2022-09-29_PERMIT FILE - C1980007 (4)

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CONTAINS PRIVILEGED INFORMATION – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE 6 valleys in the late 1890s. The region produced coal, precious minerals, marble, and timber. Cattle ranching was important from the time of the earliest settlement; sheep ranching became established later. Agriculture was prominent in the low -lying areas, particularly in the North Fork Valley, which specialized in fruit production. Many of these industries remain prominent to this day, particularly coal mining, logging, cattle ranching, and fruit growing. Exploration for liquid hydrocarbons began with the extraction of oil in the 1920s and later expanded to natural gas, an industry that has remained important into the twenty -first century. Other important revenue- generating modern uses of the region’s natural environment include tourism, hunting, and other forms of recreation. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS AND EXPECTED RESULTS A literature review and records search was conducted prior to fieldwork to identify and review previous cultural resources investigations and previously documented sites within 0.5 mi. of the project’s APE. The identification of previous work and known sites helps develop field strategies based upon expected site densities. Additionally, the file search assists in ensuring that all previously documented archaeological sites within the project area are relocated , to assess the potential impacts of the proposed undertaking, and to evaluate whether portions of the project area have been adequately surveyed by previous projects. Alpine reviewed data obtained through a request to the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) on May 9, 2022. Only one previously documented cultural resource has been documented within the file search area. The resource, 5GN1103, comprises a prehistoric isolated find (IF), and is 0.35 mi. northeast of the project area. Six previous cultural resource inventories have been previously conducted within 1/2 mi. of the project APE. These were completed from 1984–2006, in advance of reservoir and pond projects, projects associated with the West Elk Mine, and an oil and gas project. Two of the surveys intersect the current APE, comprising a methane drainage well project for the West Elk Mine (GN.FS.NR210) and a seam drilling project for the mine (GN.FS.NR246). General Land office (GLO) plats for the project area were also inspected to identify potential historical sites that might be encountered during the inventory (Table 1). No cultural features are depicted on either the 1885 original survey for Township 13S Range 90W, or the 1916 resurvey, that encompass the project’s APE. Mapped resources within the file search area include a cabin and a trail—the latter unnamed in 1885 but designated as the “U.S. Trail Paonia to Coal Creek” by 1916, as well as the Minnesota Reservoir and a road that leads to the reservoir. Several labels noting “coal cropping” are also depicted on the 1914 GLO plat for Township 14S Range 90W adjacent to, but not within, the project area. Several historical topographic maps were also consulted. These maps postdate the 1930s and show similar resources as the GLO plat. The maps do not depict any histor ical resources within the project area; nearby resources comprise the Minnesota Reservoir and a trail along Minnesota Creek (Table 2). Based on the results of the file search, the potential for prehistoric sites in the project area was expected to be low. There was thought to be a higher probability for historical use of the project area, likely associated with use along areas above Minnesota Creek and early mineral extraction.