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• 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Description Consolidation Coal Company (Consol) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is planning a surface coal mine(s) on the Danforth 1 and 3 federal coal leases. The proposed site is located in the Danforth Hills, approxi- mately 32 km (20 mi.) north of Meeker and due south of the Axial Basin on the Moffat and Rio Blanco County line (Townships 2 and 3 North, Range 93 and 94 West) in northwestern Colorado (Figure 1.1). •Colorado State Highway 13 passes directly through the extreme eastern edge of the proposed coal mine. Coal will be mined using an advancing open pit truck and shovel mining method with reclaimed acreage being created behind the pit at approximately the same rate as the virgin acreage is mined ahead of the pit. Excess overburden from the initial cut, as well as material not needed for achieving the recontoured surfiace (approximate original contours), will be permanently placed as a valley fill within the West Fork of Good Spring Creek. A rail connection to the Axial (Colowyo) rail spur will provide for unit train transportation via the existing rail network. Consol has contracted with Woodward-Clyde Consultants (4JCC) of Engle~•iood, Colorado, to provide archaeological and cultural resources . data. Dr. Ruthann Knudson, Director of Cultural Resources Services for WCC, is the Project Task Leader. Nickens and Associates (NA) of Mont- rose, Colorado, has been engaged by WCC to perform the necessary archaeological and historical archival search, fieldwork and report preparation for this project. NA staff functioned in the following project capacities: Paul R. Nickens, Principal Investigator; Diana Christensen, Project Director and Crew Chief; and Carol Rolen, Crew Chief. Consol is required by the following federal and state legislative mandates to identify and evaluate cultural resources in the project area: ~ The Historic Preservation Act, 1966 as amended in 1976 and 1980 • Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974 (which amended the Reservoir Salvage Act) • American Indian Religious Freedom Act • Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 • Colorado Antiquities Act of 1973 • These are supplemented by national and state guidelines for the conduct of cultural resources investigations in compliance with the laws. These include the U.S. Department of Interior (USDI) Secretary's Guidelines and Standards for Archaeology, and those for Historical