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INTRODUCTION A cultural resource inventory of a proposed gravel source pit totalling 10.5 acres, was carried out by Complete Archaeological Service Associates (CASA) at the request of Sutherland Bros., Inc. of Nucla. The field work vas carried out by Nancy S. Hammack on September 20, 1995. The project is on privately-owned lands, and the field work was done under the provisions of Colorado State Archaeological Permit No. 95-17, issued to CASH. Field notes are on file at CASH offices in Cortez, Colorado. No artifacts were collected during the project. PROJECT LOCATION The project area is located in southwestern Colorado (Figure 1) within the Colorado Plateau physiographic province. Background data on the physical environment and natural setting is presented in earlier reports for block inventories carried out for the DOE UMTRA projects in the Naturita (Hammack 1989) area. A complete description of the area inventoried, including details on cadastral location, area surveyed, environmental setting, cultural resources, and recommendations is presented following the body of the text. The map reference for this project is the Naturita, Colo. 7.5 minute USGS quadrangle dated 1964, photoinspected 1979. The Weimer Ranch Pit is located in Section 24, Township 46 North, Range 16 West (Figure 2) CULTURAL HISTORY AND PREVIOUS RESEARCH Background data on the cultural history of this portion of the Western Slope has been summarized in the above-cited documents prepared for previous inventories for these areas. The prehistory of the San Miguel and Dolores river valleys and surrounding areas has been summarized in the State Historical Society of Colorado's RP-3 report West Central Colorado Prehistoric Context (Reed 1984) and in the Bureau of Land Management's overview of the archaeological resources of the San Miguel Resource Area (Gleichman and others 1982). Historic resources are reviewed and summarized in the Colorado Plateau Historic Context (Husband 1984) RP-3 report and by O'Rourke (1980). Previous research in the project area is generally confined to linear seismic lines and block inventories carried out for the Naturita UMTRA Project (Hammack 1989, 1993). A record search carried out at the Colorado Historical Society, Denver indicated that no previously- recorded sites were located within one-half mile of the proposed Weimer Ranch Pit. PROJECT OH.IECTiVES AND METHODOLOGY This inventory was carried out to locate, record and evaluate any cultural resources that might be within the proposed gravel source location. Based on previous inventories in the area and the location of the survey area on a high gravel mesa above the river, fe~v sites, other than historic utilization of the area, were expected. Evaluation of prehistoric sites was based on Reed's (1984) regional research design, while historic themes presented by Husband (1984) were used to assess historic resources.