SOW-Phase_I_Archaeological_Survey--Hwy_75_Dredging-Big_Stone_NWR_11_22_2024.pdf

IN REPLY REFER TO:

United States Department of the Interior

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

5600 American Boulevard West, Suite 990

Bloomington, Minnesota 55437-1458

Scope of Work Highway 75 East Pool Dredging Project

1. Project Description/Place of Performance

Phase I Archaeological Survey, Highway 75 East Pool Dredging Project, Big Stone National

Wildlife Refuge, Sections 4 and 5 of T120N R45W and Sections 33 and 34 of T121N, R45W, Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is seeking an archaeological contractor to conduct a professional archaeological survey of the Highway 75 East Pool Project on our Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota. Field survey of the area of potential effects (APE) shall be conducted in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation, as amended and annotated, and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office’s “Manual for Archaeological Projects in Minnesota”. All work shall be performed by or under the guidance of a professional archaeologist meeting the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for Archaeology.

2. Period of Performance: 1/1/2025 - 11/30/2027 The extended POP is for the possibilities of weather conditions. The area weather will allow work to be performed mainly between May - October, dependent on floods/high water that are possible in the area.

3. Scope and Deliverables

Contractor will follow Wapsi Valley Archaeology’s survey recommendations in their June 2024 report entitled: Desktop Archaeological Assessment for the Proposed Highway 75 East Pool Project, Lac qui Parle and Big Stone Counties, Minnesota:

Dredge/Spoil Area:

“For the proposed 32-acre dredge corridor and spoil placement locations, we recommend a geomorphological assessment and Phase I archaeological survey of the three island locations prior to placement of dredged material, as these are elevated areas that have potential for both precontact and historic archaeological sites. In addition to the historic school and farmstead that are mapped in the vicinity of the proposed undertaking, it is possible that remains of archaeological sites associated with the early historic era, such as the historic trail system, military encampment, fur trading post, or original township homesteads, could be present. Archaeological investigation could identify sites that would provide additional information important for understanding the history of settlement and rural life in this portion of Minnesota during the frontier and later historic eras. While buildings and structures were removed prior to the creation of the wildlife refuge, it is possible that intact archaeological features and other significant archaeological deposits remain.

We therefore recommend Phase I archaeological survey of the proposed dredged placement locations to identify archaeological sites should they be present…The channel area itself appears to already have been disturbed and has low likelihood to contain intact archaeological sites. No additional archaeological survey is therefore recommended for the proposed dredge channel corridor.”

Following MnSHPO’s Manual, ground surface reconnaissance will be conducted in areas of the

APE with high surface visibility; areas where surface visibility is less than that will be shovel tested. Shovel tests will be excavated at 15 meter intervals along transects spaced 15 meters apart.

Deeply disturbed (down to one meter deep), steeply sloped (15% or more slope), paved, or hydric wet areas will not be shovel tested. Shovel tests will measure approximately 35-40 centimeters in diameter and will be excavated to a depth of at least 10 centimeters into culturally sterile subsoil.

All soils excavated from shovel tests will be dry screened through ¼ inch hardware cloth and the shovel tests will be immediately backfilled. Records of shovel tests will include soil profiles with texture and color descriptions and photographs. Locations of the shovel tests will be documented by sub-meter accurate GPS.

Positive shovel tests shall be bracketed by radial shovel tests placed 5 meters in the cardinal directions from the original positive test to accurately determine the edges of artifact concentrations and facilitate possible project redesign to avoid them. To the extent possible, the contractor will define the horizontal and vertical extent of the site, as well as its internal configuration. Survey and site delineation will not extend beyond project APE. Following site delineation, a sketch map will be prepared, showing the locations of positive shovel tests or surface finds.

The contractor shall maintain standard field records including field notes, compass and pace/metric field maps, photographs, GPS readings, and subsequent laboratory analysis records.

