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of the current inventory area (Figure 5). The road south of Axial is named the "Meeker to Axial Road". <br />North of Axial, the road branches (see Figure 1). A road oriented to the northeast is labeled as the "Axial <br />to Craig County Road". A road oriented to the north is labeled as the "County Road Axial to Lay". <br />Neither of these roads crosses Section 22. A road oriented from north to south parallels the Axial roads to <br />the west. This road runs along the crest of the ridge separating Good Spring Creek to the east from Taylor <br />Creek to the west. The road is labeled "Timber Road" on the map. The "Timber Road" crosses the SE'/4 <br />of Section 22 but does not enter the current inventory area. An unnamed road parallels Wilson Creek and <br />crosses the extreme NW corner of Section 22, but does not cross the current APE. Another road depicted <br />on the 1906 GLO does cross the current inventory area. This road splits off from the Axial to Craig and <br />Axial to Lay roads approximately one mile north of Axial and trends to the northwest crossing the SE'/4 <br />and NW'/4 of Section 22. This road is labeled "Wagon Road". It terminates at the intersection with an <br />east to west trending road labeled "Axial" in the NW'/4 of Section 15. This Axial/Wagon Road continues <br />north into TSN, R93W, where it eventually intersects the "County Road Axial to Lay". The wagon road <br />which is shown on the 1906 GLO map as crossing the current inventory area is a variant of the Axial to <br />Lay Road. No trace of this road was noted in the current inventory area as a result of this inventory. More <br />recent disturbances have erased this road. <br />The U.S.G.S. Axial 15 min quad map dated 1912 also depicts the project area (Figure 6). This <br />map shows the main road running north from Axial to Craig and the Axial to Lay road, but does not show <br />the Timber Road or the Wagon Road which were shown as crossing T4N, R93W, Section 22 on the 1906 <br />GLO dependent resurvey plat. Whether these roads had fallen out of use by 1912 or were simply not <br />depicted on the 1912 map is unclear. <br />A large previously undocumented ditch was noted in the current inventory area (see Figure 1). <br />This ditch begins in the SW'/4 NE'/4 NW'/4 SW'/4 NE'/4 of Section 22 near the northeast edge of the current <br />inventory area. The ditch trends southwest for 625 feet then turns to the west and trends another 875 feet <br />before turning to the northwest for another 625 feet where it crosses out of the inventory area. It continues <br />for another 1700 feet to intersect Wilson Creek in the SW'/4 SW'/4 SW'/4 SE'/4 SW'/4 of Section 15, T4N, <br />R93W. The overall length of this ditch is approximately 3825 feet. The ditch is 3 to 4 feet wide and up to <br />1.5 feet deep. The spoil pile is located on the west and north sides of the ditch in the APE (Figures 7 and <br />8). <br />In order to determine if this linear feature is a historic irrigation ditch, the Colorado Decision <br />Support Systems Water Rights web site was consulted (http://cdss.state.co.us). One ditch is listed for <br />Section 22, T4N, R93W. This is the Hulett & Torrence Ditch. The ditch is shown as being located in the <br />SW'/4 NW'/4 of Section 22 with Wilson Creek as the source of water. The amount of appropriated water is <br />5 cubic feet per second (CFS). The adjudication date for this ditch is September 22, 1894 and the <br />appropriation date is March 1, 1885. This ditch does not appear on the GLO original survey plat (1885), <br />the dependent resurvey plat (1906), the U.S.G.S. Axial 15 min quad (1912), or the U.S.G.S. Axial 7.5 min <br />quad (1966). <br />Based on the location, design, and layout, the modern ditch found during the current project is not <br />considered to be the Hulett and Torrence Ditch. The modern ditch is not located in the SW'/4 NW'/4 of <br />Section 22 although it is located in the SE'/4 NW'/4 and NE'/4 NW'/4 of the section. The west end of the <br />modern ditch intersects Wilson Creek (see Figure 1). However, from the point where the ditch intersects <br />the creek, the ditch trends in a southerly direction which is opposite to the direction of the northeast flow <br />of water in the creek. In order for water to enter into the west end of the modern ditch from Wilson <br />Creek, it would have to flow uphill for the length of the ditch. The west end of the ditch where it <br />intersects Wilson Creek cannot be the intake for the ditch and it must be the point where water exits the <br />ditch. <br />The east end of the ditch is not located near any naturally occurring source of water. The eastern <br />arm of the ditch is located approximately half way up the west facing flank of the interfluvial ridge <br />separating Wilson Creek from Taylor Creek (Figures 9 and 10). The ditch does not intersect Taylor <br />