2023-07-14_PERMIT FILE - C1981010 (20)

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Cultural resources were recorded using the following methods of mapping and note taking. The basic approach to the data collection was the mapping of observed artifacts, features and fossils by recording UTM coordinates (NAD 83) using a Trimble Geo XT GPS device. The collected data was differentially corrected using real-time base station data for more accurate results and downloaded to create site maps using ArcMap software. Project and site photos were taken using a digital camera and are on file at Grand River Institute in Grand Junction, Colorado. Field notes were taken in regard to the observed cultural manifestations as well as the vegetation and soils. These are also on file at Grand River Institute. No artifacts were collected during the course of the inventory work. 7.0 STUDY FINDINGS Limitation to the inventory was the occasional thick brush and grass cover. Surface visibility in the project areas ranged from 30-50 percent. As a result of the intensive field inventory, one previously recorded site (5MF.5138) was revisited and a new segment was recorded. Detailed information for this resource is provided in Appendix B: Cultural Resources Location Data and OAHP Site Form. Map B-1 in that appendix shows the previously recorded cultural resource in relation to the project areas. 7.1 Resource Significance Site significance is a quality of cultural resource properties that qualifies them for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and was determined according to guidelines set forth by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). The statement of significance included in this report is a field assessment to support recommendations to the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). The final determination of site significance is made by the controlling agency in consultation with the SHPO and the Keeper of the Register. The eligibility determination and consultation process is guided by Section 106 of the NHPA (36 CFR 60, 63, and 800). Inventory to identify, evaluate, and mitigate potential effects to cultural resources affected by an undertaking is the first step in the Section 106 process. Title 36 CFR 60.4 establishes the measure of significance that is critical to the determination of a site's NRHP eligibility, which is used to assess a site’s research potential: The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects of State and local importance that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and a) that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history; or b) that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or c) that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or d) that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. 7