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INTRODUCTION In September of 1988, a cultural resource inventory was conducted in two tracts of land adjacent to the Colowyo Coal Company mine in Moffat County, Colorado. Orie of these tracts includes about 320 acres and is a proposed conveyor belt corridor located in Sections 22, 27, and 34, T4N, R93W (Axial 7.5 quadrangle map) (Figure 1). This survey area is linear in form, 1/4 mile wide by two miles long, and extends northward from the existing Colowyo maintenance and warehouse complex to the mine access/haul road at a point about 3/4 mile west of the Colowyo adminis- trative building. The second tract is an irregularly shaped area on the southwest corner of the current Colowyo lease perimeter and is being considered as a possible addition to the existing lease. This tract includes approximately 1485 acres and covers all of Section 16 and parts of Sections 4, 5, 8, and 17, T3N, R93W (Axial and Ninemile Gap i.5' quad- rangle maps) (Figure 2). The survey was conducted in two phases by Paul R. Nickens, under contract to Colowyo Coal Company. The first phase consisted of clearing about 51 acres around proposed core drilling locations in the lease addition tract. This field survey was conducted on September 7, 1988. During the second phase, conducted during the week of September 19, the remainder of the lease addition tract and the conveyor belt corridor were inspected. • This report covers all of the survey efforts. The fieldwork and reporting leas been conducted under provisions of Colorado Bureau of Land Management Permit C-40157 and State of Colorado P.rchaeological Permit 88-12, both issued to Nickens and Associates, Montrose, Colorado. BACKGP.OUND INFGRMATIOPi There have been several past cultural resource efforts completed within or close to the Colowyo project areas, several of which provide detailed discussions of the regional environmental and cultural setting (see especially, Christensen [1984'), and this information need not be repeated fie re. Good overview statements for the region are also found in the Colorado Historical Society RP3 document for northwestern Colorado (Grady 1984) and the BLM Little Snake Resource Area cultural resources overview (La Point 1987). Locally, the environmental settings are markedly different between the two tracts, primarily due to elevation. The lease addition tract is higher in elevation (up to 8200 feet), but it also includes the upper drainages of Taylor Creek. Thus, there are three general types of land- forms in this tract: 1) the hilltops which support a very dense growth of tall grasses, serviceberry, and scrub oak (Figure 3); 2) fairly steep and also heavily vegetated hillsides (Figure 4); and V-shaped valley bottoms (Figure 4). l+~ater is available within this tract in Taylor Creek and several springs and seeps in the canyons. Wild game is also plenti- • fol. In terms of aboriginal occupation, however, relatively little level ground is available and in much of the tract the vegetation is very dense, 1