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Abstract <br />At the request of J. E. Stover & Associates, Inc. of Grand Junction, Colorado, Grand <br />River Institute (GRI) was contracted by New Elk Coal Company, LLC (NECC) to complete a <br />Class III cultural resources inventory of block area of 180 acres for a proposed expansion of <br />a Refuse Disposal Area (RDA) in Las Animas County, Colorado. The project area is situated <br />within the Beaubien and Miranda (Maxwell) Land Grant. The Class III (pedestrian) field <br />work was performed on the 5" and 6" of September 2011 by GRI archaeologist Lucas <br />Piontkowski. Report preparation was conducted by Carl E. Conner (Principal Investigator), <br />Curtis Martin, Hannah Mills, and Barbara Davenport of Grand River Institute under State of <br />Colorado Archaeological Permit 2011 -71 and BLM Antiquities Permit No. C- 52775. <br />The purposes of this study were to identify cultural resources within previously <br />unsurveyed areas likely to be affected by the proposed project, to relocate previously recorded <br />sites (if any), to evaluate their eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). <br />and to make recommendations for the sites found to be eligible. For federally funded or <br />licensed projects, such studies are done to meet requirements of the National Environmental <br />Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321), Executive Order 11593 (36 F.R. 8921), the <br />Historical and Archaeological Data- Preservation Act (AHPA) of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 469), the <br />Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701), and the Archaeological <br />Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq., as amended). <br />Literature reviews for known cultural resources in the project area were made through <br />the Colorado Historical Society's Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. These <br />indicated that no resources were previously recorded within the project's boundaries. As a <br />result of the survey, one resource was identified and recorded: prehistoric open camp <br />(5LA12859). The site may contain depth of cultural fill and therefore is field evaluated as <br />need data. Site testing is recommended before a final determination of eligibility can be <br />made. <br />With regard to the presently proposed project, the cultural resource (5LA12859) is <br />located on the ridge to the west of the RDA #1 expansion area and the construction, as <br />proposed, will not affect the site. No further work is recommended. <br />