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West Elk Mine • 2.04.4 Cultural and Historical Resource Information SieniTicant Cultural and Historic Resources There aze no known cultwal and historic resowces within the West Elk Mine permit azea listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. There aze no known significant archaeological sites existing on any azeas proposed or likely to be affected by coal mine development, extraction or subsidence over the life of the mine in this azea. The USFS has required on-the-ground cultwal and historic investigations for azeas of surface distwbance at the mine where potential or actual impact to cultwal or historic resowces could occw. The results of these investigations have identified or located very few cultwal and historic resowces (Spath 1995, Exhibit lOC). As part of the cultwal and historic investigations required by the U.S. Forest Service, file searches have been conducted through the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP). The file searches identified 17 cultural resource investigations that have included portions of the legal sections containing the permit area. The only documented cultwal resowces in the vicinity of the West Elk Mine permit azea and Box Canyon lease tract are the Hawk's Nest Coal Mine, the Oliver Mine, the Gallob Mine in Sylvester Gulch, and a prehistoric artifact scatter and two prehistoric isolated finds near Minnesota Creek in Sections 33 and 34, T13S, R90W. (Spath 1995, WCRM 1994, Exhibit lOC). Cultwa] and historic resowce investigators have concluded that pre-Ewopean use of the immediate mine azea was probably limited by steep topography, narrow drainage channels, thick vegetative cover, and unpredictable water sowces. These factors combined to limit pre- contact area usage to small, transient hunting groups. These factors would also explain the relative paucity ofpre-European sites and artifacts identified in the area. Historic use of the area has been largely limited to livestock grazing and recreation. Historical resources that have been identified in the general area include stock camps, irrigation ditches, and split-rail fences, None of these resources have been recommended as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Recommendations of cultural and historic resowce investigators are limited to pedestrian surveys of likely camp areas located within flat or gently sloping areas within azeas to be affected by West Elk Mine operations. A qualified archaeologist will survey these areas if surface disturbance is proposed by MCC. Field InvestiEations Archaeological reconnaissance of the West Elk Mine study azea (Figure 3) have been conducted to assess the extent and natwe of any cultwal resources contained within areas of potential impact C~ 2.04-7 Revised November 1004 PRlO