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• <br />Introduction <br />At the request of Bowie Resources, Ltd. (as represented by J.E. Stover and <br />Associates), and the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology and Office of Surface <br />Mining, a Class III cultural resource inventory of 70 acres within the Bowie #2 Mine <br />Loadout impact area and a 4200-foot-long section of proposed railroad track was conducted <br />by Carl E. Conner and Bazbara J. Davenport of Grand River Institute. The study area lies <br />south and southeast of the town of Bowie, in Delta County, Colorado. <br />The survey was done to meet requirements of National Historic Preservation Act (as <br />amended in 1992), [he National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, and Article 80.1 <br />of the Colorado Revised Statutes. These laws are concerned with the identification, <br />evaluation, and protection of fragile, non-renewable evidences of human activity, occupation <br />and endeavor reflected in districts, sites, structures, artifacts, objects, ruins, works of art, <br />architecture, and natural features that were of importance in human events. Such resources <br />tend to be localized and highly sensitive to disturbance. <br />Accordingly, [he purposes of the inventory were to conduct an intensive <br />archaeological survey of areas potentially subject to duect impact from the construction of a <br />• loadout area and railroad track; to identify and accurately locate archaeological sites and/or <br />districts and isolated finds; to evaluate these surface finds for inclusion on [he National <br />Register ofHistoric Places (NRHP); to determine the potential effect of the mining activities <br />on all NRHP-eligible resources; and [o make recommendations for the mitigation of any <br />adverse effects on those cultural resources. <br />Location of the Project Area <br />The project area is in Delta County, Colorado, south and southeast of the town of <br />Bowie. The Loadout block area, an irregular block, and the railroad spur survey corridor are <br />located in T. 13 S., R. 91 W., Sections 14, 15, and 22, 6th P.M. (Figure 1). <br />Effective Environment <br />The study area lies offthe southeast comer of Grand Mesa, an 11,000-foot high, flat- <br />topped mountain capped by basalt flows of late Miocene and early Pliocene age ca. 10 million <br />years old (Young and Young 1968). Cretaceous-age Mesaverde Formation sandstones and <br />coal-bearing rocks make up the majority of the geology of the study area and are part of the <br />Uintah Field, one of three major coal fields in the region. <br />. The survey area is located on the bench land on the northwest side of the North Fork <br />of the Gunnison, which has been completely disturbed by farming activities from as early as <br />