These records will include coverage maps showing the locations of areas examined and variation in the intensity of pedestrian and shovel-test survey coverage within each survey area. Special emphasis shall be placed on recording detailed information on the location and intensity (number of transects, etc.) of shovel tests, the location of areas with good surface visibility, (such as primitive roads/open areas), areas that did not receive survey and the reason, and other aspects of survey coverage. All records generated in the field (notes, photos, negatives, maps, etc.) as well as electronic, digital, or computer formatted documents shall be provided to the USFWS at the end of the project. Any collected artifacts should be curated with the Minnesota Historical Society, St.

Paul, Minnesota.

The contractor will provide a preliminary recommendation to the USFWS regarding the need for further archeological investigation and/or evaluation and the potential significance of each inventoried cultural resource; identifying sites which clearly meet National Register of Historic Places eligibility criteria (36 CFR 60.6), sites which require further assessment, and sites which do not appear to meet eligibility criteria. If avoidance is not possible, the contractor may be asked to conduct Phase II evaluations of the potentially eligible discovered sites under a separate request for quote.

RESERVOIR SHORELINE:

Second, for the proposed East Pool drawdown activities, following the drawdown, we recommend geomorphological assessment and reconnaissance survey of the riverbank and island shorelines affected by the lowered water levels of the drawdown. These areas appear to lie near the 950-foot contour line. The purpose of the reconnaissance survey is to identify archaeological sites that would be adversely affected by lowered and/or fluctuating water levels. To complement the reconnaissance survey, we recommend geomorphological testing in selected areas to help ascertain potential for buried archaeological sites. Limited deep hand auger testing in selected landforms may include locations mapped as having higher potential for buried sites based on the Minnesota River LSA and site suitability models. Special attention should also be given to the area of the shipwrecked Freighter to identify the location and status of the site, if possible.

In addition, Phase I intensive survey of the Minnesota River bank-line and exposed lake/stream channel margins is recommended in conjunction with the geomorphological assessment and reconnaissance survey. Intensive survey should focus on areas of highest archaeological potential or locations of archaeological sites identified during the reconnaissance and geomorphological assessments.

The contractor shall maintain standard field records including field notes, compass and pace/metric field maps, photographs, GPS readings, and subsequent laboratory analysis records.

These records will include coverage maps showing the locations of areas examined and variation in the intensity of pedestrian and shovel-test survey coverage within each survey area. Special emphasis shall be placed on recording detailed information on the location and intensity (number of transects, etc.) of shovel tests, the location of areas with good surface visibility, (such as primitive roads/open areas), areas that did not receive survey and the reason, and other aspects of survey coverage. All records generated in the field (notes, photos, negatives, maps, etc.) as well as electronic, digital, or computer formatted documents shall be provided to the USFWS at the end of the project. Any collected artifacts should be curated with the Minnesota Historical Society, St.

Paul, Minnesota.

The contractor will provide a preliminary recommendation to the USFWS regarding the need for further archeological investigation and/or evaluation and the potential significance of each inventoried cultural resource; identifying sites which clearly meet National Register of Historic Places eligibility criteria (36 CFR 60.6), sites which require further assessment, and sites which do not appear to meet eligibility criteria. If avoidance is not possible, the contractor may be asked to conduct Phase II evaluations of the potentially eligible discovered sites under a separate request for quote.

Attachment 1: Reservoir/East Pool Map.

2.7 Acres 3.5 Acres

10.5 Acres

7.5 Acres

7.5 Acres

7,000 ln.ft.

Esri, TomTom, Garmin, SafeGraph, GeoTechnologies, Inc, METI/NASA, USGS, EPA, NPS, US Census Bureau, USDA, USFWS

Highway 75 Reservoir/East Pool Proposed Improvements

T121N R45W Sect 33, 34 T120N R45W Sect 4, 5,9

¯0.6

Miles

- Proposed spoil placement area

- Proposed dredge area

- Overall Project Area/Draw-down Area