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2023 Cultural Resource Site Assessments for Collom Expansion Project Colowyo <br />Tetra Tech June 2023 30 <br />For Official Use Only: Disclosure of Site Locations Prohibited (43 CFR 7.18) <br />5MF.6130 – Prehistoric Lithic Scatter, Needs Data <br />Site 5MF.6130 was originally recorded in 2005 by TRC as part of the Collom Mine Expansion <br />Class III Inventory project. The site is a surface artifact scatter located on an anchored dune. The <br />scatter includes two white opaque chert biface fragments, one semi-translucent chert flake tool, <br />and 44 white chert and quartzite flakes. <br />In 2015, Tetra Tech revisited the site as part of the Collom Mine Expansion Site Assessment <br />project. Some of the 2005 artifacts were observed during the revisit, but heavy vegetation growth <br />obscured much of the ground surface. Observed impacts to the site were deflation of the dune <br />along western side. The deflation was a minor impact and the integrity of the overall site was <br />unchanged since 2005. <br />In 2019, Tetra Tech revisited the site as part of the second round of assessments. Aeolian <br />deflation continued on the windward side of the dune and was potentially causing minor <br />displacement of the artifacts. A portion of the dune is stabilized with heavy vegetation growth, <br />which is hindering the relocation of artifacts. Only two of the original artifacts were observed during <br />the 2019 revisit. Mining activities were not impacting the site. <br />In 2023, Tetra Tech revisited the site as part of the third round of assessments (Figure 21). <br />Vegetation regrowth appears to have now stabilized the entire dune. Tetra Tech also documented <br />a new biface. The biface is a white chert late-stage biface proximal fragment measuring 2.75 by <br />2.1 by 0.3 cm (Figure 22). Mining activities are not impacting the site. Tetra Tech recommends <br />that mining activities continue to avoid the site until further assessment is completed to fully <br />evaluated the site’s NRHP eligibility. <br />NRHP Status and Condition Assessment <br />In 2005 TRC recommended that Site 5MF.6130 needed additional data to determine its potential <br />for inclusion on the NRHP. Tetra Tech agrees with this recommendation. No significant impacts <br />to the site were observed in 2023. The overall condition is unchanged since 2019. The anchored <br />dune is still intact and retains a potential for subsurface cultural component(s). The site should <br />continue to be avoided pending additional subsurface testing to determine whether subsurface <br />cultural material is present at the site.