Attach_9_Supplemental_Info-ScorpionPier_Archaeological_Testing__Report__Final_8-10-17.pdf

ARCHAEOLOGICAL TESTING REPORT

SCORPION PIER REPLACEMENT

CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK

CALIFORNIA

NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

Prepared by Barbara E. Bundy, Ph.D.

Anchor QEA, LLC

August 2017 iii

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

Project Description 1 Regulatory Context 3

Area of Potential Effects 3 Tribal Consultation 4

ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL SETTING 5

Environmental Setting 5 Cultural Setting 6

Recorded Historic Properties 10

METHODS 13

RESULTS 15

Pier Retaining Wall 15 Pier Approach Road 19

PROJECT EFFECTS 24

REFERENCES 25

ARTIFACT AND FAUNA INVENTORY 3

Tables Table 1. Pier Retaining Wall Area Stratigraphy Table 2. Pier Approach Road Stratigraphy

Figures Figure 1 Scorpion Pier Replacement Project Figure 2 Structure Pushed Off Its Foundation by Floodwaters, 1997 Figure 3 Scorpion Ranch and Pier circa 1930 Figure 4 Scorpion Pier in 1942 Figure 5 Site CA-SCrI-423 Figure 6 Wave Erosion at Site CA-SCrI-423 Figure 7 Archaeological Test Unit Locations Figure 8 Pier Retaining Wall Area Test Results Figure 9 Artifacts and Fauna, Unit 1A, Level 3 Figure 10 Sheep Scapula, Unit 1A, Level 5 Figure 11 Pier Approach Road Area Test Results, Trench 2 Figure 12 Pier Approach Road Area Test Results, Trench 3 Figure 13 Artifacts and Fauna from Unit 3A, Level 3

INTRODUCTION

The National Park Service (NPS or Park Service) is planning to relocate the existing Scorpion Pier at Santa Cruz Island and make improvements to the connecting access road (the proposed Project; Figure 1). The purpose of the Project is to create a safe, high-quality, and environmentally responsible welcome and support area that connects visitors to the history of Scorpion Ranch, the most visited destination in Channel Islands National Park. The existing Scorpion Pier, a flatbed railcar installed in 2000 originally intended for only temporary use, is deteriorating and in poor structural condition. Public ferry service to Scorpion Pier is provided several times per day for most of the year by a park concessioner, and the Park Service uses the pier several times per week to transport staff and cargo. The existing pier structure requires visitors to climb ladders above pitching and shifting seas, and is located in water that is too shallow for NPS or concessioner vessels to safely approach or dock when tides are low or when wave heights are greater than 1 or 2 feet. The planned improvement project is to replace the existing pier so that it provides safer and easier access for the public and NPS staff, provides adequate water depth for concessioner and NPS vessels, and meets basic administrative functional requirements. A final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) were released in 2017.

Because the proposed Project is led by the Park Service and would take place within Channel Islands National Park, the Park Service must comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), its implementing regulations at 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 800, and applicable NPS policies and guidelines. This report assists the Park Service in complying with Section 106 and other applicable cultural resources regulations, policies, and guidelines.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The proposed Project would construct a longer, wider pier approximately 300 feet south of the existing pier, which would be significantly closer to the Scorpion Canyon North Road than the existing pier. Once the new pier is completed, the existing pier and abutments would be removed and disposed of on the mainland. The new pier would accommodate various water depths for safe embarkation, as well as a mobile crane. To access the pier from concessioner boats, visitors would use the gangway and landing aligned parallel to the pier.

The overall length of roadway approach is 170 feet. The outer portion of this roadway approach (approximately 55 feet) that connects to the new pier terminus would be supported by pre-cast concrete, earthen-filled boxes, and sheet pile retaining wall and armor rock protecting the roadway from extreme waves and flood waters. The road would be paved with an even layer of crushed rock. A small stairway would be constructed to provide beach access.

Once construction is complete, site access and arrival options would be similar to existing conditions. Although the number of visitors to Santa Cruz Island has risen steadily in the past, visitor levels are ultimately controlled by the park’s 2016 General Management Plan, which sets day and overnight visitation levels. The park’s concessioner contract provides operational control for these use levels. While the pier would provide improved access and efficiency of operations, the replacement pier would not inherently increase visitation.

CA-SCrI-507

CA-SCrI-423

0 100 Feet May 2017Source: NPS 2003, 2014

FIGURE 1

SCORPION PIER REPLACEMENT PROJECT

Channel Islands National Park National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior

Proposed Pile-Supported Pier Section

Proposed Rockwork

Proposed Concrete-Box-Supported Pier Section

Proposed Pile

Proposed Sheet Pile Wall

Project Location

REGULATORY CONTEXT

Under Section 106 of the NHPA, the Park Service is required to consider the effects of the proposed Project on historic properties. An historic property is “any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places” (NRHP; 36 CFR 800.16[l][1]). Traditional cultural properties and cultural landscapes may also be historic properties. As part of the Section 106 process, the Park Service must consult with interested and affected Indian tribes and the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) on potential impacts to cultural and historic resources.

To be eligible for inclusion in the NRHP, a historic property must have significance and retain integrity. Three historic properties have been identified in the project’s Area of Potential Effects (APE): Sites CA-SCrI-423 and CA-SCrI-507 (both individually NRHP-eligible, and also both contributing to the NRHP-eligible Santa Cruz Island Archaeological District); and the Caire- Gherini Ranch, part of the NRHP-eligible Santa Cruz Island Historic District.

