Laserfiche WebLink
i <br />I.~. <br />~: <br />pia <br />h? <br />L. <br />WEST ELK MI-NE DRILL PADS FOR PANELS 18 to 24. <br />CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY REPORT <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Greystone Environmental Consultants (Greystone) conducted a cultural resource inventory for <br />proposed drill pad locations for West Elk Mine panels 18 to 24: This inventory was completed for <br />Mountain Coal Company, LLC, as part of the baseline studies for an Environmental Assessment <br />(EA). The project area extends from Colorado Highway 133 in Sections 10 and 11, T13S, R90W, <br />south approximately 2.5 miles (Figure 1). Feasible areas for drill pads or access roads include <br />canyon and gulches on the south side of the North Fork Gunnison River valley and on the east side of <br />Sylvester Gulch, and the West Flatiron. <br />This project involves federal surface administered by the US Forest Service Grand Mesa, <br />Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest, Paonia Ranger District. In accordance with policies <br />and regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Public Law 89- <br />665), as amended, the cultural resource inventory was completed to locate, identify, and evaluate any <br />cultural resources that might be affected by the proposed undertaking. The inventory was completed <br />by Greystone azchaeologists Carl Spath, PhD, and Robert Rowe, MA, on October 17 and 18, 2001 <br />under the stipulations of US Forest Service, Region 2 Special Use Permit # R-97003, which expires <br />on November 30, 2002. All field documentation, original records, and copies of this report are on <br />file at the Greystone office in Greenwood Village, Colorado. <br />The proposed project consists oF25 drill pad locations and access roads forpossible degas vent holes <br />for panels 18 to 24 of the West Elk Mine. At the time of survey, approximate drill pad locations had <br />been plotted on mine maps, but had not been verified or staked. All feasible and accessible areas <br />above panels 18 to 24 were inspected for cultural resources. <br />The objective of this cultural resource inventory was to locate and record any cultural resources that <br />might occur within the azea of potential effect (APE) of the proposed project, and to provide <br />recommendations of eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places (Register). Management <br />recommendations for treatment of any discovered resources were to be made in accordance with their <br />recommended Register evaluations and potential impacts. <br />AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT <br />The project azea is about eight miles east of Paonia, Colorado, and immediately south of the North <br />Fork Gunnison River. This azea is in the western foothills of the West Elk Mountains. Local <br />topography is dominated by small mesas, steep-sided ridges, and deep canyons. Project elevations <br />range from about 6,200 feet above mean sea level at the north end of Box Caziyon to just above <br />8,560 feet at the high point of the West Flatiron. Slopes aze extremely steep outside the survey azeas, <br />typically in excess of 60% grade. Canyon and gulch floors aze also rugged and steep with deeply <br />incised drainages. <br />MtnCoalWestElkl'anelsl8to24Cult(210-50)rpt - 1 - ~ - 10/30/2001 <br />