Attachment_1_-_SOW_1.pdf

Ute Creek Vegetation Project BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office

COR: Hilary Boyd, 970-876-9008

Project Inspector: Erin Leifeld, 970-876-9077

Proposed Project: The Ute Creek Vegetation Project will involve manual treatments and/or prescribed fire treatments in the pinion pine, juniper, mixed mountain shrub and sagebrush vegetation types designed to reduce conifer encroachment into mixed mountain shrub communities, diversify age class of brush species and reduce hazardous fuels on public lands managed by the Colorado River Valley Field Office (CRVFO). The project area is north of

Wolcott, Colorado in T. 4 S, R. 83 W, Sections 2, 3, 10, 11, 13 & 14.

The proposed action is to reduce pinyon and juniper encroachment into mixed mountain shrub communities and diversify structural age class to improve habitat conditions for big game and sagebrush obligate species as well as decrease the intensity of any wildfires that may occur. The primary objectives are to treat vegetation within the project boundary with manual (lop and scatter or cut/pile/burn, broadcast burning), and/or mechanical (fecon/hydro-axe, brush-beating, and/or mowing) means to reduce pinyon and juniper encroachment and create a mosaic in mixed mountain shrub communities by modifying 25% - 75% of brush species in the treatment area.

Total acreage to be surveyed is 638 acres north of Wolcott, CO and is located in T. 4 S, R.

83 W, Sections 2, 3, 10, 11, 13 &14.

The fieldwork will be completed to meet the reporting deadlines described below. All reports and supporting documents will meet guidelines established by the SHPO, the Department of the

Interior/ BLM, and the 2021 Procedures and Reporting Standards for Cultural Resource

Consultants Conducting Project Under a CRUP Permit for the Colorado Northwest District and

Grand Junction Field Office. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) is Hilary Boyd and the Project Inspector is Erin Leifeld, CRVFO Archaeologist.

Access the project area is from Wolcott, CO. Click on the following link for approximate directions to the Ute Creek Project Area: https://goo.gl/maps/p4WKSNQNx5KtETDD7.

Proposed Class III Inventory. The area to be inventoried is approximately 638 acres (see attached maps). Cultural resources that may be present include rock alignments, open lithic scatters, open camps, open architecture (wickiups), and isolates likely representing seasonal subsistence activities. The fieldwork will be completed to meet the reporting deadlines described below. The purpose is to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act, the National

Environmental Policy Act, and Federal Land Management Act. The contractor will conduct a

Class III cultural resources inventory following the BLM/Colorado Protocol, Colorado Office of

Archaeology, and Historic Preservation guidelines, and the 2021 Procedures and Reporting

Standards for Cultural Resource Consultants Conducting Project Under a CRUP Permit for the

Colorado Northwest District, Upper Colorado River District and Grand Junction Field Office.

Additional sites needing to be revisited will need to be confirmed with the CRVFO

Archaeologist, Erin Leifeld.

Contract Requirements:

• The selected archaeological consultant will have a current BLM Cultural Resource Use

Permit to perform cultural work in the CRVFO.

• All individuals responsible for supervising fieldwork; planning; report preparation and approval; evaluations; recommendations, etc. will be listed on the archaeological https://goo.gl/maps/p4WKSNQNx5KtETDD7 consultant’s Cultural Resource Use Permit (CRUP) number 8. This person will be responsible for all work done by his employees or subcontractors. Accuracy of all documents and related forms associated with this contract are the responsibility of the authors and the individual responsible for carrying out the terms and conditions of the

CRUP permit.

• The archaeological consultant will submit a fieldwork authorization request to the

CRVFO archaeologist/Project Inspector and will schedule a pre-field meeting and literature review with the CRVFO archaeologist (48 hour notice is required at minimum).

• A preliminary letter report of findings is to be submitted to the Project Inspector within

10 days after completion of fieldwork. Upon acceptance of the letter report an invoice may be submitted to the Contracting Officer for payment of one-half of the contract money. At a minimum this letter report must consist of the following items:

o Brief description of each site, which will include site type, temporal or cultural affiliation, and the NRHP eligibility recommendation. This information can be in table format.

o Draft or field sketch site plan map including standard archaeological site information (all relevant references to diagnostic artifacts, features, UTM datum, north arrow, and scale) for each site.

o Copy of a 7.5' topographic map showing the project survey boundary and site locations.

• A single copy of the Draft Report will be submitted to the CRVFO archaeologist

(Project Inspector) no later than November 15, 2021.

• Two copies of the Final Report and associated forms, photographs and/or documentation are to be submitted to the Project Inspector by December 30, 2021. Upon acceptance of the final report an invoice may be submitted to the contracting officer for the remainder of the contract money.

