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13 <br />• <br />Interprets' ~ ohs oS Data <br />Recent Cultural I rciicators <br />The recent debris of the drill hole locations is most probably associated <br />with coal mining activities and hunting in the North For9c of the Gunnison canyon. <br />It is of no cultural significance, and though adverse impact is expected from <br />drilling operations, no further attention is warranted. Lik ewise, the Hawk's Nest <br />t~tine area and the recent debris of the mining waste disposal area cannot be considered <br />to require additional study. <br />Prehistoric Remains <br />Locality ~l is one oS the few indications of aboriginal presence in the <br />upper portions of the tlorth Fork Valley. Previously recorded sites and isolated <br />finds have been restricted to the wider portions of the valley to the southwest. <br />It is of interest to note that lithic items are confined to a disturbed area, <br />and may be eroding from formerly subsurface strata now exposed by the road cut. <br />This introduces the possibility that Sloodplain or near-floodplain sites in this <br />portion of the canyon may be obscured as a result of sediment aggradation. There- <br />fore, the paucity of cultural remains may reflect their subsurface positions rather <br />than their true frequencies, although this investigator has heard of no instances <br />of encountering such deposits during excavation in this portion of the canyon. <br />Locality ,~1 is located on U.S. Steel property beyond project area boundaries <br />and will not be impacted by proposed Western Slope Carbon activities. <br />An isolated Sind such as the chert flake designated IF #1, discovered in <br />the mining waste disposal area, can be interpretted only as an indication of limited <br />aboriginal presence in the immediate area. It is likely that additional isolated <br />artifacts occur throughout the region, and that more extensive remains would occur <br />along the nearby pezmanent water sources. However, the possibility of different <br />paleoenvironmental conditions, as well as the Sact that the area is apparently sub- <br />ject to aeolian deposition, indicate that subsurface deposits may exist. In light <br />of this possibility, disturbe3 areas such as two track roads, the road cut along the <br />southeast margin of the project area, and an excavated road block were examined Sor <br />cultural evidence. No additional materials were discovered. <br />Collection oS the isolated Sind has mitigated potentially adverse impact <br />to the item. However, iS subsurface materials exist in the area, impact to such <br />