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19 in Utah (Emmitt 1954). With the Indians gone, settlements • sprung up at Delta and Grand Junction in 1882 (Wyman 1936). The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad was then extended from Denver to Gunnison to Montrose to Grand Junction, opening the region to future homesteaders. While farmers planted fruit in the Grand Valley, the Yampa River Valley was utilized primarily by .sheep and cattle ranchers. Cattle had been moved into Brown's Park as early as the 1870s (Burroughs 1962). During the 1880s ranching communities emerged at Hayden, Craig, Meeker, and Rifle. However, it was the construction of the so-called Moffat Road, a railroad from Denver which reached Craig in 1913, which boosted the settlement of the Yampa River Valley. For example, the Great Divide Colony attempted to farm near Craig in 1916. At this same time coal mines along the Yampa River were opened (Husband 1984; Vandenbusche and Smith 1981). The historical resources of northwestern Colorado are not as fully documented as the prehistoric sites. Not all historical themes appear to be represented in the archaeological record. Most historic remains in the region are tied to the post-1880 ranching era. Of the 15 historic sites recorded by Gordon et al. (1983) in western Rio Blanco County, seven appear related to livestock raising activities, while transportation related activities were • represented at six sites, all dated between 1880 and 1930. In the Seneca II mine area all three of the previously recorded historic sites appear to be associated with agri- culture, as two are a possible homesteads, and the last is a spring (wheeler 1980; Killam 1989). 4.3 RESEARCf{ PROBLEMS For the Paleo-Indian stage research problems include the documentation of sites dated to this period, and a recon- struction of the paleoenvironment to determine if natural factors influenced the occupation of the region during that time or have affected site preservation. Research on Archaic stage sites could examine if there is evidence of a cultural hiatus, continuity, or population increases during the Altithermal. The influence of Great Basin or Great Plains cultures on this region duri~tg Archaic times should also be examined. The extent of the Fremont occupation in the project vicinity during the Formative stage is another problem domain. The full understanding of Fremont lifeways in the region, including the reliance on agriculture as opposed to hunting and gathering activities, could also be pursued. For the Proto-Historic stage, research could address the transition from the Fremont to Numic cultures, and the definition of traits which distinguish this period (Grady 1984; Guthrie et al. 1984).