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' are outcrops of Twentymile sandstone, forming tilted hogbacks
<br />and ridges. The drainage valleys between the ridges have
<br />gently sloping floors. Elevations in the region range
<br />from 6,700 to 6,900 ft above mean sea level.
<br />Soils in the area are generally loamy, formed of residuum
<br />and colluvium derived principally from sandstone and shale.
<br />The predominant soil in the project area is Dunckley-Skyway,
<br />clay complex, followed by Routt loam, Skylick loam, and
<br />Binko silty clay loam.
<br />Native plant communities include gambel oak, serviceberry,
<br />mountain mahogany, chokecherry, rabbitbrush, elk sedge,
<br />sagebrush, western wheatgrass, prairie junegrass, and
<br />needleandthread grass. Some aspen, Ponderosa pine, and
<br />fir are present in the overstory. Fauna in the area include
<br />elk, mule deer, rabbit, marmot, beaver, hawk, eagle, owl
<br />and sage grouse.
<br />The project area is used primarily for cattle ranching.
<br />In Twentymile Park there is evidence of cultivation.
<br />Within the parcels surveyed, livestock grazing resulted
<br />in places where the native vegetation has been reduced,
<br />with some weed growth encouraged. On Grassy Creek is
<br />the Seneca II mine permit area, which is an operating
<br />coal strip mine. There are also several locations where
<br />ranchers have put in water wells.
<br />3.0 EXISTING DATA AND LITERATURE REVIEW
<br />The project area is on the border between two major cultural/
<br />geographic regions in the state: the Rocky Mountains
<br />and the Colorado Plateau. The prehistory of this region
<br />is covered by Guthrie et al. (1984) and Grady (1984),
<br />while the historic era is covered by Mehls (1984) and
<br />Husband (1984),
<br />A search of the records available at the Office of Archaeology
<br />and Historic Preservation, Colorado Historical Society,
<br />in Denver, was conducted on September 16, 1987. The files
<br />search revealed three previously recorded cultural resources
<br />in the vicinity of the project area. Site SRT1, a prehistoric
<br />rock shelter, was recorded in the SE1/4 of Section 28,
<br />T.6N., R.87W. Site 5RT4 is a prehistoric open lithic
<br />scatter, recorded in the NE1/4 of Section 28. These two
<br />sites, some of the earliest resources recorded in Routt
<br />County, were found during an investigation by the University
<br />of Colorado in 1971 (Hreternitz 1971). In the NW1/4 of
<br />Section 5, T.SN., R.86W., Goodson and Associates recorded
<br />site SRT405, an historic homestead, during a 1984 survey
<br />(Killam 1984).
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