NEPE_-_Bear_Paw_CLI_Scope_of_Work.pdf

Scope of Work – Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI) at Bear Paw Battlefield, Montana

A. Background

Bear Paw Battlefield is located in north-central Montana, near the Canadian border, just south of

Chinook, Montana. The battlefield is the site of the last armed conflict between the U.S.

Government and the Nez Perce people at the end of the long flight of the Nez Perce from the government in 1877. The battlefield is the site of a 5-day armed conflict that resulted in Chief

Joseph’s surrender to federal troops on October 5, 1877.

The events of the Bear Paw Battle are of national significance and an important piece of western history within the United States as it relates to the conflicts between the federal government and indigenous cultures of the Americas. The battlefield is also one of cultural and spiritual significance to the Nez Perce peoples and other indigenous cultures of the western United States due to the number of ancestors buried at the site and the battle that occurred there.

The battlefield was surveyed for resources and locations of events in 1935, listed in the National

Register of Historic Places in 1970, and later designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988.

An additional reconnaissance survey was conducted in 2000. Of these administrative events, the initial battlefield survey of 1935 produced a significant body of work applicable to the proposed cultural landscape inventory. The 1935 survey identified the locations of rifle pits, lodges, where soldiers and Nez Perce warriors perished, graves, and more from the 1877 conflict. These locales were then marked with stakes and numbers. These locales have been noted on maps and many have been relocated since, most notably during the 2001 survey. The 2000 survey also produced a body of work that identified cultural resources unrelated to the Bear Paw battle dating throughout the pre-contact era into the early historic era.

Due to the significance of the battlefield events and documentation needs of the National Park

Service (NPS), multiple efforts have been undertaken in the past to document the history of the battlefield and the physical remnants from those events. At this time, additional documentation efforts are needed to best understand the remnants of history and cultural resources that remain at the site. To that end, a cultural landscape inventory (CLI) best meets the needs of the

NPS at this time. The CLI is considered baseline documentation necessary for the best management and conservation of the site.

B. Project Overview

The National Park Service via Nez Perce National Historical Park (NEPE) seek to complete a cultural landscape inventory (CLI) for Bear Paw Battlefield near Chinook, Montana. The CLI is baseline documentation necessary for understanding and best managing the cultural resources at the site. NEPE seeks to work with a contractor that complete and deliver a CLI on behalf of the NPS. The CLI would be completed for the National Register of Historic Places listed battlefield and provide additional information and context of the landscape, the historic event, and the cultural and natural resources that remain from those events.

The NRHP eligible landscape is approximately 360 acres. The battlefield consists of rolling, hilly grassland typical of the Northern Great Plains of the United States. The battlefield is bisected by

Snake Creek that runs north-south through the battlefield. Adjacent to the creek are wetlands with dense, tall vegetation. There are no trees found within the battlefield. Ground visibility is minimal when vegetation is green and growing. Ground visibility is 0% during the snow-covered winter months. Spring, summer, and autumn are all short seasons, and winter is long. Good ground visibility is not common throughout the year, but springtime after the snowmelt provides the best ground visibility opportunity.

The contractor would work closely with NPS cultural resources staff, adjacent property owners, the Blain County Museum, Montano SHPO, and 3 tribes federally affiliated with NEPE to accomplish this project.

C. Tasks

1. The contractor shall perform the following tasks:

a. Within 14 days of contract award, meet with the Nez Perce National Historical Park’s archaeologist and contracting officer’s representative on-site at Bear Paw Battlefield to review the scope of work, discuss the survey area, and discuss any potential concerns about the work and the battlefield.

b. Participate virtually in tribal consultation meetings along with NEPE staff with the Nez

Perce Tribe’s THPO, The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s THPO, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s THPO

c. Participate in the consultation process with the Montana SHPO

d. Address and document all written and verbal comments provided by NPS cultural resources staff, Montana SHPO, and THPOs from all three federally affiliated tribes

e. At minimum participate in a virtual meeting with NPS staff at the 50%, 75%, 90%, and

95% completion points of the project

f. Conduct all archival research, field work survey, field research, and outreach to provide acceptable draft and final deliverables described in this scope of work.

2. The contractor shall provide the following deliverables:

a. A summary of notes from the initial on-site meeting with NPS staff at Bear Paw

Battlefield

b. A 50% complete cultural landscape inventory to be delivered to the Nez Perce National

Historical Park archaeologist and the park’s cultural resources program manager

c. A 90% complete cultural landscape inventory to be delivered to the Montano SHPO, the park archaeologist, the park cultural resources program manager, and for the THPOs with the Nez Perce Tribe, the Umatilla Tribe, and the Colville Tribe for review

d. A completed cultural landscape inventory and report that consists of the following:

i. Research as necessary to fill in any information gaps that may exist in known literature

ii. Prepare the inventory unit description and regional context statement

iii. Prepare location map and site plan showing contributing features and cultural landscape boundary

iv. Identify the National Register areas of significance, periods of significance, and prepare a statement of significance

v. Prepare a CLI chronology and physical history based on historical information gathered as part of the research process for the CLI

vi. Conduct field surveys and document relevant landscape characteristics at Bear

Paw Battlefield. Landscape characteristics shall include the following

• Natural systems and features

• Spatial organization

• Land use

• Topography

• Human-made features

• Circulation

• Other identified cultural/natural features

vii. Prepare illustrated landscape characteristic narrative summaries and condition assessments

viii. Identify contributing and non-contributing features for each landscape characteristic with photographs and narrative descriptions

ix. Identify condition deficiencies for each landscape characteristic and contributing feature

x. Recommend deferred and reoccurring maintenance needs for all condition deficiencies identified. Maintenance needs for non-contributing features are not expected.

