A04_SOW_CFF_Phase_III.doc

Class III Cultural Resource Inventory Clark Fork Face Forest Health Environmental Assessment Inventory Contract #3 I. Type of Task: Class III Cultural Resource Inventory II. General Background.

A. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is required to identify, evaluate, and protect prehistoric and historic cultural resources on public lands under its jurisdiction. These requirements are mandated by the National Historic Preservation Act and related regulations found at 36 CFR 800.

B. Class III intensive field inventory is a professionally conducted, continuous, intensive survey of an entire target area aimed at locating and recording all cultural properties that have surface and exposed-profile indications (see BLM Manual 8110.21C). In general, a Class III intensive survey is accomplished through systematic inspection carried out by walking a series of close-interval parallel transects until the area has been thoroughly examined. Artificial exposure of the subsurface (auger probing or shovel testing) is sometimes a necessary part of Class III surveys and should be included in identification efforts if ground/surface visibility is completely obscured by heavy vegetation cover.

III.

Specific Background.

A. The Bureau of Land Management’s Missoula Field Office (BLM) is proposing forest restoration and fuels reduction treatments on BLM managed lands within a contiguous area of the Garnet Range extending from the town of Missoula east to Chimney Mountain along the Clark Fork River corridor and extending north to near the Elk Creek Drainage. The purpose of the Proposed Action is to implement the BLM’s current policy and direction to reduce the risk of wildfire and manage forest habitats using an ecosystem management approach.

B. The Clark Fork Face (CFF) Environmental Assessment is analyzing 19,147 acres. BLM is requesting inventory of approximately 7,333 acres in this project. The BLM is proposing timber harvesting and other fuel reduction treatments. Proposed actions will include prescribed burning of forested parcels, and timber harvesting by both manual and mechanical treatments. Road work would be required for new and existing roads that provide access to the treatment areas. Improvement work would require the use of a grader or tractor to open closed roads, widen existing roads and remove debris.

C. The Bureau of Land Management, Missoula Field Office, requests that the Contractor conduct an intensive inventory of a portion of the CFF Project Area occurring on BLM managed land. This area extends, approximately, from Bearmouth north to Anderson Hill, and from Bear Gulch Road in the east to the Powell/Granite county line on the western side. BLM managed land in this area totals 7,333 acres and is located just south of Garnet Ghost Town. Major portions of the Garnet Historic Mining District (24GN0834/24PW064), and the Bear Creek Historic Placer Mining District (24GN0709/24PW0605) are contained within the survey area; however, the Garnet Ghost Town Historic District (24GN0540), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and a density of historic mining-related sites adjacent to it to the northwest are excluded. The Class III inventory will encompass a total of approximately 7,333 acres of public land, the majority of which is in Granite County, and a small percentage of acreage in Powell County, Montana (see CFF-Contract #3 map).

IV. Objectives.

A. General Bureau Objective: The overall Bureau objective is to meet the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, by identifying, documenting, and evaluating any prehistoric or historic properties that have the potential to be either directly or indirectly affected by the proposed Clark Fork Face Forest Health Project. These requirements will be met in accordance with, and under the terms of, the strategies outlined in the BLM 8100 Manuals.

B. Specific Study Objectives: To identify, document, and evaluate (to the extent possible from surface manifestations), cultural resources located within the identified survey areas. Site evaluations shall be conducted following existing guidance provided by Montana SHPO, the National Register Criteria (36 CFR 60.4), and the National Park Service National Register Bulletins.

V. Statement of Work.

A. Review of Existing Information: The Contractor shall conduct a site file and literature search at the State Historic Preservation Office in Helena, Montana, and shall contact Kelly Jo Jackson at the Missoula Field Office for additional resource information not available there. The purpose of this file search is to ensure that the Contractor is familiar with all previous work conducted in the general area of the project. This information is a necessary component of the inventory report.

B. Field Inventory: The Contractor shall perform an on-the-ground Class III inventory for all cultural resources located within the delineated survey area, (see Table 1 and attached maps). Survey methods will be in accordance with the BLM-Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota Handbook H-8110-1 – Guidelines for the Identifying Cultural Resources. Therefore, the Contractor shall:

1. Cover the area to be inventoried on foot by employing standard survey methodology. Transect intervals shall be 25 meters. Transect intervals may be widened if conditions warrant; e.g, rough, steep, landforms. If transects are widened the Contractor shall document the rationale employed which justifies deviation from the standard interval distance and illustrate walked survey transects on USGS 7.5’ topographic maps. In all cases, coverage shall be thorough.

