PERMFILE65632 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Culnrra(Survei~ for Five Core Holes for tke West EIk Mine Orv Fork Exploration A+-ea Vegetation in the project area is predominantly aspen woodland with a high, moderately dense understory of woody brush, ferns, and forbs. Some of the locations also support scattered spruce or fir. The aspen stands are broken by small, brushy meadows, some of which occur in shallow soils with bedrock exposures or in poorly drained areas. The density of undergrowth is variable, but vegetation on vehicle and ATV trails is low and sparse, which provides for excellent visibility (85 to 100 percent). In contrast, the moderate to steep slopes away from the trails, where the understory is typically waist-high to chest-high, have very poor to fair surface visibility (0 to 40 percent). Representative photographs of each of the locations are included at the end of this report. There are no readily evident subsistence or lithic resources in the survey areas, and no perennial water sources. Historic use of the azea has been dominated by summer livestock grazing and recreational hunting. CULTURE HISTORY AND PREVIOUS WORK A files search was conducted through the Colomdo Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) on 20 July 2004. The files search showed that eight previous surveys have been reported in the legal sections containing the proposed core holes and access. The previous investigations included one block survey for stock grazing stations (Deceasar 1982), a lineaz survey for ponds and trails (Sanders 1989), a linear survey along Deep Creek for seismic exploration (Spath 1999a), and five surveys for core holes, similarto the cuttent survey (Spath 1995a, 1995b, 1996, 1999b; Graham 1997). Spath (1999b) surveyed previous locations for core holes CCC and DDD. The files search showed a single previously-recorded site, the Deep Creek Ditch (SGN2669.1). A segment of this ditch was recorded by Spath (1996). This historic ditch passes close to three of the survey blocks, but no additional documentation was completed for this survey. TABLE 1 PREVIOUS CULTURAL RESOURCE INVESTIGATIONS IN THE LEGAL SECTIONS CONTAINING THE PROJECT AREA OAHP ID Author(s) Year Company Survey Type GN.FS.NR20 Deceasaz 1982 GMUG NF Block; in stations GN.FS.NR97 Sanders 1989 GMUG NF Linear; onds and trails GN.FS.NR150 S ath 1995a Metcalf Small blocks and linear; core holes GN.FS.NRI51 S ath 1995b Metcalf Block and linear; core holes GN.FS.NR157 Graham 1997 Metcalf Small blocks and linear; core holes GN.FSNR162 S ath 1999a Greystone Linear; seismic GN.FS.NR163 S ath 1999b Greystone Small blocks and linear; core holes GN.FS.R42 Spath 1996 Metcalf Small blocks and linear; core holes The survey area is within the regions addressed by the Northern Colorado River Basin prehistoric context (Reed and Metcalf 1999) and the Colorado Mountains historic context (Husband 1984). Known historic and prehistoric resources are generally associated with the river valleys. Historic development in the area began after the Ute removal in the early 1880s but increased greatly with the amval of the raih-oad in the early 1900s. Historically, the most important economic activities have been apiculture, especially fruit orchards; ranching; and coal mining. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES Following state and federal policies and regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Public Law 89-665), as amended, this project area was inventoried to identify any cultural resources within the area ofpotential effects (APE) of the proposed project. Any cultural resources discovered 210-Dry Fork Core Holes Rpt_(8.11.04)