• All documentation will meet guidelines established by the State Historic Preservation

Office/Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the Department of the

Interior/BLM, and 2021 Procedures and Reporting Standards for Cultural Resource

Consultants Conducting Project Under a CRUP Permit for the Colorado Northwest

District, Upper Colorado River District and Grand Junction Field Office.

Literature Review:

• A literature review must be conducted prior to starting field work and will include the records at the BLM/CRVFO and the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation to identify all recorded cultural resources and previous cultural inventories, and the historic

GLO survey records/maps. The file search and will include all previous work within one mile of the project area and be discussed in the final report.

• GLO information, maps, and survey notes are available at the CRVFO, State BLM offices, and on the web at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov. A copy of the patent information must be included with the site form.

Field Inventory:

• A Class III, 100% pedestrian survey will be conducted to identify, record, and evaluate all cultural resources greater than 50 years old on lands with less than a 30 degree slope.

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/

• All fieldwork and documentation shall be performed to DOI, BLM, Colorado SHPO, CRVFO standards.

• The following environmental constraints will preclude intensive Class III coverage.

o Previous natural ground disturbance that has modified the surface so extensively that the likelihood of finding cultural resources is negligible.

o Human activity within the past 50 years that has created a new land surface such that all traces of cultural resources have been eradicated.

o Natural environmental characteristics that is unfavorable to the presence of historic properties.

o Slopes greater than 30 degrees, where no potential for rock shelter, rock art, or other cultural properties associated with rock faces or ledges exist.

o Areas with 100% vegetation coverage. These areas will be identified on the final inventory maps and total acres surveyed will reflect an adjustment from total project acres.

• A site is the locus of previous (50 year age minimum) human activity at which the preponderance of evidence suggests either one-time diagnostically interpretable use or repeated use over time, or multiple classes of activities. For example: a) Isolated thermal features such as hearths are to be designated as sites, even though they may represent a single event, due to the interpretable function of such utilization and the potential for chronometric and economic data recovery; b) Single element rock art panels are to be designated as sites due to the interpretable nature of such an event and the potential diagnostic value of the motif; c) Isolated human burials; or d) Loci exhibiting ground stone and flaked stone in association.

• An isolate refers to one or more culturally modified objects not found in the context of a site as defined above. Note that this definition makes no reference to an absolute quantitative standard for the site/isolate distinction. For example: a) A discrete concentration of flakes from the same material regardless of the number of artifacts present likely represents a single, random event and is properly designated as an isolate, or b) A ceramic pot bust regardless of the number of sherds that remain.

• All wickiups, platforms, brush fences, or other similar aboriginal wooden or brush structures will require an Aboriginal Wooden Structure Component Form for each structure in addition to the OAHP Prehistoric Component Form. These can be found at dargnet.org.

• Certain geographic areas of the CRVFO may warrant special consideration to address what could be considered a landscape of human activity. For example, some areas may exhibit a sparse but continuous presence of lithic debitage, others may have a number of isolated but related historic features (50 yr. +). Rote recordation of these will result in a meaningless plethora of IF forms. When such circumstances arise, it is required for the consultant to devise, in consultation with the CRVFO archaeologist, alternatives to standard recording procedures prior to the completion of fieldwork.

• Accurate legal and UTM locations will be required. It is preferred that the SE corner and east section line of the section be used as an anchor for obtaining legal locations. If another corner is used, it must be referenced on the site/IF form. Reliable GPS reading will be required for all site datum and isolated finds. It is also recommended that site boundaries, tools, diagnostic artifacts, and features have a GPS location. The type of

GPS unit and its accuracy will be included in the report narrative and on the site/IF forms. All UTM locations must be in NAD 83 and indicated on the report and forms or the report and forms will be rejected.

• Diagnostic artifacts should only be collected if the project could damage, destroy or put the artifact in danger of be collected. Diagnostic artifacts will be either photographed or illustrated as fine line drawings in the report and appropriate OAHP form. All photographs and illustrations will have an appropriate scale.

• Collection of the following is expected in the Field Office and permitted under the consultant’s Cultural Resource Use Permit: 1) Obsidian – contractors are expected to collect a representative sample of obsidian debitage or tools located during survey for sourcing. 2) All ceramics – Native American ceramics are unusual in our area.

Therefore, if ceramics are encountered, the field office archaeologist should be contacted to discuss collection options. 3) Complete diagnostic points – the Field Office is increasingly seeing less points due to unauthorized collection. Consultants are expected to collect complete points that can provide seriation and metric information to help researchers better understand the typologies in the area. 4) Diagnostic artifacts, trade items, and unusual items should be collected if the project could damage, destroy, or put the artifact in danger of being collected. These types of artifacts will either be photographed or illustrated as fine line drawings in the report and appropriate OAHP form. All photographs and illustrations will have an appropriate scale. Reports should have a section that details the items collected during the project so that the archaeologists know what is being curated at the Museum of Western Colorado annually. If artifacts are collected from your project, include a table and paragraph discussing the items collected and their associated numbers (Field Specimen numbers for multiple collections from a single site are required in the report).

