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brush including oakbrush, servicebeny, and chokecherry. Other plant communities occur in <br />the study area although in much smaller acreages and usually mixed with the brush; these <br />include: pinyon/juniper forest, fir and aspen forest, riparian woodland and grassland <br />meadows. The region supports numerous wildlife species including elk, deer, coyote, black <br />beaz, bobcat, ground squirrels, rabbits and various raptors. <br />Climatically, the yearly average temperature is 38 degrees F., and there is a maximum <br />of 100 frost-free days in a year. Annual precipitation is about 16 to 20 inches (USDA SCS <br />1976). Paleoenvironmental data for the azea aze scant, but it is agreed that gross climatic <br />conditions have remained fairly constant over the last 12,000 years. Still, changes ineffective <br />moisture and cooling/warming trends probably affected the prehistoric occupation of the area. <br />Prehistoric land use was primarily hunting and gathering, which had little or no adverse affect <br />on the local environment. Present day land use includes cattle grazing, hunting, and coal <br />mining development. <br />Literature Review <br />Files searches were made through the Paonia Ranger District Office (Sally Crum, <br />• Forest Archaeologist) and the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation ofthe <br />Colorado Historical Society. These indicated at least six surveys had been conducted in the <br />azea, which were mainly concerned with roads and drill holes related to the mine development, <br />but that no sites had been recorded during those inspections. Sally Crum provided <br />information for the historic Rueben Dove Shelter (or Dove Cave) that had been partially <br />recorded. <br />Three somewhat larger inventories were conducted within or neaz the study area. One <br />was a Class II (sampling) block survey for the Orchazd Valley Mine involving 1200 acres <br />(Baker 1984). A second was a Class III inventory for the Curecanti-Rifle Transmission Line <br />that followed the Terror Creek drainage (Graham and Greubel 1990). The third inventory <br />was conducted for the BLM portion of the Iron Point Coal Lease Tract (Conner and <br />Davenport 2000). <br />Regional azchaeological studies suggest nearly continuous human occupation ofwest- <br />central Colorado for the past 12,000 years. Evidence of the Paleoindian Tradition, the <br />Archaic Tradition, Formative Cultures, and Protohistoric/Historic Utes has been found. An <br />overview of the prehistory is provided in a new document published by the Colorado Council <br />of Professional Archaeologists' entitled Colorado Prehistory: A Context for the Northern <br />Colorado Plateau (Reed and Metcalf 1999). <br />Historic records suggest occupation or use of the region by EuroAmerican explorers, <br />• trappers, settlers, miners, and ranchers as well. Significantly, the Spanish expedition of <br />Dominquez and Escalante, which crossed through the study area along Hubbard Creek in <br />