Laserfiche WebLink
<br />chokecherry, snowberry, and rose, with a heavy understory of grasses <br />and fortis. The specific study areas are generally treeless, but there <br />are scattered stands of aspen on surrounding hillsides. Ground cover - <br />was approximately 60-90X. <br />Faunal sign indicate use of the area by elk, mule deer, black bear, <br />coyote, and rabbit. The area is also grazed by cattle. <br />The climate is characterized by cold winters, with temperatures <br />below freezing for several months. At least half of the annual pre- <br />cipitation of 15-20 inches falls as snow. Optimum Browning season is <br />mid-May to mid-July. (U.S.D.A. SCS 1975: range description no. 239.) <br />Known Cultural Resources <br />files searches with the Forest Supervisor's office in Delta and <br />with the Colorado Preservation Office in Denver produced no known ar- <br />chaeological and/or historical/architectural resources within the impact <br />area of the proposed wells (see appendix for documentation of files <br />search). Two isolated finds, 5GN1102 and 5GN1103, are recorded in Sec- <br />tion 33, the latter a then interior flake found approximately 600' east <br />of well #1. Neither is considered eligible to the National Register of <br />Historic Places (NRHP). <br />Other surveys in the general area have been conducted by Conner (1982), <br />Hibbets et al (1979), Applegarth and Hurlbutt (1977), and Breternitz and <br />Breternitz (1975). These studies indicate occupation of the area as <br />early as 4000 years aqo, encompassing the Middle to Late Archaic, the <br />Formative, and the Protohistoric/Historic Ute periods. Euro-American <br />land use has centered on farming, ranching, and coal mining. <br />Research Rationale <br />Because little is known archaeologically about this area, the <br />search for cultural resources is imperative to the development of a <br /> <br />5 <br />