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4 • <br />early 1800s and was later influenced by ranching, farming, and the expansion of coal mining <br />(Mehls 1982). Historic activities that would leave more than limited, transitory traces have <br />tended to center along the river valleys. <br />Known Resources <br />The principal objective of this investigation was to assess the potential for significant <br />cultural resources within the permit expansion azea The assessment draws on recent firsthand <br />survey experience in the study azea as an unsystematic, but comprehensive sample of the range <br />of physical and environmental settings. A plan to supplement this sample with intensive survey <br />of level areas of the West Flatiron was hampered by access difficulties. Samples within the study <br />area include eight drill pad azeas and one-half mile of access corridor in ridgetop and high bench <br />settings, six pad azeas and one mile of access corridor in canyon bottoms, and one pad and 1,000 <br />feet of access corridor in valley bottom and colluvial bench settings. <br />Previous surveys in the study azea have been for solid core drilling pads, associated <br />staging azeas, and access improvements. The drill pads and staging azeas averaged about one acre <br />each, and access corridors were 100 feet wide. Many of the proposed drill locations were on <br />narrow ridgetops or benches, and the survey included all level to gently sloping terrain azound <br />the proposed drill site. Survey was accomplished by zig-zag pedestrian transects not more than • <br />ten meters apart. Surface visibility was generally very good, but tangled high brush often made <br />systematic lineaz transects infeasible. Access to survey areas has been on foot or by ATV, <br />providing additional observations of adjacent azeas, and providing ample opportunity to locate <br />historic structural remains. Observed rock faces and cliffs in the azea do not have overhangs <br />suitable for shelters, and the sandstone is too soft and crumbly for the likely preservation of rock <br />art. Field notes and observations from other neazby surveys were also consulted. <br />Previous investigations in the proposed exploration azea have been negative, and <br />observations of the canyon bottoms, valley slopes and higher mountain slopes have indicated a <br />very low potential for in situ cultural materials. Similazly, narrow ridgetops exhibit little or no <br />stable deposition, and have a low potential for in situ cultural resources. Surveys in the high Hats <br />have also failed to locate evidence of cultural materials. However, these settings do encompass <br />fairly extensive azeas of stable deposition and some aze associated with ephemeral drainages and <br />wet meadows. <br />Anticipated Resources <br />Canyon bottom azeas along Box Canyon and the east branch of Sylvester Gulch aze <br />dominated by high energy gravels and active alluvium and exhibit little potential for intact <br />deposition. Similarly, canyon walls tend to be bedrock, steep colluvial fans, and mass wastage <br />or slump features. Vegetation tends to be thick on the canyon floors, but is dominated by • <br />colonizing species characteristic of disturbed or unstable sediments. Where older trees have <br />