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

20120723-4002 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 07/23/2012
Identified Resources
Archaeological and Historic-Era Resources
Between 2006 and filing of its final license application, PCWA conducted record
searches and annual fieldwork to document archaeological and historic-era resources
within the project APE. A series of reports was prepared that provided details of these
efforts and study results. Two inventory reports were filed with PCWA’s Pre-
Application Document (2005 and 2006 study reports), and two inventory reports were
filed with the license application (2007 and 2008 study reports). A fifth report, also filed
with the license application, contained the results of National Register evaluations
(PCWA, 2010d). In its application, PCWA identified a total of 44 archaeological and
historic-era properties within the project study area 2011a). These resources include
prehistoric archaeological sites, historic buildings, structures, objects, and sites, and
isolated artifacts. However, PCWA stated that only 34 of these resources are situated
within the boundaries of the APE; the other 10 are located in the vicinity of the project,
but outside of the APE (PCWA, 2011a). In May 2011, PCWA affirmed that only 34
properties were located within the APE (2011e), but of these, one was determined to be
of recent origin (PL-02) and another was a natural feature (FS-05-17-54-228), bringing
the total count of archaeological and historic-era resources in the APE to 32 properties.
In November 2011, PCWA identified five more resources within the APE (FS-05-03-
372, FS-05-03-55-684, FS-05-03-55-689, FS-05-03-55-690, and FS-05-17-54-495)
bringing the total site count to 37 properties (PCWA, 2011d).
Table 3.3.6-1 describes the 37 archaeological and historic-era resources
documented within the APE, including 31 sites and/or features (4 newly identified and
27 previously recorded), five isolated finds, and the Middle Fork American River
Hydroelectric Project system features. The four newly identified sites are primarily
mining debris and features, but also include a fire ring of unknown age. The 27
previously recorded sites include Native American lithic scatters, bedrock mortar sites,
petroglyph sites, historic roads and ditches, and other historic mining-related resources.
Isolated finds include a total of four lithic flakes (three at a single location), one piece of
unifacially worked basalt, a basalt core, and a historic mining adit (PCWA, 2011d).
In its National Register evaluation report, PCWA identified 17 resources that it
believed could be potentially affected by project operation and maintenance activities
(PCWA, 2010d). Two of these resources (FS-05-03-55-64 and FS-05-03-65) had been
previously determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register by the Forest
Service, and a third site (FS-05-17-54-370) had been determined ineligible. PCWA
evaluated the remaining 14 archaeological sites to determine if they were eligible for
listing. These sites included five Native American sites, one Native American site with a
historic component, and eight historic-era resources. Of these, two sites (FS-05-03-55-
682, and FS-05-03-55-201) were recommended as eligible for listing (PCWA, 2010d).
The remaining 12 sites were recommended as ineligible. In June 2010, the California
SHPO concurred with all of these recommendations except for one (letter from M.W.
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