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INTRODUCTION
<br />At the request of Natural Soda, Inc., (as represented by Daub & Associates, Inc.) and
<br />the White River Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM-WRFO), Grand
<br />River Institute conducted a Class III (intensive) cultural resource inventory of thirty-eight
<br />proposed drill sites and related linear routes within the Piceance Basin, on the ridges north
<br />of Ryan Gulch and east of Yellow Creek. The purposes of the inventory were to evaluate
<br />the cultural resources within the study units and to evaluate the effects of the proposed
<br />project on significant cultural resources. A total of 1132 acres (1114/BLM and 18/private)
<br />was inspected for cultural resources. The files search, field survey, and report documents
<br />were completed by Carl E. Conner (Principal Investigator), Barbara Davenport, Courtney
<br />Groff, Natalie Higginson, Dakota Kramer, Hannah Mills, Lucas Piontkowski, Natalia
<br />Conner, and Marie Conner.
<br />The nature of the proposed disturbance for the project is the construction of drill hole
<br />pads estimated to be 200 x 150 feet (0.7 acre), and the construction of new, 15 feet wide
<br />access roads (4.7 miles), or the upgrading/use of existing roads (~1.0 mile). Three of the
<br />proposed drill pads are on existing, previously disturbed areas. Total new proposed surface
<br />disturbance is less than 35 acres. Per the BLM-WRFO protocol, 40-acre blocks, centered on
<br />the proposed disturbance areas define the inventory study units for the drill holes, although
<br />much of the defined block acreage per drill hole overlaps. As is standard, 200 foot-wide
<br />corridors for the proposed access roads make up the discrete linear study areas.
<br />This project was conducted and completed so that it will comply with federal and
<br />state legislation governing the identification and protection of cultural resources on publicly
<br />owned lands or lands which will be affected by a government action. Accordingly, this
<br />survey was done to meet requirements of the Historic Sites Act of 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461), the
<br />National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470, as amended), the
<br />National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321), Executive Order
<br />11593 (36 F.R. 8921), the Archaeological and Historical Data-Preservation Act (AHPA) of
<br />1974 (16 U.S.C. 469), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
<br />1701), the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq., as
<br />amended), and Article 80.1, Colorado Revised Statutes. These laws are concerned with the
<br />identification, evaluation, and protection of fragile, non-renewable evidence of human
<br />activity, occupation, and endeavor reflected in districts, sites, structures, artifacts, objects,
<br />ruins, works of art, architecture, and natural features that were of importance in human
<br />events. Such resources tend to be localized and highly sensitive to disturbance.
<br />Similarly, paleontological finds are protected under the following legislation: The
<br />National Environmental Act of 1969 (NEPA) (P.L. 91-190; 31 Stat 852, 42 U.S.C.
<br />4321-4327); The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-579; 90 Stat
<br />2743, U.S.C. 1701-1782); BLM Paleontology Resources Management Manual and
<br />Handbook H-8270-1 (revised 1998); Colorado CRS 1973, 24-80-401 through 409,
<br />established similar paleontological resource protection guidelines for the State of Colorado.
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