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Land patents filed within the project area are mostly comprised of Homestead <br />(original and stock raising) patents, and date between 1919 and 1940. Interestingly, the <br />earliest land patent, filed in 1911, is a Coal Land patent. One additional patent, a Cash Entry, <br />was filed in 1921. <br />STUDY OBJECTIVES <br />The cultural resource survey was undertaken to ensure the project's compliance with <br />federal legislation governing the identification and protection of cultural resources. For <br />federally funded or licensed projects, such studies are done to meet requirements of the <br />National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321), Executive Order <br />11593 (36 F.R. 8921), the Historical and Archaeological 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), and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq., as <br />amended). These laws are concerned with the identification, evaluation, and protection of <br />fragile, non-renewable evidences of human activity, occupation and endeavor reflected in <br />districts, sites, structures, artifacts, objects, ruins, works of art, architecture, and natural <br />features that were of importance in human events. Such resources tend to be localized and <br />highly sensitive to disturbance. <br />The inventory was conducted to meet requirements of the National Historic <br />Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), which directs the BLM to ensure that BLM-initiated or <br />authorized actions do not inadvertently disturb or destroy significant cultural resource values. <br />The eligibility determination and consultation process is guided by Section 106 of the NHPA <br />(36 CFR 60, 63, and 800). BLM actions cannot be authorized until the Section 106 process <br />is completed (36 CFR 800.3). An inventory such as this is the first step in the Section 106 <br />process. <br />Objectives of the present study include: 1) the identification of cultural resources <br />within the project area that may be adversely affected by the proposed action, 2) the <br />evaluation of these for inclusion on the NRHP using National Register criteria (Criteria A <br />through D) and the seven aspects of integrity as defined in the National Register Bulletin No. <br />15 (see Site Significance below), and 3) to make management recommendations for those <br />cultural resources found to be eligible. <br />Site Significance <br />The evaluation of cultural resources includes defining significance, assessing <br />integrity, and evaluating National Register eligibility. Significance is a quality of cultural <br />resource properties that qualifies them for inclusion on the NRNP. OAHP recognizes two <br />broad categories of eligibility determinations: field and official. The statements of <br />significance included in this report are field assessments to support recommendations to the <br />15 <br />