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Introduction <br />As authorized by the Little Snake Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management <br />(BLM), Grand River Institute (GRI) conducted a Class III cultural resource inventory for the <br />proposed Eagle Mine project in Moffat County, Colorado, for Jubilee Venture, LLC. A <br />prefield check -in and files search was conducted by Lucas Piontkowski on the 7 of July <br />2011, and field work was performed on the 7th and 8th of July 2011. A total of 40 acres of <br />BLM managed lands was subjected to intensive inventory. This 40 -acre block was restricted <br />to BLM lands and as so was not centered on the area of proposed disturbance, about 14 acres. <br />The survey block provides a buffer zone should avoidance of cultural resources be required. <br />The fieldwork was conducted by Lucas Piontkowski, and Courtney Groff. Carl Conner <br />(Principal Investigator) and Barbara Davenport composed the final report. <br />The inventory was conducted to meet requirements of the National Historic <br />Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) directs the BLM to ensure that BLM - initiated or <br />authorized actions do not inadvertently disturb or destroy significant cultural resource values. <br />The eligibility determination and consultation process is guided by Section 106 of the NHPA <br />(36 CFR 60, 63, and 800). BLM actions cannot be authorized until the Section 106 process is <br />completed (36 CFR 800.3). An inventory such as this is the first step in the Section 106 <br />process. <br />The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321), the <br />Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701), and the Archaeological <br />Resources Protection Act of 1979 (U.S.C. 470aa et seq., as amended) are concerned with the <br />identification, evaluation, and protection of fragile, non - renewable evidences of human <br />activity, occupation and endeavor reflected in districts, sites, structures, artifacts, objects, <br />ruins, works of art, architecture, and natural features that were of importance in human <br />events. Such resources tend to be localized and highly sensitive to disturbance. <br />Location of the Project Area <br />The project area is situated approximately 25 miles northwest of Craig, Colorado in <br />Moffat County. The area proposed for the mining activities lies within the SE 1/4 of the NE <br />1/4 of Section 2, T. 10 N., R. 92 W.; 6th P.M. (Figure 1). <br />Environment <br />The project area is located within the physiographic subsection of Sand Wash Basin <br />(Hunt 1974:398 -409). It is an extension of the Wyoming Basin Province that was formed in <br />late Cretaceous or early Tertiary times and comprises some 4000 square miles in the north <br />central portion of Colorado. As it subsided, the Basin accumulated nearly 9000 feet of <br />1 <br />