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• INTRODUCTION Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc. (MAC) of Eagle, Colorado was contracted by Peabody Western Coal Company (Peabody) of Flagstaff, Arizona to conduct cultural resource investigations for the proposed Yoast Mine in Routt County, Colorado (Figures 1 and 2). The specific objectives of these investigations were to 1) conduct a Class III inventory of a portion of a proposed haul road and 2) to locate and evaluate five previously recorded aboriginal sites in or near the mine permit area. The sites were revisited in order to provide recommendations as to the eligibility of the properties for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The project areas are on private surface lands for which the minerals are administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Little Snake Resource Area. As a result, the archaeological investigations are mandated by the National Historic Preservation Act and implementing regulations (36 CFR 800). These investigations were conducted under BLM Permit Number C39290, which expires on 22 September 1995. The survey was necessitated by a minor realignment of a portion of the haul road, which was initially surveyed by MAC in 1992 (Travis 1994). No cultural resources meeting the Colorado Historical Society, Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) or BLM guidelines were observed during the Class III inventory. No additional archaeological work is recommended for the haul road. • The five sites had initially been evaluated as Needing Data prior to completing NRHP assessments (Travis 1994). MAC recommended that the sites be avoided until assessments were completed and the BLM concurred with this recommendation (letter 8100 (170)). Three of these sites are within the proposed mine impact area and the BLM required that NRHP assessments be completed prior to any disturbances. Screened shovel probes were excavated at two of these sites during the current investigations. The BLM requested that locational information for the other two sites be confirmed since they were apparently adjacent to or partially within proposed impact areas (BLM letter 8100 (170)). Both were found to lie outside of any proposed impacts and NRHP assessments were completed for these two sites without subsurface examinations during the current investigations. All five of the previously recorded sites are now evaluated as not significant and it is recommended that they be considered not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. No additional archaeological work is recommended for these five sites. Management recommendations for treatment of these properties are in accordance with their evaluations and recommended NRHP status and take into account the proposed impacts. The project objectives were achieved via the Class III inventory and the shovel probes and surficial geomorphological examinations of the five sites. The investigations were conducted on 17 and 18 May 1994. Wm. Lane Shields served as field director and was assisted by crew members Linda McCargo and Tami Hebert. Brian Dunfee was Peabody's primary contact with MAC •