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~~ • Vegetation is variable and responsive to local exposure and soil development. Charaaeristic communities are aspen woodland in protected settings, oak chaparral in open, exposed settings, and pine-juniper woodland on steep (especially north facing) slopes. Generally, the undergrowth is open or patchy with extensive exposure of soil surface and bedrock outcrops. Oak and brush thickets may be locally dense, but tend not to be extensive. However, in wet, protected areas with deep sediment, the undergrowth in the aspen groves is often both high and thick, making these locations nearly impassable. Edible and useful plant products are seasonally abundant, and all these plant communities provide gootl forage and cover for game animals. Limfting faaors for cultural settlement or use are ruggedness of access and availability of water. Existing Data and Literature Review Prior to fieldwork the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) was contacted, on June 8, to obtain current information on previous cultural resource investigations and recorded cultural resource sites in the project area. The results of this files search for the legal sections containing the project areas were that two previous Class III inventories had been conducted in portions of these sections. These were a Forest Service survey of several proposed ponds and trails (Sanders 1982), and a previous MAC survey for exploratory drill holes in this same general area (Spath 1992). MAC has also conducted several other small inventories in the West Elk Mountains (e.g., Metcalf 1987, 1989) and results have generally been negative. This project area is located in an area of effective overlap of the West-Central Colorado Prehistoric Context (Reed 1987) and the Colorado Mountains Prehistoric Context (Guthrie, et al., 1984). Neither study area has yielded evidence of frequent prehistoric use of the scrub oak vegetation zone during any of the • prehistoric time periods. The earliest documented historic visit to the general area was the Dominguez- Escalante expedition of 1776 that passed along the North Fork of the Gunnison (Warner 1976:29). The area was within the range of Eurc-American fur trapping activities in the early 1800s and was later influenced by ranching, fruit farming and the expansion of coal mining (Mehls 1982). Historic activities in the area that would leave more than limited, transitory traces have generally centered along the river valleys. Field Methods The objective of this investigation was to identify and evacuate any cultural resources that might be affected by the proposed undertaking. Each area of effect was inspected by pedestrian survey. This pedestrian survey covered roughly one-half acre around each of the three proposed drill pad sites, approximately 700 feet of 50 toot wide corridor for access construction (ca. 0.8 acres), and approximately 3,500 feet of reconnaissance along existing trails that may require minor improvement for access. The latter minor improvements may include removing a few trees, cutting back overhanging branches, or expedient tilling or drainage improvement at poorly drained, muddy stretches. The basic approach to the proposed drill pad sites was to cover an area within an 85 to 100 toot (25-30 m) radius around the staked drill location, but actual area surveyed varied in response to local conditions. Given the general ruggedness of the terrain, the entire landform practical for drilling activities around each staked location, up to about 200 feet from the staked location, was inspected for potential cultural resources. This included all reasonably level ground around the drill pad site and excluded dense stands of trees or brush. Inventory was completed by a single investigator walking zig-zag pedestrian iransects spaced approximately five to ten meters apart. The ground surface was inspected for any • .,