The Park Service has determined that the Project would have no adverse effect on CA-SCrI-507, the Caire-Gherini Ranch, and the Santa Cruz Island Historic District. However, effects could not be determined for CA-SCrI-423 prior to issuance of the ROD. To determine effects, testing would be needed within site boundaries to assess whether NRHP-eligible components of the site (in other words, intact deposits) would be affected by construction of the pier and access road improvements. The Park Service, in consultation with Native American tribes, had agreed not to test within site boundaries until a testing plan could be developed and tribal monitoring arranged.

A Section 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA) was signed in January 2017 by the Park Service, the SHPO, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians (Tribe), and the Venurano/Barbareno Band of Chumash Mission Indians (Band). The PA required the development and execution of an Archaeological Testing Plan (ATP) for areas within the boundary of CA-SCrI-423, as well as a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Plan of Action (NAGPRA POA) to be used in the event human remains were encountered. The two documents were reviewed by consulting parties and finalized in October 2016.

This report partially fulfills the requirements of Section 106 and the PA by reporting the results of archaeological testing at CA-SCrI-423.

AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS

The APE for an undertaking is “the geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties” (36 CFR 800.16[d]). The APE for the proposed Project includes the following:

Areas of ground disturbance where archeological materials could be disturbed, including the following locations:

Pier support pilings and pier retaining wall Approach road improvements, including paving and construction of rock armoring Staging, stockpiling, and laydown areas Roads to be used during construction

Areas in view of the new pier, where historic structures and cultural landscapes may experience a change in setting

Portions of the coastline that may experience a change in rates of erosion that could indirectly affect historic properties

The entirety of historic properties that may be affected by the undertaking

The APE for the project is Santa Cruz Island. This determination is based on the fact that two of the historic properties (the Santa Cruz Island Ranching Historic District and the Santa Cruz Island Archeological District) both encompass the entire island. The Project area, where the archeological survey took place, is where Project activities such as construction and staging would occur.

Determination of effects has been concluded for project activities in the APE, except construction of the pier retaining wall and pilings and approach road improvements within the boundary of CA-SCrI-423. The testing described in this report completes the inventory of historic properties within the APE, as required by the PA and ATP.

TRIBAL CONSULTATION

Section 106 requires the Park Service to consult with interested and affected Indian tribes.

Consultation has been on-going, and milestones include the following:

The Tribe was included in scoping activities for the EIS in 2013.

Channel Islands National Park staff (Superintendent Russell Galipeau and archeologist Kelly Minas) discussed the proposed Project with the Tribal Elders Council in June 2013, and noted that there would be future consultation with the Tribe regarding archeological testing and possible mitigation (NPS 2014c).

In November 2014, Kelly Minas toured the Project area with the Tribe’s Cultural Resources Coordinator.

The Tribe and the Band were provided the report of archaeological survey that was prepared in 2015, as well as the Final EIS.

The Park Service consulted with the Tribe and the Band in developing the PA in 2016, and both the Tribe and the Band signed the PA in January 2017.

The Band provided a tribal monitor during the current archaeological testing at CA-SCrI-423.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL SETTING

ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

A review of the environmental setting in the past and present provides information on what resources may have been available to communities in the Project area in the past, indicates where and how historic properties may be preserved, and contributes information that can be used in evaluating significance of historic properties.

The Channel Islands rose from the ocean about 5 million years ago, a result of movements of the Pacific and North American plates. Geological and tectonic forces created the distinctive transverse (east to west) island chain, as well as the ridge and valley topography of Santa Cruz Island. During the last glacial maximum, sea level was about 400 feet lower than it is today, and the northern Channel Islands were one island. As ice sheets to the north melted, the continental plate tended to rise as the weight of the ice decreased, while sea level also rose. Sometime between 19,000 and 10,000 years ago, relative sea level rose enough to separate the four islands. Sea level stabilized around 6,000 years ago. This complicated history means that some ancient shorelines are now submerged, while others are found above modern sea level. Changes to the general topography of the Project area after that time would have been primarily related to erosion and deposition (such as colluvial activity on steep slopes, and wave action along the coast; NPS 2010, 2014a; Kiver and Harris 1999).

Due to the complex geological history, soils in the northern Channel Islands “range widely in texture, natural drainage, and other characteristics” (NRCS 2007). On Santa Cruz Island, soils have formed in aeolian, colluvial, alluvial, and uplifted marine materials, and display significant spatial variability. In alluvial environments, such as the Scorpion Creek valley, “multiple buried soils are common” (Butterworth et al. 1993). Alluvial soils in valley bottoms have probably been aggrading since the late Pleistocene era (NPS 2010). Santa Cruz Island is a source of Monterey chert, found in archeological sites across southern California. Chert nodules and natural shatter are found throughout the Scorpion Valley, including a massive boulder of chert near the Project area.

In addition to geological and glacial changes, there has been significant environmental variation during the human occupation of the northern Channel Islands. This has been documented through studies of the sea surface temperature (based on information from marine shell from middens, as well as fossil foraminifera from in-water sediment cores), vegetation communities (based on pollen records), and vertebrate communities (based on skeletal remains in both natural and archeological context). These studies reveal that resource availability would have had relatively dramatic fluctuations throughout prehistory (NPS 2010). Rapid change also occurred with European contact, which introduced species and diseases to the islands, as well as direct modifications to landforms.

The environment in the proposed Project vicinity consists of grassland, coastal scrub, and beach and dune environments. Observable historic landform modifications include road construction and areas where the ground surface has been cut and filled to create level uplands around the ranch complex. Scorpion Anchorage is a dynamic environment, with storm swells constantly reshaping the beach, and periodic floods scouring the valley and pushing through the beach berms. In 1997, a major flood moved structures off their foundations at the Scorpion Ranch complex (Figure 2).

