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<br />Project Summary <br />At the request of Lillyland Inc. and Colorado Mine Land <br />Reclamation, a Class III cultural resource inventory of 480 <br />acres within the Phase II 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 2.5 miles <br />southeast of Naturita in Montrose County, Colorado. <br />The purposes of the intensive inventory were to conduct a <br />Class III archaeological survey of 480 acres potentially <br />subject to direct impact from road, strip mine and topsoil <br />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 />All of the prehistoric sites recorded in the project area <br />are lithic scatters that have been functionally described as <br />• open campsites/short-term camps. Seven prehistoric <br />archaeological sites were identified (5MN4302, 5MN4304 through <br />SMN4308, and SMN4317), and thirteen isolated finds (SMN4303, <br />SMN4309 through 5MN4316, and 5MN4318 through 5MN4321) were <br />located and recorded. Diagnostic artifacts representing a <br />temporal span of nearly 8000 years (from the Early Archaic to <br />the Proto-historic Ute) were recovered from the sites and <br />isolated finds of this study. <br />Sites SMN4304, SMN4305, 5MN4306 and 5MN4307 were field <br />evaluated as eligible for listing on the NRHP. The remaining <br />sites and isolated finds were evaluated as not eligible. All <br />sites will apparently be avoided by the proposed actions and a <br />determination of "no effect" is recommended pursuant to <br />Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR <br />800). Should the mine plan change and those sites recommended <br />as eligible be directly affected by the proposed actions, a <br />Treatment Plan should be formulated for their mitigation. <br />• <br />2 <br />