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11 <br />lJ <br />The foregoing criteria were applied in the field in the following <br />manner. The tract boundaries were plotted on USGS 7.5' topographic <br />~ maps. Each tract was then divided into 1/16th section divisions, using <br />the Public Land Survey section lines as a reference. The resulting 40 ac. <br />quadrants were then evaluated in terms of slope and aspect to determine <br />the possibility of sites occurring within a given area, subject to final <br />field checking by crews during actual surveying. The tracts were also <br />plotted on aerial orthophoto maps covering essentially the same area as <br />the topographic maps. This provides information regarding patterns of <br />vegetation, cultivatioh, and current information on the locations <br />of fencelines, roads, and other cultural features not apparent on the <br />topographic maps. <br />• <br />With the tentative survey evaluations in hand, the survey teams <br />field checked all areas for a final determination of whether or not a <br />quadrant was suitable for survey. This entailed examining the terrain <br />to double check the slope and aspect, arriving at an estimation of vege- <br />tation density, and locating any clearings of substantial size. Where <br />clearings were noted, they were subjected to intensive survey unless <br />located on excessively steep slopes. By using these procedures, those <br />areas presumed to be least productive were examined visually to deter- <br />mine whether they merited intensive survey. <br />Intensive survey was accomplished by traversing the survey area on <br />foot and visually inspecting the surface for manifestations of both <br />i <br />prehistoric and historic human activities. In addition, any exposures <br />of alluvial cross sections, such as road cuts or eroding stream banks, <br />were closely examined for evidence of buried cultural material. <br />