2. GPS coordinates will be taken at the maximum east/west and north/south dimensions of the surveyed area.

3. At each recorded site location place a site datum; e.g., PVC pipe or rebar rod, which will form the basis of the accompanying site sketch map.

C. Limited Testing: At the discretion of the Field Director, limited shovel testing may be performed in areas with obscured surface visibility (as necessary) to determine the presence or absence of buried cultural deposits, to delineate the extent of cultural deposits, or to aid in determining site boundary limits.

D. Site Documentation: The Contractor shall employ BLM criteria for minimum site definition; i.e., an archaeological or historical site consists of any feature alone or in association with other features (cairns, stone rings) or five or more artifacts situated in a discrete location within 50 meters of each other and/or artifacts or features located more than 100 meters from each other but in obvious association. Sites may also include locations which contain no physical evidence but are important for their associations with the traditions of a group, ethnic community, or Indian tribe; e.g., National Register Bulletin 38. Isolated prospect pits and locations containing less that 5 artifacts, shall be recorded as Isolated finds. In addition, the contractor shall:

1. Collect rare or obscure, time diagnostic artifacts as warranted; e.g., projectile points and ceramics, including those found on sites and those occurring in isolation.

2. Locate each cultural property on a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5' quadrangle topographic map.

3. Record all cultural properties and re-record previously recorded cultural properties located within the area identified for inventory, on BLM site/isolated find forms. Site forms and instructions can be found in BLM-Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota Handbook H-8110-1 – Guidelines for the Identifying Cultural Resources.

4. Take at least two digital, 3 X 5" color digital photographs showing different views of each cultural property and photographs illustrating various views of the general survey area. Standing historic structures shall be photographed on all sides to illustrate architectural characteristics. Label all photos with a description, date, and orientation. A photographic record shall also be maintained.

5. Prepare sketch maps of all sites based on the location of the site datum and include topographic contour lines, cultural features, basic site contents, and locations of all collected artifacts. GPS may be used to create sketch maps. While it is not necessary to map all artifacts, indicate areas of artifact concentration. All prehistoric cultural properties or historic material scatters shall be mapped in meters. All historic period Euromerican standing structures and mining features; e.g, houses, barns, etc., shall be mapped in feet.

6. If historic period architectural structures or remains are located the Contractor is expected to conduct a land title examination as part of the site identification and evaluation effort.

7. The Contractor shall obtain Smithsonian site numbers from the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for all cultural properties not previously assigned such numbers. The BLM will review all site forms for adequacy prior to the submission to SHPO to obtain site numbers. Isolated find numbers will be assigned to the Contractor by BLM upon receipt of completed isolated find forms.

**Please note that the MT SHPO Consultation Guide was updated in January of 2023 and it along with appendices are available on their website.

E. Collections.

1. Collections shall be labeled and catalogued, using BLM catalog cards, and shall be processed in accordance with Billings Curation Center packaging standards (forms and packaging requirements shall be provided to the Contractor by BLM).

2. All collections belong to the United States Government and shall be delivered to the Billings Curation Center as part of submitting the final inventory report.

F. Methodologies.

1. The Contractor shall determine the methods and techniques necessary for completion of this study using the guidelines identified herein and conduct the work according to the procedures so specified.

G. Specifications and Standards.

1. Inventory guidelines and standards for BLM generated cultural resource investigations can be found in BLM-Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota Handbook H-8110-1 – Guidelines for the Identifying Cultural Resources.

This handbook is available upon request to the Montana State Office, Billings, Montana. Investigators shall use GPS as to delineate the boundaries of the survey areas.

H. Analysis and Report Preparation.

1. Upon completion of the Class III inventory field work, prepare a professional quality report, addressing the general categories outlined below:

a. Title Sheet. Signed by the Principal Investigator.

b. Abstract. Provide a 250-word or less abstract of the report. The abstract shall outline the report contents and refer to specific highlights from the narrative.

c. Table of Contents. Provide a complete inventory of report contents.

d. Introduction. Provide an overview of the project including its purpose. Identify the tracts inventoried for this project, by legal description in table form.

e. Literature Search. Provide a brief but complete discussion on the work that has been conducted in the project area.

f. Environmental and Cultural Setting. Provide a brief but complete overview of the environment in which the survey tracts are located. In addition, discuss the cultural setting, again briefly, including both the prehistoric and historic periods.

