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5' The Park Plateau is characterized by three major native plant associations: the Pine-Douglas Forest, the Juniper-Pinyon Woodland, and the Short-Grass Grassland (Kuchler 1964). Juniper- Pinyon Woodland dominates the project area. It occurs between 5,-000-7,500 felt elevation on flat, rolling, or steep topography (Lutz and Hunt 1979). The dominant species are, juniper, and pinyon pine. Common shrubs in this biome include sagebrush, rabbitbrush, bitterbrush, buckthorns, serviceberry, and scrub oak. An understory of grass (wheatgrass, grams, and Indian ricegrass) is primarily confined to the sagebrush parks (Wood and Bair 1980). A Pine-Douglas Forest can be found at elevations above 7,500 ft. The co-dominant species are Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. Riparian species border the Purgatoire River and some of the intermittent drainages. The broad alluvial flats of the Picketwire Valley are under cultivation. Faunal species for the Pinyon-Juniper and Pine-Douglas Forest include mule deer and such predators as the bobcat, coyote, and mountain lion. Minor mammalian occupants are the wood rat, IF pinyon mouse, deer mouse, cliff chipmunk, .jack rabbit, cottontail I~ rabbit, rock squirrel, and porcupine. Such carnivores as fox, ringtail, skunk, and badger may occur, but are less common. • Birds, particularly the smaller species such as the pinyon jay, titmouse, and bushtit, are abundant (Shelford 1963). EBISTING DATA AND LITERATIIRE REVIEA The project area falls within the Colorado Plains cultural area as defined by the Resource Planning Protection Process (RP3) developed by the Colorado Historical Society (CHS). Two RP3 reports document the prehistoric and historic resources for this region (Eighmy 1984; Mehls 1984). The prehistoric context will be discussed first, followed by the historic, and then a discussion of previous cultural work in the project area. PREHISTORIC CONTEXT Human groups have inhabited eastern Colorado for at least 12,000 years. Information on the prehistoric utilization of eastern Colorado before 10,000 years ago is scanty. This time period is generally referred to as the Pre-Projectile Point stage, and information about it comes primarily from three sites in northeastern Colorado: the Selby, Dutton, and Lamb Springs Sites. Excavated by Dennis Stanford of the Smithsonian Institution, these sites consist primarily of cultural materials associated • with such extinct megafauna as mammoth. The artifact assemblages are notable for their absence of lanceolate projectile points typify succeeding cultural periods. In contrast, these assemblages are dominated by putative bone tools.