FIGURE 2 STRUCTURE PUSHED OFF ITS FOUNDATION BY FLOODWATERS, 1997

CULTURAL SETTING

A review of the cultural setting generates expectations for site locations and contents, provides a basis for analyzing site significance, emphasizes connections between past and present Chumash communities, and explains disturbances to sites and landforms in the area, both recently and in the past.

The setting is described extensively in the Channel Islands National Park Archeological Overview and Assessment (NPS 2010). Its findings are briefly summarized in this report, particularly as relates to the proposed Project area.

The human history of the Channel Islands stretches back 12,000 years. It has been divided and described in various ways throughout the last near-century of archeological research. The recent Channel Islands National Park Archeological Overview and Assessment (NPS 2010) proposed using four chronological periods to describe its history.

The earliest of these four periods is the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene, dating to approximately 13,000 to 7,000 years ago. Although many sites have undoubtedly been lost to natural and cultural processes, the Channel Islands still contain “more evidence of occupation [...] during this period than in most other areas of comparable size elsewhere in California or North

America as a whole” (NPS 2010). The opportunity to study cultural change from the earliest occupation of North America is one of the reasons that Channel Islands archeological sites are particularly significant. Sites dating to the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene period are characterized by chipped stone artifact assemblages and small or diffuse middens. Some sites later in the period contain Olivella (Olivella biplicata) shell beads, cordage, and bone fishhooks. Unlike many other early Holocene sites and cultures in North America, there is evidence of “a permanent and relatively sedentary occupation” in the Channel Islands, as well as a distinctive maritime orientation (NPS 2010).

The Earlier Middle Holocene period follows, dating to approximately 7,000 to 5,000 years ago.

The earlier part of the period is characterized by evidence of small, mobile populations, perhaps due to adverse environmental conditions. Later, red abalone middens are present, along with increasing evidence of villages. Shellfishing appears to be increasingly supplemented by fishing and sea mammal hunting. The first asphaltum (tar), associated with waterproofing basketry, appears during this period, as do digging stick weights and mortars and pestles. Towards the end of the period, red abalone decreases in importance, and settlement appears to decrease.

The Middle to Late Holocene Period dates to approximately 5,000 to 1,000 years ago. Like the preceding period, it includes a number of shifts in technology, settlement, and sociopolitical organization. In general, though, “changes in technology, subsistence, and settlement from the Middle to Late Holocene reflect an increasingly maritime orientation related to intensified fishing and regional exchange” (NPS 2010). The use of a number of subsistence foods appears or intensifies, including carbohydrate sources such as acorns and various roots and tubers, as well as vertebrate species that require more processing or require specialized technologies to acquire.

New technologies include net sinkers and weights, new varieties of fishhooks, and plank canoes.

The fourth period is the Late Holocene, which is the time period after about 1,000 years ago. Like the preceding periods, there were shifts in culture and lifeways during the period, likely corresponding to environmental changes. However, there are some distinctive archeological correlates that are characteristic of the period. These include the proliferation of the trade in shell beads (and associated microblade tradition) and other ornaments, an increasing focus on off-shore fishing and evidence of feasting. Developments on the Channel Islands during this period influenced the larger regional culture, underscoring the significance of Late Holocene sites. Also, sites from this time period often correlate with historically and ethnographically described Chumash villages. Santa Cruz Island, called Limuw by the Chumash, contained at least ten and possibly 12 historic Chumash villages. One of those villages, Swaxɨl, was probably located at Scorpion Anchorage (Glassow 2013; Kennett et al. 2000).

The traditional territory of Chumash people “encompassed 7,000 square miles that spanned from the beaches of Malibu to Paso Robles. The tribe also inhabited inland to the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley” (Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians 2009). The first recorded European contact with the Island Chumash came in 1542, by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. Early contact was sporadic in the Channel Islands, with missions only gaining a foothold in the early nineteenth century. However, introduced diseases likely had devastating effects on the Island Chumash population during the early contact period (Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians 2009;

Erlandson and Bartoy 1995).

Mission San Buenaventura was established across the Santa Barbara channel at present-day Ventura in 1782. Gradually, Island Chumash people began to travel to the mission. Most moved to the mainland between 1814 and 1816 due to “economic and social instabilities related to depopulation, active recruitment by missionaries, collapse of cross-channel exchange, and perturbations in marine and terrestrial environments” (Kennett et al. 2000). By 1822, there were no longer Island Chumash communities in the Channel Islands. However, Chumash communities have re-established their connection to the islands, including paddling traditional tomols (plank canoes) to the islands from the mainland.

The Channel Islands became part of Mexico after the war of independence from Spain ended in 1821. Over the next decades, the islands were granted by the Mexican government to various favored people. Andres Castillero was granted Santa Cruz Island in 1838, and the first permanent structures were ranch buildings built in the central valley of the island in 1852. Castillero retained title after the Mexican-American war and passed it to a business associate in 1858. Shortly thereafter, sheep were introduced to the ranch operation. The island was sold to a group of investors in 1869, who incorporated as the Santa Cruz Island Company. One investor, Justinian Caire, took full ownership of the company by 1886. Caire implemented a plan to operate a multi-faceted commercial operation run from a series of settlements on the island, based at the main ranch in the island’s central valley. Scorpion Ranch was an outpost dedicated to sheep-shearing and bread-baking (Chiles 2011; NPS 2010).