g. Inventory Methods and Results.

i. Provide a summary of survey methods employed including discussions of standard survey interval used and any deviations or modifications that were necessary.

ii. Provide a summary description of each cultural property found. Indicate results from preliminary evaluation and any problems connected with the property's recordation. Include photographs of cultural properties located during the inventory. Use graphics and tables as appropriate.

h. Summary and Recommendations. Discuss the results of the inventory in summary form. Include the following:

i. Identify the sites recorded, whether the sites were prehistoric or historic, and what type of site is represented.

ii. Evaluate each cultural property for its eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Contractor shall use an appropriate "Context" in which to evaluate cultural properties and shall employ specific National Register Criteria in those evaluations. Contractor shall clearly describe the rationale used to determine which sites are eligible, potentially eligible, and not eligible. Contractor shall recommend treatment needed to determine eligibility on sites determined potentially eligible.

i. References Cited. Include a list of all sources cited in report.

j. Maps and Graphics. Provide appropriate maps, charts, tabulations and graphics necessary to support the report narrative.

k. Preservation, Packing, Packaging, Submitted collections must adhere to the standards identified for the Billings Curation Center VI. Acceptance:

Final acceptance of all items/services to be delivered under this contract shall be the responsibility of the Contracting Officer. The government may withhold final payment pending completion of any necessary rework by the Contractor.

VII. Deliverables.

The Contractor shall submit concise site mitigation recommendations via email to Kelly Jo Jackson kjjackson@blm.gov as early as possible after the Class III Inventory.

A. The Contractor shall submit digital copies of typed site forms with digital photographs to the BLM for review prior to submission to the State Historic Preservation Office, or issuance of site numbers. After review and changes, if any, the Contractor will obtain site numbers. Once site numbers have been issued, the Contractor shall submit one set of hard copy site forms and one digital version (on a flash drive) to the COR.

*No CD’s will be accepted.

Address for Hardcopy Deliverables:

Attn: Kelly Jo Jackson, Project Inspector

Bureau of Land Management

3255 Fort Missoula Rd.

Missoula, Montana 59804 Address for Digital Deliverables:

kjjackson@blm.gov

B. One digital copy of the draft Class III cultural resource inventory report.

C. One bound hard copy of the final Class III cultural resource inventory report. The report shall be typed and printed on 8 1/2" x 11" paper and shall be single spaced. One set of final site forms with Smithsonian site numbers and with color photos.

D. One copy of photographic record.

E. One copy of all field notes.

F. One copy of the GIS data and metadata.

G. One copy of all catalog records and associated forms as specified by the Billings Curation Center packaging requirements.

VIII. Period of Performance A. Site file and literature search shall begin no later than 10 calendar days after the order has been issued and completed within 10 calendar days. A summary table of this information shall be turned in with the fieldwork authorization request.

B.

Field work shall begin after the site file and literature search has been done.

C.

Contractor shall prepare a letter summarizing the results of the inventory and submit it to the COR within 15 days of the completion of the field inventory. The letter shall contain a summary of the results of the inventory, sites recorded, and preliminary assessment of site eligibility.

D. One copy of the draft Class III inventory report and the completed and typed site forms shall be submitted no later than February 28, 2025.

E. The COR will review all deliverables and comment on their adequacy within 30 calendar days of submission. The Contractor will then have 30 calendar days to submit the required copies of the final report after receipt of comments from the Project Inspector.

F. All final deliverables (including collected artifacts and associated documentation) are due by May 30, 2025.

X.

Payment Schedule:

A. Payment shall be tied to completion and acceptance of tasks identified in Section VIII. Period of Performance per the following: A (10%), C (40%), D (30%), and E (20%).

Attachments:

Attachment 1-Size, and Legal Locations of Survey Area (CFF Phase III) Attachment 2-Preliminary File Search

Attachment 3-Clark Fork Face CRI Phase III (CFF) Overview Map Attachment 4-Clark Fork Face CRI Phase III Close up (Northern block)

Attachment 5-Clark Fork Face CRI Phase III Close up (Southeastern blocks)

Legal Locations of Survey Area:

Contract #3 - Clark Fork Face Health and Fuels Reduction Size of Survey

Area (Acres)

7,333 *Survey area is encompassed within the identified legal coordinates. Shape files of the project area are available upon request from contractor.

Legal Description

Preliminary File Search (5/16/23)-Contractor will do their own before field work