2022-05-10_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1993041

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50 Fossils from the Smoky Hill Shale member of the Niobrara Formation have not bee reported from the Dowe Flats area. However, Scott and Cobban (1964) have reported ammonites, clams, and oysters from Pueblo, Colorado. The Pierre Shale overlies the Niobrara Formation and is present along the eastern portion of Dowe Flats. Exposures are poor because of vegetation. Fossils are very common in the Pierre Shale as reported by Kauffman (1971) and Scott and Cobban (1965) . Rare vertebrate fossils are known from the Sharon Springs Member at the base of the formation from elsewhere along the Front Range. These fossils include fish and marine reptiles (Carpenter, notes) . Most of the strata in Dowe Flats are Upper Cretaceous marine sediments covered locally by a veneer of unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. All of the Cretaceous strata in Dowe Flats are known to be fossiliferous, Most of these fossils are the shells of various invertebrates, including ammonite cephalopods, inoceramic clams, oysters, and snails. Such fossils are common in the strata throughout Colorado and minimal impact is predicted on scientifically important specimens from quarry operations. 3.2 American Indian Resources The Dowe Flats project area, where actual mining will take place, (385 acre mine impact zone) , contains no known prehistoric or historic sites. The surrounding Study Area contains 19 prehistoric and 10 historic sites. The archaeological and historic inventory results are summarized below, (See Figure I for the Study Area and the Project Area) . The recordation of prehistoric archaeological resources in the area near Dowe Flats dates to the 1940s when various amateur and professional archaeologists began documenting their findings in the region. William Herbert Dick, Gordon Hewes, and Jack Clifford Moomaw were among those responsible for the earliest site record forms. Although relatively few sites were recorded formally in Boulder County during the 1940s and 1950s, amateur