2020-03-24_PERMIT FILE - C1981019A (9)

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RULE 2 PERMITS Paleoindian sites investigated within the region and in adjacent areas reflect hunting and /or processing of now -extinct megafauna (mammoth, sloth, and varieties of bison) and now -extant large mammals. Two recognizable and contemporaneous subsistence patterns have been identified for the region. One cultural unit occupied the open plains and intermountain basins and focused primarily on bison for subsistence, often procured on communal hunts. A second consisted of Foothill -Mountain complex that occupied more rugged terrain at higher elevations and procured deer, bighorn sheep, and antelope and may have more intensely utilized plant resources. It is hypothesized that the former complex represents more frequent mobility with sites that represent multiple short-term activities, whereas the latter complex was less mobile with greater utilization of local lithic source material. Archaic Stage (7,450-1,650 years B.P.) According to Reed and Metcalf (1999), the Archaic -era cultural chronology for Northern Colorado River Basin has, until recently, been lumped with other Archaic -era chronologies utilized for broader surrounding regions such as the Northwestern Plains, the Great Basin, the Colorado Plateau, and the Wyoming Basin. Recently, due to the lack of data from sites within the Northern Colorado River Basin that are directly applicable to the frameworks proposed for the surrounding regions, a new four-part scheme consisting of Pioneer, Settled, Transitional, and Terminal periods has been proposed that would more accurately fit the site type chronology of this region. This period witnessed expanded hunter gather subsistence strategies that utilized a wide variety of animal and plant resources in season and at varying elevations. Formative Era (400 B.C.-A.D. 1300) This era refers to a prehistoric occupation that focused primarily on horticulture, especially corn, on the Colorado Plateau. Formative sites in western Colorado are usually attributed to the Fremont tradition. Evidence of horticulture, increased sedentism, ceramics, and rock art characterize Fremont sites. As proposed by Reed and Metcalf (1999), the aspen tradition is assigned to non -horticulture hunting -gathering groups in the region that are contemporaneous with Fremont occupations. The permit expansion area boundary occurs near the extreme eastern edge of the Fremont cultural area. Protohistoric Stage (A.D. 1300-1800s) As described by Reed and Metcalf (1999), this era reflects an ethnohistoric perspective of regional aboriginal cultural change and distribution. Inhabitants were highly mobile hunter and gatherers. They constructed wickiups for shelter, manufactured brown ware ceramics, and hunted with bows and arrows. The period reflects less intensive use of the region, probably by Numic-speaking groups. Desert Side -notched and Cottonwood Triangular arrow points and brown ware ceramics are diagnostic of the Numic (Ute) occupation in the region. Historic Context — Spanish explorers Dominguez and Escalanate, in search of a route to California, passed through the region southwest of the permit expansion area during their expedition of 1776 (Hafen and Hafen 1954). American fur traders and trappers utilized the region in the early to mid — 1800s, and explorer Thomas Farnham passed through the Yampa River valley in 1839. United States topographic expeditions led by John Fremont and John Gunnison explored the general region in the 1840's and early 1850s, respectively (Goetzmann 1959), with Fremont passing east along the Yampa River and its tributaries in 1844 (Fremont 1845). Clarence King surveyed the western region of Colorado during his exploration along the Fourteenth parallel in 1868 for the Union Pacific Railroad survey, and geologist Ferdinand Hayden passed through the region and along the Yampa River on his 1877 exploration of Wyoming and Idaho Territories (Hayden 1879). Exploration for precious minerals and coal followed, which continued throughout the late nineteenth century, and coal mining developed into the principal extractive industry in the region. Railroads constructed through western Colorado after 1880 fostered homesteading and ranching throughout the region in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Ranching and coal production continue to be important economic pursuits to the present day. Collom — Rule 2, Page 9 Revision Date: 4/7/17 Revision No.: RN -07