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• <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc. (MAC), has been hired by Greystone to conduct <br />cultural resource investigations for the proposed Lorencito Canyon Mine, a surface and subsurface <br />coal mine. The proposed mine will be located in Las Animas County, Colorado, about 15 miles <br />west of the city"'of Trinidad (Figure 1). This report summarizes cultural and historic resource <br />information currently available for the project azea, pursuant to permit application requirements <br />of the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology, Mined Land Reclamation Boazd (Sections <br />2.04.4 and 2.05.6(4)) who is the regulatory agency in this case. The report is divided into three <br />parts. Part I describes the results of a literature and files seazch for the project azea. Part II <br />summarizes the results ofjust-completed cultural resource inventory fieldwork for those parts of <br />the mine project scheduled for development within the next several yeazs. Part III describes plans <br />for continuing investigations, outlining the goals and anticipating major decision-making points <br />through to the completion of all archaeological investigations. It also provides a general time line <br />for completion of these tasks based on a sequence of development provided by the proponent. <br />The mine project will involve a combination of surface and subsurface coal extraction, <br />• to be phased over a number of yeazs. The investigations reported here focus on the first five <br />yeazs of development. The Lorencito Canyon Mine is proposed by the Lorencito Coal Company, <br />LLC. The Lorencito Coal Company proposes to extract coal by means of small scale surface <br />strip mining and subsurface room-and-pillaz mining. Coal will be taken via truck to a load out <br />facility where it will be shipped by rail to existing processing facilities elsewhere in the <br />Picketwire Valley. Proposed impacts that hold potential for affecting cultural resources include <br />operation of the surface mine, construction of haul roads, construction of portals and a box cut, <br />construction of a rail spur, and construction of the load out facility. Impacts to other azeas of the <br />property aze not anticipated at this time. Significant subsidence, which holds potential for <br />impacting sites such as rock art panels, rock shelters, and structural sites, is not anticipated since <br />subsurface mining will be by room-and-pillaz method. The property on which the mine will be <br />located is entirely private, as aze the minerals. Cultural resource investigations aze occurring <br />because the regulatory agency, the state Mined Land Reclamation Boazd, is 80% funded by the <br />US Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining. This federal involvement causes the <br />project to fall under the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act. Management of <br />cultural resources is conducted under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mined Land <br />Reclamation Boazd and the Colorado State Historic Preservation Office. <br />PART I EXISTING LITERATURE REVIEW <br />A review of existing azchaeological investigations at the project azea and the immediate <br />• vicinity was pursued along two avenues. First, a files seazch was requested of the Office of <br />