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Introduction <br />At the request of Lillyland Inc. and Colorado Mine Land <br />Reclamation, a Class III cultural resouzce inventory of 300 <br />acres within the Phase I impact area of the proposed Hamilton <br />Mine was conducted by Carl E. Conner and Rebecca L. Hutchins <br />of Grand River Institute. The study area lies about 2.0 miles <br />southeast of the town of Naturita, in Montrose County, <br />Colorado. <br />This work was done to meet requirements of Article 80.1, <br />Colorado Revised Statutes. This law is concerned with the <br />identification, evaluation, and protection of fragile, non- <br />renewable evidences of human activity, occupation and endeavor <br />reflected in districts, sites, structures, artifacts, objects, <br />ruins, works of art, architecture, and natural features that <br />were of importance in human events. Such resources tend to be <br />localized and highly sensitive to disturbance. <br />Accordingly, the purposes of the intensive inventory were <br />to conduct a Class III archaeological survey of 300 acres <br />potentially subject to direct impact from road, strip mine and <br />topsoil storage areas; to identify and accurately locate <br />• archaeological sites and/or districts and isolated finds; to <br />evaluate these surface finds for inclusion on the National <br />Register of Historic Places (NRHP); to determine the potential <br />effect of the mining activities on all NRHP-eligible <br />resources; and to make recommendations for the mitigation of <br />the adverse effects on those cultural resources. <br />A files search made through the Preservation Office of <br />the Colorado State Historical Society on April 29th showed no <br />cultural resources were previously recorded within the study <br />area. Field work was performed during the first week of May <br />1991. r^ive prehistoric archaeological sites, two historic <br />EuroAmerican sites and three isolated finds were identified <br />and recorded. Two of the sites, 5MN3761 and SMN3760, were <br />evaluated as eligible and potentially eligible, respectively. <br />These sites will require mitigation because they will be <br />adversely affected by the proposed action. <br />Location of the Project Area <br />The study area is located in the west-central portion of <br />Colorado southeast of the town of Naturita. The Phase I <br />impact area is located in T. 45 N., R. 15 W., Section 4 and T. <br />46 N., R. 15 W., Section 33, N.M.P.M. (Figure 1). <br />u <br />