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Introduction <br />5RT132 is a relatively large chipped and ground stone scatter covering an <br />area of about 25,000 m at an elevation of 2268 m {7440 ft) in low mountainous <br />terrain south of Hayden, Colorado (Figure 1). The site was originally recorded <br />by personnel from Western Cultural Resource Management (WCRM) during a 1979 <br />survey for Peabody Coal Company's Seneca II-W mine expansion. Testing for <br />National Register eligibility was recommended by WCRM. Mapping and non- <br />collecting surface analysis occurred during survey. <br />Testing of the site occurred on August 17 and 18, 1989. Metcalf <br />Archaeological Consultants, Inc. (MAC) was contracted by Peabody Coal Company <br />(Peabody) to test the site for basic National Register of Historic Places <br />eligibility and, if appropriate, to design a data recovery or mitigation plan. <br />This testing showed that surface artifacts are relatively abundant, but that <br />intact remains are limited to a very small area. The site is evaluated as not <br />eligible for the National Register of Historic Places {NRHP). <br />The site is on private surface with Bureau of Land Management-managed <br />minerals beneath. For cultural resources review, the BLM, Office of Surface <br />Mining (OSM) and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) are involved. <br />Because of land ownership, no federal antiquities permits apply. A work plan <br />was discussed with BLM Little Snake Resource Area archaeologist Brian Naze and <br />OSM archaeologist Foster Kirby prior to fieldwork,__ __ _ _ _ <br />Environment <br />The general environment of the study area surroundings has been described <br />in detail by LaPoint (1987) and only a summary is needed here. 5RT132 is <br />located in the northern foothills of the Williams Fork Mountains toward the <br />northern end of the Southern Rocky Mountains (Thornbury 1965)• The area is <br />drained by the Yampa River, a major tributary of the Green River. 5RT132 is <br />situated along both flanks of an unnamed tributary of Dry Creek, a stream which <br />joins the Yampa at the town of Hayden, Colorado. <br />Local geology is dominated by two formations, the Pierre shale and the <br />coal-bearing Iles Formation. The site lies on• the Pierre shale, and its thin <br />mantle of surface soil derives from this parent material. Thus the soil is <br />quite clayey, and is quite variable in the degree of soil development and in the <br />thickness of preserved Holocene soil. <br />The site lies within the Mountain Shrub vegetation zone with aspen grove, <br />serviceberry and scrub oak all present within the site boundaries. Understory <br />cover is quite variable and includes grasses, sagebrush and various forbs in <br />addition to large patches of barren ground. <br />The site surface could be characterized as highly disturbed. Disturbing <br />agents include deep channel incision and extensive hill slope erosion, historic <br />stock pond construction, game end stock trails and burrowing. No mining-related <br />impacts ere evident. <br />