Draft EIS_072312.pdf - Middle Fork American River Project ...

20120723-4002 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 07/23/2012
defined as the geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may directly or
indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties, if any such
properties exist. In this case, the APE for the Middle Fork Project includes lands within
the project boundary, as delineated in the current Commission license, plus lands outside
the project boundary where project operations may affect the character or use of historic
properties or TCPs.
The APE for the proposed project is defined as the land within 200 feet of the
existing project boundary and encompassing the following:
• project facilities and features;
• project recreation facilities or features; and
• proposed project facilities or features, or disturbance areas (e.g., construction
and staging areas), associated with the Hell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase
Improvement area.
The proposed project area above project tunnels is excluded from the APE because
there are no surface activities associated with the project anticipated in this area.
PCWA consulted with the Tahoe National Forest, the Eldorado National Forest,
Native American Tribes, and members of the Cultural Resources Technical Working
Group to define the APE. The California SHPO concurred with this definition (letter
from M.F. Donaldson, State Historic Preservation Officer, California Department of
Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, CA, to A. Fecko, Resource Planning Administrator,
PCWA, Auburn, CA, February 23, 2010).
Cultural History Overview
The cultural chronology of this part of the Sierra Nevada was initially proposed by
Heizer and Elsasser in the early 1950s (Heizer and Elsasser, 1953, as cited by PCWA,
2010d). These researchers defined two archaeological complexes for the region
stretching back nearly 4,000 years. The Martis Complex (2,500 to 1,500 years before
present [BP]) was characterized by a preference for basalt as a raw material for bifaces
and rough projectile points, base finger-held drills or punches, a rare use of chert and
obsidian for stone tools, the use of manos and metates, and an emphasis on the hunting of
large game. The Kings Beach Complex, which emerged about 1,300 years ago, and was
characterized by a preference for obsidian as a tool stone and the rare use of basalt, the
production of small projectile points, the absence of drills, the use of bedrock mortars for
food processing, and a shift to a reliance on seed processing and fishing.
Subsequent research attempted to build upon and refine the Martis and Kings
Beach Complex chronology. Elston (1971, as cited by PCWA, 2010d) identified a “pre-
Martis” culture called the Spooner Complex (7,000 to 2,000 BP) that represented
habitation of higher elevations within the Sierra Nevada by groups relocating from the
western Great Basin during the Altithermal. Elston also recommended a revision of the
larger Martis Complex into two phases. Phase 1 (3,000 to 2,000 BP) was characterized
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