Caire’s descendants became embroiled in legal conflicts in the early 1900s after Caire’s widow dispersed some of her stock in the company to her adult children. After decades of litigation, Santa Cruz Island was partitioned among Caire’s heirs. By 1932, the eastern end of the island, including Scorpion Ranch, was owned by Maria and Ambrose Gherini, Caire’s granddaughter and grandson-in-law (the remainder of the island was sold by the other Caire descendants to an unrelated businessman named Edwin Stanton in 1937; eventually his portion of the island was sold to The Nature Conservancy). The Gherini family continued to own and operate the eastern extent of the island, including Scorpion Ranch. Sheep ranching continued through the 1980s.

After ranching became uneconomical, it was replaced by a guided bow-and-arrow hunt for feral sheep. In 1980, Santa Cruz Island was designated part of Channel Islands National Park. The Park Service gained control of the Gherini property through congressional authorization in 1996, though the Gherini family retains some rights to use of the Scorpion Ranch structures. In 1999, the last feral sheep were removed and feral pigs killed, ending nearly 150 years of grazing impacts on the island (NPS 2014b, 2010; Chiles 2011).

A number of piers were constructed at Scorpion Anchorage throughout its history. Early iterations appear to have been primarily constructed mid-beach, at or near the location where the pier would be constructed for the proposed Project (Figure 3). Beginning in the 1940s, a number of successive pier structures were built on the west side of the anchorage, at the location of the existing pier (Figure 4). The current pier structure was built by the Park Service in the 1990s.

FIGURE 3 SCORPION RANCH AND PIER CIRCA 1930

FIGURE 4 SCORPION PIER IN 1942

RECORDED HISTORIC PROPERTIES

Three historic properties are recorded in the Project APE: CA-SCrI-423; CA-SCrI-507; and the Caire-Gherini Ranch. The Park Service has determined that the Project will have no adverse effect on the latter two, and they are not discussed further. Effects to CA-SCrI-423, and by extension the Santa Cruz Island Historic district, were not determined, and are described below.

Santa Cruz Island Archeological District

The Santa Cruz Island Archeological District includes 805 recorded archeological sites, and researchers estimate that there are more than 2,000 more sites that are as yet unrecorded (Glassow 2013). The district includes the entirety of Santa Cruz Island (see Figure 2).

The district is significant because “the sites span a period between 10,000 years ago (possibly earlier) to 1822, when the last of the aboriginal inhabitants came to the mainland” (Glassow 2013:5). This unusually complete Holocene archeological record offers unique opportunities to study regional prehistory, technological change, and the interaction between cultural and ecological systems. Therefore, the district is listed under NRHP criterion D for the potential to yield data that are important to the study of prehistory and history.

Recorded sites in the district include five that are associated with ethnographically recorded village sites and contain deposits described as very substantial (Glassow 2013:17). A sixth ethnographic village is thought to be in the Scorpion Ranch area, and is associated with sites CA-SCrI-423 and CA-SCrI-507, discussed further in the following paragraphs. In addition to data potential, sites associated with historic villages are eligible under NRHP criterion A for their association with historic events.

In addition, the archeological sites that comprise the district have historical, religious, and cultural significance to contemporary Chumash people. Some sites are eligible under criterion B for their association with prominent individuals in local Chumash history.

Due to the minimal development of Santa Cruz Island, most of the sites retain “an unusually high degree of stratigraphic integrity” (Glassow 2013:8). The integrity of the sites that comprise the district is particularly important when compared to mainland southern California, where development has significantly impacted the archeological record.

Because the National Park Service began purchasing portions of eastern Santa Cruz Island in the 1990s, management of the archeological sites in the district has been ongoing.

Site CA-SCrI-423

Site CA-SCrI-423 is an extensive precontact site on the north side of Scorpion Creek (Figure 5).

The site includes at least two loci of intact shell midden, probable house pits, extensive lithic debitage, and several caves/rock shelters. Human remains have been encountered at both midden loci. It may be the location of the historic Chumash village of Swaxɨl. The oldest radiocarbon date for the site is about 2,245 years ago, and historic artifacts indicate that occupation continued into the historic era (Kennett et al. 2000).

Chert Boulder

CA-SCrI-507

CA-SCrI-423

0 100 Feet May 2017Source: NPS 2003

FIGURE 5

Site CA-SCrI-423

Channel Islands National Park National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior

Midden at Surface

Depression

Historic Feature

Archaeological Site

S c o r p i o n C r e e k

The site “probably had substantial deposits, but ranching activities and intense flooding events down Scorpion Canyon, at the mouth of which the village is located, have resulted in removal of most of its habitation deposits” (Glassow 2013). The site is currently being disturbed by wave action erosion at its eastern extent, and has been recently impacted by road maintenance activities (Figure 6).

A number of archeological investigations have taken place at the site. It was first described in 1982 as a shell midden near the Scorpion Ranch House; this area was later described as Locus A of the site (Kennett et al. 2000). The 1982 work included excavations at Locus A (Wilcoxon and Johnson 1982). In the late 1990s, NPS archeologist Don Morris conducted a number of investigations at Locus A and documented Locus B of the site, nearer to the shoreline (Morris 2000). In 1997 and 1998, Kennett visited the site, and excavated a 25-centimeter-square test unit. Glass beads and Olivella shell disc beads were observed on the surface, and Olivella shell beads and microblades were located in the test unit (Kennett et al. 2000). In 2014, an NPS field crew conducted a pedestrian survey and testing outside the site boundary for the Project. That work resulted in a recommendation to revise the site boundaries.

The site is individually significant, because it contains intact cultural deposits that have the potential to yield important information on prehistory and history. It is also significant as part of the Santa Cruz Island Archaeological District because it is part of the island’s unusually long and complete archeological record.

