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16 • 100 sites, provides a unique opportunity to address reseazch questions that would not otherwise be applicable if the database was approached on a site-by-site basis. Since the timing of design work for the various mine facilities may not be conducive to impact-specific mitigation in some instances, the reseazch design will be structured to focus on sites that hold the greatest potential for contributing data to address questions and issues raised by the reseazch design, rather than being limited to impact-specific situations. Altemative Site Discovery Portions of the floor of Lorencito Canyon aze such that surface inventory is not an adequate meansof site discovery. Holocene sediments aze up to several meters deep in the valley floor, and represent several different depositional environments, including overbank terrace deposits, alluvial fan deposits, and colluvial deposits deriving from the valley sides. Soil profiles suggest one or several periods of surface stability. Cultural materials have been commonly found in azeas of the valley floor where cutbanks, eroded azeas, or others locations with surface disturbance expose surface and subsurface sediments. Surface visibility, however, is poor to non- existent where such exposures aze not present. For these reasons, it is suspected that cultural materials may be preserved in well-sealed deposits and under surfaces that lack visibility. Some form of alternative site discovery is appropriate. Several considerations aze key to a plan for alternative site discovery. Discovery will need to be done by means of test excavations, rather than through monitoring. The nature and timing • of this project precludes monitoring as a reasonable means of site discovery, simply because of the potential for significant and expensive disruption to the construction process. Site discovery by test excavations can be very expensive, so limitation of costs is critical. MAC will propose a plan whereby portions of the Lorencito Canyon floor will be sampled, based on the location of proposed impacts, the nature of deposits, and the availability of surface and subsurface exposures. Auger probing and possible backhoe trenches appeaz to be the most efficient means for revealing significant cultural deposits in the settings of concern. In order to provide a limit to costs, the proposal will include anot-to-exceed number of probes and/or lineaz feet of backhoe trenching, which will be adequate to conduct site discovery according to the identified sampling strategy, but sufficiently flexible to adjust for unanticipated situations. It will be of great benefit to have the haul road corridor, the proposed realignments of the existing road, the rail spur corridor, the load out facilities, and the Pl/P2 box cut facilities identified on the ground at the time this is conducted so that testing can be duected at azeas to be impacted. Native American Consultation Native American consultation has begun with letters sent to representatives of seven tribes. Barring written response, MAC will attempt to contact all representatives by phone over the course of December of 1996 to ascertain what concerns or interests, if any, they have in the azchaeological resources within this project azea. In consultation with the Colorado SHPO, all expressed concerns or interests will be accommodated to the extent possible under the most recent amendments of the National Historic Preservation Act. u