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Ebert & Tobias, Page 2 <br />Given that the area was blanketed by snow that afforded little surface visibility, an <br />alternative work plan was developed by Anne McKibbin in consultation with CDRMS and <br />SHPO (McKibbin 2015). The plan consisted of subsurface survey for site discovery using a grid <br />array of auger probes across the entire project area. The area of potential effect (APE) is defined <br />as a 450 ft by 450 ft square centered on the drill pad location and a 50 ft (15 m) wide corridor <br />centered on the centerline of the existing two -track. <br />Metcalf conducted fieldwork from December 2 to 10, 2015, with a crew ranging from <br />three to five archaeologists. Garrett Williams supervised field operations; Anne McKibbin with <br />assistance from Kim Kintz was the Principal Investigator. <br />The project area is located in Twentymile Park, about one-quarter mile south of Fish <br />Creek. The proposed drill pad is situated on a low rise blanketed by dense sagebrush. The <br />proposed access road extends eastward from the proposed drill pad to an existing well -used <br />crown -and -ditch road. It crosses a low drainage that leads north to Fish Creek and traverses a <br />bench above Fish Creek. The project area is crossed by four overhead power lines and at least <br />one buried water line. <br />Conditions at the time of fieldwork were variable with cool, sub -freezing mornings, but <br />often warm and sunny afternoons. Conditions were sufficient for the discovery of cultural <br />materials. All field notes, GPS data, maps, and digital photo images are stored at the Metcalf <br />office in Grand Junction, Colorado. Metcalf will also produce a formal report of investigations <br />as part of this undertaking that will submitted to CDRMS and SHPO in January 2016. <br />As detailed in the work plan, the inventory was conducted by augering a grid pattern of <br />probes and screening the sediments for artifacts (Figures 2-5). The digging was performed by <br />operators from Bower Brothers Construction of Craig, Colorado, who used a skid -steer mounted <br />with a 12 inch (30.5 cm) auger capable of reaching at least three feet deep. At the drill pad <br />location, a grid of probes was established with pin flags at 15 in intervals across the 250 by 250 <br />ft pad area plus a 100 ft buffer (see Figure 2). Eighty-one probes centered on the proposed drill <br />pad were augered and screened. Along the proposed access road, auger probes were arranged in <br />two rows situated 25 ft (7.5 m) from centerline with probes spaced at 50 ft (15 m) along the <br />centerline (see Figures 3-5). Eighty-one probes were also augered and screened along the access <br />road. Two probes were precluded due to their position in the middle of a drainage; two were <br />precluded due to the presence of a buried line; and about eight probes were precluded due to an <br />overlapping pedestrian inventory near the eastern terminus of the proposed access road <br />[RT.LM.R53: Various facilities for Cypress Twentymile Coal Co., by Metcalf, 2001]. The latter <br />area is also crossed by a small drainage with exposed cutbanks that allowed for surface <br />inspection. <br />A Metcalf archaeologist monitored all augering to assist with hole placement, as well as <br />to spot artifacts, charcoal staining, or fire -cracked rock. Metcalf s staff geoarchaeologist closely <br />examined the wall of each probe to interpret the sediments, measure total depth, and identify any <br />