FIGURE 6 WAVE EROSION AT SITE CA-SCRI-423

METHODS

Archeological field work was conducted February 2 through 6, by Barbara Bundy (archaeologist, Anchor QEA), Andrew Reagan (archaeologist, Park Service), Jennifer Perry (archaeologist, California State University Channel Islands), Jeanne McLaughlin (osteologist, Anchor QEA), and Michael Vestuto (tribal monitor, Venurano/Barbareno Band of Chumash Mission Indians).

Weather was mostly overcast with occasional rain for the duration of the project.

Testing was designed to identify whether intact cultural stratigraphy was present where ground disturbance would occur within the boundary of CA-SCrI-423 (at the landward end of the pier, and an area where the access road would be improved).

The locations of proposed Project elements (from 2016 survey data) were loaded onto a handheld GPS unit, and the elements marked on the ground with chaining pins. Three trenches were excavated at marked locations (Figure 7). Two 2-meter by 0.5-meter trenches were excavated by hand at the access road location. Ground disturbance planned for this location includes the placement of armoring rock, which could cause disturbance up to 20 centimeters below the surface as heavy rock is placed on fairly soft sediments.

One 2.5-meter by 1-meter trench was excavated at the pier location; overburden (road fill to a depth demonstrated by previous testing) was removed mechanically and the remainder of the trench was hand-excavated. Ground disturbance planned for this location includes the installation of a sheet pile wall up to 1.2 meters below the ground surface and pilings to extend into bedrock.

Vertical control was achieved by a combination of natural and metric levels. Excavation followed natural stratigraphy, with levels deeper than 5 centimeters excavated by metric 5-centimeter levels. Each trench was divided into units, named by trench number and sequential letter (for example, Trench 2 contains units 2A and 2B). Provenience was recorded by unit. Had any intact cultural strata been encountered, artifacts and fauna would have been point provenienced.

All excavation was attended by the tribal monitor. Any bone encountered that could potentially be human was excavated by the osteologist. Field notes included a level sheet with a map and artifact inventory for every level, profiles, and crew member field journals. Digital photographs were recorded in a photo log. Locational data were collected using a handheld GPS unit (Trimble GeoExplorer XT; datum was WGS 84).

Artifacts from each test were returned to the test unit during back-filling. Artifacts and fauna were grouped together and placed in the unit with a chronological marker such as a coin or metal tag with the date; due to the potential for erosion at storm tides, plastic bags were avoided. Had any intact cultural strata been encountered, artifacts and faunal materials from those strata would have been collected and cataloged. Although materials to curate artifacts from intact cultural strata were available, they were not needed and no artifacts or faunal materials were collected.

0 20 Feet

Inset

0 100 Feet May 2017Source: NPS 2003

FIGURE 7

ARCHEOLOGICAL TEST UNIT LOCATIONS

Channel Islands National Park National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior

Approach Road Surface Improvements

Retaining Wall

Archaeological Test Trench

Rock Placement

S c o r p i o n C r e e k

Cutbank Profile Location

Approximate Location of 2017 Erosion Cutbank

RESULTS

No intact cultural strata that could contribute to the eligibility of CA-SCrI-423 were encountered.

The three trenches demonstrated that the area where the pier and approach road will be constructed have been impacted by high-energy flooding, and cultural materials are significantly out of context. No human remains or ceremonial items were encountered.

PIER RETAINING WALL

Trench 1 was excavated at the location of the planned pier retaining wall. Initially, the trench had been planned at the eastern end of the retaining wall, midway between the north and south extents. However, intense storms and high tides in January 2017 eroded much of the southern portion of the retaining wall location. An exposed erosion cutbank was profiled, and Trench 1 was moved to the north, along the northern extent of the proposed retaining wall.

The trench was 2.5 meters roughly east-west (parallel with the proposed retaining structure north wall), and 1 meter north-south. It was excavated to 64 centimeters below the ground surface (cmbs) across its extent, using a backhoe. A sample of mechanically excavated sediments (12 buckets, approximately 15%), were screened through 1/16-inch mesh. In one 50-centimeter-square area (Unit 1A), the trench was excavated by hand to 114 cmbs. Hand-excavated sediments were fully screened through 1/16-inch mesh.

Trench 1 demonstrated multiple compact, silty levels with cobbles and a mix of historic, modern, and precontact materials (Table 1; Figure 8). These were separated by looser, more well-sorted deposits. One of these, Level 2, was devoid of cultural materials. Stratigraphy is interpreted to be the result of episodes of use as a roadway, separated by what appeared to be rapid accumulation of beach deposits.

On the morning of February 9, a high tide of 5.8 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) rose to the base of the cutbank. Using a line level, the crew measured the water level and found it to be approximately 96 cmbs at Trench 1. The highest tides in the area are approximately 6.4 feet MLLW (approximately 77 cmbs in Trench 1). Tides greater than 5.5 feet are expected 50 days of the year, and above 6.0 feet MLLW, 22 days of the year. Therefore, under calm conditions, anything below approximately 77 cmbs would be inundated at least annually, and below 105 cmbs would be inundated approximately 14% of days. Trench 1 was excavated to 114 cmbs, an elevation which would be frequently inundated.

Artifacts are generally described in Table 1, and listed in Appendix A. In Trench 1, historic, modern, and precontact materials occur comingled throughout the depth of the test excavation (Figure 9). Microblade cores co-occur with plastic fragments in Level 3 and Level 4. A domesticated sheep (Ovis aries) left scapula was documented in situ at the top of Level 5 at 95 cmbs (Figure 10).

Given the extensive erosion and deposition observed when storms occur at high tides, it is likely that anything below 77 cmbs is redeposited. This is consistent with the observation of a thick beach deposit in Level 2 (see Figure 8). Therefore, sediments at the retaining wall location lack sufficient integrity to yield data important to the study of site CA-SCrI-423 or the Santa Cruz Island Archaeological District.