xi. Prepare a bibliography

xii. The final CLI report must include the following

• Cover page

• Table of contents

• Description of project objectives, scope, and methodology

• Summary of archival research

• Inventory unit description

• Location map and site plan showing contributing features and cultural landscape boundaries

• Identified NRHP areas of significance, periods of significance, and statement of significance

• A CLI chronology and physical history based on information gathered from archival research and field survey

• Description narratives of all identified landscape natural and cultural features

• Illustrations and photographs of all identified natural and cultural features

• Justifications for NRHP eligibility or non-eligibility for all identified landscape features

• Condition assessment narratives for all identified NRHP eligible resources that includes any ongoing or potential negative impacts to condition of those resources

• Bibliography

e. Three printed, bound paper copies of the final report with all contents

f. A digital copy of the final CLI report in a .pdf format that meets Section 508 of the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 USC § 794 (d)).

g. A copy of all spatial data collected during survey in a format that is compatible with

ArcGIS Pro 3.0 and later

h. A copy of all digital illustrations developed as part of this project in a vector image file format compatible with Adobe Illustrator

i. A copy of all digital illustrations developed as part of this project in a .pdf file format

j. A color copy of each photograph utilized in the report in a .tif format at a resolution of at least 300 dpi and image size of 4” x 6” or larger

3. Document format for the final CLI report shall conform to the following standards

a. Document paper size shall be 8 ½” x 11”

b. Have a front cover and back cover

c. Contain a table of contents

d. Contain a list of figures

e. Contain the body of the CLI report and all figures associated with that report such as illustrations, maps, and photographs to sufficiently provide context for the text contained within the report

f. Contain an endnotes section and a bibliography

g. Contain appendices as applicable

4. The contractor shall adhere to the following standards while conducting research, writing reports, and conducting surveys:

a. The methodology used to identify, document, analyze, and evaluate cultural landscape resources shall also meet research and documentation requirements as required by the

Montana State Historic Preservation Officer.

b. NPS Management Policies

c. NPS-28 Cultural Resources Management Guidelines

d. NPS-7 Natural Resources Management Guidelines

e. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, with

Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes

f. NPS Cultural Landscapes Program, Cultural Landscape Inventory Professional Procedures

Guide, 2009

D. Deliverables Timeline

Due Date Item Parties Involved

30 Days On-Site Meeting at Bear Paw Battlefield Contractor, NPS

180 Days Completed Archival and Field Work Contractor

270 Days 50% Draft CLI Report & Meeting Contractor, NPS

330 Days 75% Draft CLI Report & Meeting Contractor, NPS

390 Days 90% Draft CLI Report & Meeting Contractor, NPS

450 Days THPO and SHPO Consultation Contractor, NPS, THPO, SHPO

510 Days 95% Draft CLI Report & Meeting Contractor, NPS

600 Days Final CLI Report Contractor

The timeline for this project is extended beyond what is typical for a CLI of this size due to the nature of the weather in the area, the number of parties involved, and for the consultation time necessary with NEPE’s federally affiliated tribes

E. National Park Service Furnished Items/Tasks

a. NPS Management Policies

i. NPS-28 Cultural Resources Management Guidelines

ii. NPS-7 Natural Resources Management Guidelines

iii. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, with Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes

iv. NPS Cultural Landscapes Program, Cultural Landscape Inventory Professional

Procedures Guide, 2009

b. Archaeological Reconnaissance of Bear Paw Battlefield, 2001

c. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Chief Joseph Battleground of the

Bear’s Paw, 1970

d. Access to Bear Paw Battlefield

e. Access to archival records held by Nez Perce National Historical Park for the purposes of conducting research on Bear Paw Battlefield

f. Virtual, digital space for all contractor/NPS meetings

F. Contractor Constraints and Requirements

a. All investigations and surveys at the Bear Paw Battlefield site shall be undertaken with extreme care to ensure that no damage will result to cultural and natural resources or alter the site. Damage or alteration to the site will be required to be repaired at contractor expense with NPS oversight.

b. The contractor shall take every reasonable means, and exercise care, to prevent damage to existing site features. The contractor shall not damage property without special authority and shall provide suitable protection for features adjacent to work areas.

c. All cultural resources information (archaeological, ethnographic, anthropological, etc.) is considered sensitive; maps and drawings generated as part of draft or final documents that contain locational archaeological information will be withheld from public distribution.

d. The contractor shall have computer equipment and technology sufficient to participate in virtual meetings with NPS and its federally affiliated tribes. This includes having access to equipment capable of running Microsoft Teams software for participation in those meetings.

e. The contractor shall have computer equipment, software, and technology sufficient to develop spatial data compatible with ArcGIS Pro 3.0

f. The contractor shall have computer equipment, software, and technology sufficient to develop files in .pdf, .ai, and .tif necessary for providing digital deliverables as described in this scope of work.

g. The shipment and delivery of all deliverables to the National Park Service and associated costs are the responsibility of the contractor.

h. The printing, collation, binding, and packaging of all documents and associated costs are the responsibility of the contractor.

i. All final digital copies of files shall be provided to the National Park Service on a USB flash drive. The purchase costs of the flash drive, and delivery of the flash drive to the

National Park Service is the responsibility of the contractor.