• Collection is not permitted on private land unless otherwise authorized by the private landowner in a written agreement.

• A list of all collected artifacts will be included with the report as an appendix. All collected artifacts will be curated according to 36CFR79 and the Museum of

Western Colorado, Grand Junction guidelines. Artifacts will be deposited with the Museum, within one year of completion of the project.

• Photographs may be digital as long as they are of good quality. Site photographs will include two site overviews from different directions, when possible these overviews will include landmarks. All features and/or disturbance will be photographed using a metric scale.

• Photographs or line drawings will be made of all diagnostic artifacts. A metric scale will be included in the photograph or drawing. Illustrated artifacts will be referenced in the

Results section with a figure number and artifact number/letter. These illustrations/photographs will also be attached to the associated site/IF form.

• Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation Forms will be used for all sites/Isolated finds recorded and/or reevaluated.

• All site plan maps will be drawn to scale and will include at a minimum: datum, identified tools; features; topography; any recent disturbances or intrusions to the site, including but not limited to: previous mechanical disturbance or vegetation manipulation, trash dumping, artifact collector piles; unauthorized excavation, off road vehicle activity;

cattle trampling or trailing; or erosion. The map key will relate specifically to the site plan map.

• Intrusions that are currently or have the potential to impact need data or eligible sites will be photographed and discussed on the site forms and in the report narrative.

• Evaluative testing will only be used if the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) determination cannot be made based upon surface evidence. If necessary, this testing will be conducted during the fieldwork phase. Evaluative testing is limited to a maximum of 2 m2 per site. A brief description of methodology, testing rational, soil stratigraphy and any cultural remains will be included in the report narrative as well as on the site form. If after testing, the site eligibility still cannot be refined; a narrative of site recommendations will be presented discussing of the site’s research potential and specific recommendations to determine eligibility in the future. Prior to sampling any features identified as hearths or potential hearths, storage features, etc., the CRVFO archaeologist and Contracting Officer will be consulted. Hearth and or storage features will only be sampled with the approval of the CRVFO archaeologist. If given the go ahead each hearth or feature will be sampled for radiocarbon and subsistence analysis. Artifacts identified during evaluative testing should be analyzed in the field and returned to its location/hole hence it came. The only exceptions are complete or nearly complete diagnostic or sensitive artifacts in danger of illicit collection.

• Need Data sites where limited evaluate testing does not refine the site’s NRHP eligibility recommendations will include a detailed discussion of the site’s research potential and specific recommendations to determine eligibility. These recommendations will be made in concert with previous investigations especially, the Colorado Council of Professional

Archaeologists - Colorado Prehistory: A Context for the Northern Colorado River Basin

Prehistoric Context.

Final Report

• The final report/forms will contain the corrections/comments requested by the CRVFO made during the review of the draft report.

• Final payment is contingent upon the comments/corrections being made in the final report.

• The report and all required survey and site forms will meet the guidelines established by the Secretary of Interior’s Standards, the BLM Colorado Handbook, Colorado Office of

Archaeology and Historic Preservation guidelines, and the 2021 Procedures and

Reporting Standards for Cultural Resource Consultants Conducting Project Under a

CRUP Permit for the Colorado Northwest District and Grand Junction Field Office.

• Cultural resource legal, UTM, or specific narrative descriptions are not to be presented anywhere in the report narrative.

• Mitigation discussion of disturbances or intrusions that are currently or have the potential to impact Eligible sites will be included in the management recommendations of the report.

• The report cover page, appendixes with legal/UTM locations, and maps with site locations must contain the following statement in large font, bold type “For Official Use

Only: Disclosure of site locations prohibited (43 CFR 7.18).”

• Two bound copies of the final report and forms with photographs, maps, and associated documentation will be submitted to the CRVFO archaeologist by December 30, 2021.

• At the OAHP suggestion we are now requiring consultants to send a USB flash drive with the PDF files of the survey report and site/IF documents. These files will ultimately be utilized by SHPO to place the electronic documents on to the Compass database for easier retrieval by authorized cultural resource professionals.

o This flash drive may also include the GIS data and metadata, as outlined in the

2021 Procedures and Reporting Standards for Cultural Resource Consultants

Conducting Project Under a CRUP Permit for the Colorado Northwest District and Grand Junction Field Office.

• Site and Isolated Find forms MUST NOT be bound with the report narrative.

• Upon acceptance of the final report, the contract will be considered complete and an invoice may be submitted to the contracting officer to release the final half of the contract. The contractor must abide with the aforementioned scope of work and produce an acceptable document(s) before payment will be released.