Testing did not reveal anything that suggests artifacts of ceremonial significance are present in the footprint of the retaining wall. However, some possibility remains that such items may have been redeposited in the area. The significance of these artifacts may not be diminished by the redeposition. Fragmentary human remains may also be present.

TABLE 1. PIER RETAINING WALL AREA STRATIGRAPHY

Trench 1 Erosion Cutbank Description

Artifacts and Fauna2 Interpretation

Level 11 0-20 cmbs

Level 1 0-16 cmbs

Medium brown compact sandy loam with subangular rock, some cobbles, and poorly sorted gravels

Core fragments, flakes and debitage (primarily chert with some volcanic), terrestrial mammal bone, shell, plastic, and a nail.

Road fill

Level 21 20-65 cmbs

Level 2 16-70 cmbs

Greyish brown loose sand with occasional cobbles

No artifacts or modern items observed

Active beach deposit, possibly deposited in a single event

Level 3 65-83 cmbs

Not visible

Brown to dark brown compact silty clay mottled with darker clayey sediment and coarse sand lenses

Core fragments (including a microblade core), waterworn scraper, flakes, debitage, shell, plastic.

Historic road surface

Level 4 83-95 cmbs

Not visible

Greyish brown medium to coarse sand with gravels and cobbles

Core fragments (including a microblade core), flakes, debitage, shell, plastic.

Historic road surface

Level 5 95-114 cmbs

Not visible

Brown to reddish brown fine to coarse sand with silty clay lenses. Very wet.

Flakes and debitage (one volcanic), shell, bone (left scapula -

Ovis aries)

Historic road surface

Notes:

1. Excavated mechanically.

2. Lithic artifacts are chert unless otherwise noted.

cmbs = centimeters below surface

Unit 1A Profile South Wall

Cutbank Profile Facing North

Selected Artifacts, Unit 1A 1/16-inch (2-millimeter) Mesh for Scale, Except Where Noted

0 10 cm

Medium brown sandy loam with subangular poorly sorted gravels and cobbles, compact

Greysish brown medium sand, well-sorted, subangular, loose

Medium brown sandy loam with subangular poorly sorted gravels and cobbles, very compact

Dark greyish brown medium to coarse silty sand with gravels and cobbles

Brown to reddish brown poorly sorted sand with silty clay lenses, very wet.

unexcavated unexcavated

Level 1 Level 1

Level 2 Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Waterworn Scraper and Nail, Level 1 Waterworn Microblade Core Fragment, Plastic, Level 3

0 1 cm

Waterworn Microblade Core Fragment, Plastic, Level 4

Utilized and Waterworn Flake, Sheep Scapula, Level 5

May 2017

FIGURE 8

PIER RETAINING WALL AREA TEST RESULTS

Channel Islands National Park National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior

Note blue-green plastic fragments in bottom left corner.

FIGURE 9 ARTIFACTS AND FAUNA, UNIT 1A, LEVEL 3

FIGURE 10 SHEEP SCAPULA, UNIT 1A, LEVEL 5

PIER APPROACH ROAD

Two trenches were excavated in the area where rock will be placed on the existing ground surface to improve the pier approach road. Sediments are soft in the area, which is adjacent to a wetland created by the impoundment of Scorpion Creek by the beach berm (see Figure 7).

Both Trench 2 and Trench 3 were 0.5 meter by 2 meters, excavated by hand by natural stratigraphy. Both were oriented roughly north-south, perpendicular to the approach road, to sample a cross-section of the area that could be impacted by rock placement. Trench 2 was excavated to a maximum depth of 33 cmbs, and Trench 3 to a maximum depth of 30 cmbs.

Sediments were fully screened through 1/16-inch mesh. At the base of Unit 2A, a small shovel probe was excavated to 48 cmbs, to test whether mixed alluvial sediments continued.

Trench 3 demonstrated horizontal stratification, alternating looser silty sands with more compact clay loams (Table 2, Figures 11 and 12). Trench 2 sediment was more homogeneous, with a silty sand grading to sandier towards the base of the trench at 33 cmbs. This sediment continued to the base of the shovel probe at 48 cmbs. In both trenches, stratigraphy is interpreted to represent alluvial deposition during flood stages of Scorpion Creek. Trench 3 is farther from the active beach, and likely to have been stable for longer, possibly explaining the clearer stratigraphy.

Artifact assemblages are consistent with this interpretation (see Table 2, Figure 13, and Appendix A). All strata showed some evidence of chronological mixing, namely the presence of modern items such as plastic with precontact tools, and the presence of waterworn items in the same context as those with sharp breaks. For example, in Unit 3A, Level 3, artifacts and fauna included

Lower intertidal and subtidal shellfish species (red abalone [Haliotis rufescens] and wavy top turban snail [Megastraea undosa]) typically associated with Middle Holocene deposits

Olivella biplicata beadmaking detritus, and microblade cores with trapezoidal or triangular unprepared blade removal, typically associated with the Late Holocene

Glass bottle and styrofoam fragments

This is likely evidence of redeposition of older materials at CA-SCri-423, which have been found near the historic adobe ranch building, mixing with items from the Late Holocene and proto-historic portion of the site which is nearer the beach, and modern and historic items. Therefore, sediments at the pier approach location lack sufficient integrity to yield data important to the study of site CA-SCrI-423 or the Santa Cruz Island Archaeological District.

In both the pier retaining wall and pier approach areas, the lack of historic artifacts is notable.

