2008-11-28_REVISION - C1996083 (2)

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forest. Also, in the general area, Riparian woodland occurs along Hubbard Creek and Terror Creek, and grassland meadows are present in clusters on the ridge tops. The region supports numerous wildlife species including elk, deer, coyote, black bear, bobcat, ground squirrels, rabbits, and various raptors. Climatically, the yearly average temperature is 38 degrees F., and there is a maximum of 60 frost-free days in a year. Annual precipitation is about 16 to 20 inches (USDA SCS 1976). Paleoenvironmental data for the area are scant, but it is agreed that gross climatic conditions have remained fairly constant over the last 12,000 years. However, changes in effective moisture and cooling/warming trends undoubtedly affected the prehistoric occupation of the area. Prehistoric land use was primarily hunting and gathering, which had little or no adverse affect on the local environment. Present day land use includes cattle grazing, hunting, and coal mining development. Summary of Files Search Files searches were made through the Forest Service office and the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP). These searches indicated no sites or isolates were previously recorded within the project boundaries, although, ten such resources are found within about one mile of the study area (Table 1). Several cultural resource inventories • have been conducted within or near the boundaries of the present study area (Table 2). Local and regional archaeological studies suggest nearly continuous human occupation of west-central Colorado for the past 12,000 years. A radiocarbon record of occupation for the central mountain region is derived from the excavation of 25 sites in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The investigations resulted in 66 radiocarbon dates that indicate a nearly continuous occupation of the Gunnison Basin for the past 10,000 years. Three periods of possible higher frequency of occupation occurred between about 5500-4000 Bc, 3700-800 BC, and 650 BC - AD 150. The highest frequency of dates occur ca. 4000 BC (Jones 1984:19-21). In contrast, 35 tested and excavated sites within the lower elevations of the BLM Grand Junction Resource Area have produced 123 radiocarbon dates with clusters of higher frequency in occupation ca. 7200-5600 BC, 4300-3800 Bc, 3200-1000 Bc, and 900 BC- AD 1800 (ONeil 1993:293). The earlier dates are low in occurrence as compared with the mountain regions, and the long hiatus between 5600 Bc and 4300 BC may be directly linked to the affects of the Altithermal. Cultural resource investigations in the region have yielded surface diagnostic artifacts and excavated cultural materials consistent with the regional cultural history. Evidence of the Paleoindian Era, the Archaic Era, Formative Era, and Protohistoric Era has been found in the area. Historic records suggest occupation or use by EuroAmerican trappers, settlers, miners, and ranchers as well. Overviews of the prehistory of the region are provided in a document • published by the Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists' entitled Colorado