Reservoir Project TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED) Section Page No. 3.5 Settlement Organization........................................................................................ 37 3.6 Interregional Connections ..................................................................................... 37 4 METHODS .......................................................................................................................39 4.1 South Coastal Information Center Records Search .............................................. 39 4.2 Native American Heritage Commission Sacred Lands File Search ........................... 39 4.3 Survey ................................................................................................................... 40 4.4 Excavation............................................................................................................. 41 4.5 Laboratory and Cataloging Procedures ................................................................. 41 4.6 Curation................................................................................................................. 42 4.7 Paleontological Resources .................................................................................... 42 5 RESULTS .........................................................................................................................47 5.1 South Coastal Information Center Records Search .............................................. 47 5.2 Tile Drain Construction Maps .............................................................................. 51 5.3 Native American Heritage Commission Sacred Lands File Search ........................... 52 5.4 Survey ................................................................................................................... 52 5.4.1 Previously Identified Resources ............................................................... 53 5.4.2 Newly Identified Resources ...................................................................... 58 5.5 Archaeological Testing Results ............................................................................ 67 5.6 Paleontological Resources .................................................................................... 68 6 ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................71 6.1 P-13-017218; A-IMP-12805 ................................................................................. 71 7 MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................................73 7.1 Cultural Resource Impact Evaluation ................................................................... 73 7.2 Paleontological Resource Impact Evaluation ....................................................... 79 7.3 Mitigation Measures ............................................................................................. 80 8 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................87 9 CERTIFICATION ...........................................................................................................91 10154-01 ii October 2018 Cultural and Paleontological Resources Inventory Report for the East Highline Reservoir Project TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED) Page No. APPENDICES A Project Personnel Qualification B SCIC Records Search Results C NAHC Sacred Lands File Search Results and Tribal Correspondence D New and Updated DPR Site Records E Resources in APE Maps F Paleontological Records Search G Artifact Catalog FIGURES 1 Project Location ...................................................................................................................3 2A Area of Potential Effect .......................................................................................................5 2B Area of Potential Effect .......................................................................................................7 2C Area of Potential Effect .......................................................................................................9 3 Proposed Reservoir Location. Currently a plowed agricultural field. View north. ...................43 4 Northeaster section of proposed reservoir location. View south. ......................................44 5 Proposed intake canal location. Currently an active agricultural field. View east. ...................45 6 All-American Canal. View southwest. ..............................................................................56 7 View of East Highline Canal’s eastern bank from Verde School Road. View northeast. ....................................................................................................................57 8 State Road 98. View southwest. ........................................................................................60 9 P-13-017218 prehistoric ceramic sherds. ...........................................................................61 10 Decorated ceramic rim sherd at P-13-017218. ..................................................................62 11 Eastern terminus of P-13-017219. View west. ..................................................................63 12 View of gate in P-13-017220. View west. .........................................................................64 13 “EHL-Pump2” located at the eastern terminus