Almost any item that could be historic could also be modern (e.g., metal fragments, glass fragments, a glazed stoneware sherd, sheep or pig bones). Nothing diagnostic to the historic period was identified. It is possible that historic items have been “cleaned up” over the years, such that redeposited artifacts are coming more from subsurface precontact deposits along Scorpion Creek. If so, this would support the argument that the sediments in the project area are fairly recently deposited.

TABLE 2. PIER APPROACH ROAD STRATIGRAPHY

Trench Level Description Artifacts and

Fauna1 Interpretation

Level 1

0-33 cmbs2

Dark brown silty fine sand (well-sorted, sub-rounded)

Core fragments, flakes, debitage (one volcanic), shell, plastic, styrofoam

Alluvial deposition

Level 1

0-9 cmbs

Dark brown silty fine sand (well-sorted, sub-rounded)

Core, flakes, debitage, shell, terrestrial mammal bone (non-human), plastic, styrofoam

Alluvial deposition

Level 2

9-21 cmbs Dark brown compact clay loam

Microblade core fragments, core fragments, flakes (one volcanic), debitage, shell, styrofoam

Alluvial deposition

Level 3

21-30 cmbs

Dark brown silty fine sand (well-sorted, sub-rounded)

Microblade core fragments, core fragments, flakes, debitage, shell, styrofoam

Alluvial deposition

Notes:

1. Lithic artifacts are chert unless otherwise noted.

2. Level 1 continued to 48 cmbs in the shovel probe in Unit 2A.

cmbs = centimeters below surface

Units 2A and 2B Profile East Wall

0 10 cm

Dark brown silty fine sand, well-sorted, subrounded, loose -grading to a greater proportion of coarser sandunexcavated

N

S

2B 2A

Depth of Shovel Probe in Center of Unit 2A

Selected Artifacts 1/16-inch (2-millimeter) Mesh for Scale, Except

Where Noted

Unit 2A East Wall ProfileShovel Probe in Unit 2A

Trench 2, Mid-Level 1 Flakes, 4 chert and 1 basalt (bottom row, middle) - 2A, Level 1

Plastic and Styrofoam - 2B, Level 1

May 2017

FIGURE 11

PIER RETAINING WALL AREA TEST RESULTS, TRENCH 2

Channel Islands National Park

Selected Artifacts, Units 3A and 3B 1/16-inch (2-millimeter) Mesh for Scale, Except Where Noted

Units 3A and 3B Profile West Wall

0 10 cm

Dark brown silty fine sand, well-sorted, subrounded, loose

Dark brown clay loam, compact, wet

Dark brown silty fine sand, well-sorted, subrounded, loose

N

S

3A 3B unexcavated

3B

Pr o fi le d W al l

3A

Trench 3, Base of Excavation

Metal Fragment - 3A, Level 2

Macrodrill - 3A, Level 3

0 1 cm

Non-Human Terrestrial Mammal Bone - 3B, Level 2

Shell, Including Intertidal and Subtidal Species - 3A, Level 3

Glazed Stoneware- 3B, Level 3

Microblades - 3B, Level 3

0 1 cm

May 2017

FIGURE 12

PIER APPROACH ROAD AREA TEST RESULTS, TRENCH 3

Channel Islands National Park

Note that the plastic spoon at the bottom right is an excavation tool, not an artifact.

FIGURE 13 ARTIFACTS AND FAUNA FROM UNIT 3A, LEVEL 3

PROJECT EFFECTS

The Project’s potential effects at the pier retaining wall and pier approach area were the subject of this investigation; other effects to historic properties have been mitigated in the PA.

No intact sediments that could contribute to the NRHP-eligibility of CA-SCrI-423 were identified in test excavations. At the pier retaining wall, disturbed sediments mixed with modern debris are present to well below the upper tidal limit. It would be nearly impossible for there to be any intact cultural sediments between the ground surface and bedrock in that area. At the pier approach road, disturbed sediments mixed with modern debris are present to at least 30 cmbs, below the likely depth of impact of placing rock on the surface.

Therefore, construction of the retaining wall and approach road are will not adversely affect CA-SCrI-423. Testing has indicated that archaeological monitoring is not necessary. It may be beneficial to have an osteologist on site during construction, given the presence of fragmentary terrestrial mammal bone. This would ensure that construction is not unnecessarily halted for non-human bone, and also that any human remains are treated with respect and in compliance with the NAGPRA.

Tribal concerns are distinct from NRHP-eligibility issues. The Tribe and Band may consider artifacts or fauna to have ceremonial importance regardless of their stratigraphic context. Also, the possibility of discovering redeposited human remains may require a Tribal member to be present.

Therefore, ground-disturbing construction at the pier retaining wall should be monitored by a Tribal monitor, and possibly an osteologist at Park Service discretion.

REFERENCES

Arnold, Jeanne E.

1990 “An archaeological perspective on the historic settlement pattern on Santa Cruz Island.”

Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. 12(1):112-127.

Butterworth, Joel B., Julia Allen Jones, and Scott Jones 1993 Third California Islands Symposium: Recent Advances in Research on the California

Islands, ed. F.G. Hochberg, pp. 39-44. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Santa Barbara, California.

Chiles, Frederick Caire 2011 “Justinian Caire and Santa Cruz Island: The Rise and Fall of a California Dynasty.”

Historian. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. Glassow, Michael A.

Volume 75, Issue 4.

Erlandson, Jon M., and Kevin Bartoy 1995 Cabrillo, the Chumash, and Old World Diseases. Journal of California and Great Basin

Anthropology 17(2):153-173.

Glassow, Michael 2013 Santa Cruz Island Archaeological District, Boundary Increase and Updated

Documentation. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service, Washington, DC.

HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey) 2013 Santa Cruz Island Historic Ranching District. HABS No. CA-2888. National Park Service, Washington, DC.

