|
,~ .;
<br />Introduction
<br />At the request of Oxbow Mining LLC, the Uncompahgre Field Office of the Bureau
<br />of Land Management, and the USDA Forest Service, Grand River Institute (GRI) conducted
<br />a Class III (intensive) cultural resource inventory of the block clearance area for the Oxbow
<br />Mining LLC project in Delta and Gumuson Counties, Colorado. The project azea included
<br />approximately 12,600 acres from which about 3150 acres within 12 discrete study units
<br />(private,1200 acres; BLM, 950 acres; and USDA Forest Service,1000 acres) were intensively
<br />inventoried. These units were selected by GRI personnel to include virtually all significant
<br />areas with less than 16 percent slope. Field work was conducted by Curtis Martin (Project
<br />Archaeologist), Nicole Darnell, John Lindstrom, Jim Conner, and Dana Archuleta. The study
<br />area lies immediately north of the town of Somerset, in Delta County, Colorado. Report
<br />preparation was the responsibility of Darnell, Martin, Bazbara Davenport and Cazl E. Conner,
<br />Principal Investigator.
<br />-The survey was done to meet requirements of National Historic Preservation Act (as
<br />amended in 1992), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, and Article 80.1
<br />of the Colorado Revised Statutes. These laws are concerned with the identification,
<br />evaluation, and protection of fragile, non-renewable evidences of human activity, occupation,
<br />and endeavor reflected in districts, sites, structures, artifacts, objects, ruins, works of art,
<br />azchitecture, and natural features that were of importance in human events. Such resources
<br />tend to be localized and highly sensitive to disturbance.
<br />Location of the Project Area
<br />The single block clearance area lies north of the town of Somerset, in Delta and
<br />Gunnison Counties, Colorado. The project is located in T. 125., R 91 W., Sections 25, 26,
<br />35 and 36; T. 135., R 91 W., Sections 1, 2, 11, 12, 13 and 14; T.12S., R. 90W., Sections 29,
<br />30, 31, 32, 33 and 34; and T. 135., R. 90W., Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17 and 18; 6th
<br />P.M. (Figures 1-4).
<br />Environment
<br />The study area lies on the southeast flanks of Grand Mesa, an 11,000-foot high, flat-
<br />topped mountain capped by basalt flows of late Miocene and eazly Pliocene age ca. 10
<br />million years old (Young and Young 1968). Cretaceous-age Mesaverde Formation
<br />sandstones and coal-bearing rocks form the bedrock of the study area.
<br />The survey azea lies north of the town of Somerset and consists ofsouth-facing talus
<br />slopes, narrow north-south trending ridges, and terrace remnants. Boundaries of the project
<br />area are defined by Hubbard Creek to the west, Coal Gulch to the east, and the North Fork of
<br />
|