Kennett, Douglas J., John R. Johnson, Torben C. Rick, Don P. Morris, and Juliet Christy 2000 Historic Chumash Settlement on Eastern Santa Cruz Island, Southern California. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 22(2):212-222.

Kennett, Douglas J., and Robert Clifford 2004 Final Report: An Archaeological Survey on Eastern Santa Cruz Island, California, Conducted by Robert Clifford. Report on file at Channel Islands National Park. Ventura, CA.

Kiver, Eugene P., and David V. Harris 1999 Geology of U.S. Parklands. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.

Minas, Kelly R.

2015 Underwater Archaeological Investigation at Scorpion Anchorage, Channel Islands, National Park, Santa Cruz Island, California, in Support of the Scorpion Pier Replacement Project, CHIS CR Project # 2014E. Report on file at Channel Islands National Park. Ventura, CA.

Morris, Don 2000 Excavations around the Scorpion Adobe, east Santa Cruz Island (and associated field notes). Manuscript on file at Channel Islands National Park. Ventura, CA.

NPS (National Park Service) 2002 How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. National Register Bulletin

#15. National Park Service, Washington, DC.

2004a Santa Cruz Island Ranching District Cultural Landscapes Inventory. Report on file at

Channel Islands National Park. Ventura, CA.

2004b Santa Cruz Island Ranching District, Determination of Eligibility. Report on file at Channel Islands National Park. Ventura, CA.

2010 Channel Islands National Park Archaeological Overview and Assessment. Authors: Todd

Braje, G. Costello, Jon M. Erlandson, Michael A. Glassow, John R. Johnson, Don P.

Morris, Jennifer E. Perry, and Torben C. Rick. Available from:

http://www.nps.gov/chis/historyculture/upload/Archeological-overview-Dec-2010-abridged.pdf.

2014a Geologic Formations. Cited December 2014. Available from http://www.nps.gov/chis/naturescience/geologicformations.htm.

2014b Channel Islands National Park Timeline. Cited December 2014. Available from http://www.nps.gov/chis/historyculture/index.htm

2014c Memorandum for Record, Meeting with Tribal Elder’s Council, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. April 21, 2014. On file at Channel Islands National Park. Ventura, CA.

2015a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Scorpion Pier Replacement, Channel Islands National Park. On file at Channel Islands National Park. Ventura, CA.

NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) 2007 Soil Survey of Channel Islands National Park, California. Cited December 2014. Available from: http://soils.usda.gov/survey/printed_surveys/.

Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians 2009 Chumash History. Cited December 2014. Available from:

http://www.santaynezchumash.org/history.html.

Wilcoxon, Larry, and John R. Johnson 1982 Archaeological Site Record, CA-SCrI-423. On file at the Central Coast Information Center, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Wilson, Brent 2014 Personal communication with field crew during archeological survey work. December

2014.

APPENDIX A

ARTIFACT AND FAUNA INVENTORY

A-3

ARTIFACT AND FAUNA INVENTORY

TABLE A1. ARTIFACT AND FAUNA INVENTORY

Unit and Level Count Artifacts and Fauna1

Unit 1A Level 3

1 Core Fragment 1 Microblade Core Fragment 1 Partial Microblade 1 Waterworn Partial Sidescraper

19 Flakes 33 Debitage 3 Plastic Fragments 1 Olivella (Olivella biplicata) 4 Unidentified Shell Fragments

64 Total

Unit 1A Level 4

6 Core Fragments 1 Utilized Core Fragment 1 Microblade Core Fragment 8 Flakes

25 Debitage 5 California mussel (Mytilus californianus) 2 Abalone (Haliotis spp.)

3 Barnacle (Balanus spp) 5 Unidentified Shell Fragments

56 Total

Unit 1A Level 5

8 Flakes 12 Debitage 1 Left Scapula, Domesticated Sheep (Ovis aries)

22 Unidentified Shell Fragments 43 Total

Unit 2A Level 1

5 Core Fragments 22 Flakes 19 Debitage (1 basalt/andesite) 32 Styrofoam Fragments 7 Plastic Fragments 4 California mussel (Mytilus californianus)

13 Abalone (Haliotis spp.)

2 Barnacle (Balanus spp)

104 Total

A-4

Level Count Artifacts and Fauna1

Unit 2B Level 1

1 Flake 2 Debitage 9 Styrofoam Fragments 1 Plastic Cap 1 Hard Plastic Fragment 1 Abalone (Haliotis spp.)

15 Total

Unit 3A Level 1

1 Core 6 Flakes 1 Debitage 2 Styrofoam Fragments 1 Partial Blue Plastic “Pony” Bead 1 Abalone (Haliotis spp.)

1 Non-Human Mammal Bone Fragment

13 Total

Unit 3A Level 2

4 Core Fragments 2 Microblade Core Fragments 7 Flakes 9 Debitage 4 California mussel (Mytilus californianus) 1 Black Abalone (Haliotis cracherodii) 1 Barnacle (Balanus spp)

1 Olivella (Olivella biplicata) – Beadmaking Detritus

5 Unidentified Shell Fragments 34 Total

Unit 3A Level 3

1 Core Fragment 4 Microblade Cores 4 Microblades (Triangular) 1 Macrodrill

63 Flakes (1 basalt/andesite) 51 Debitage 1 Partial Metal Hinge 1 Window Glass Fragment

1 Waterworn Glass Bottle Rim Fragment, Screwtop

4 Styrofoam Fragments 1 Non-Human Mammal Bone Fragment

34 California mussel (Mytilus californianus) 14 Black Abalone (Haliotis cracherodii) 2 Red Abalone…