Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

A total of 219 resident and seasonal vertebrate
species live on or frequent INL today (Arthur et al.
1984; Reynolds et al. 1986). Birds constitute the
largest single class of wildlife in this census,
although many of these are migratory. Small
mammals are the most common year-round
residents. Of particular cultural interest are species
that are known or expected to have been utilized
by people. Many of these, including mammoth and
camel, are now extinct in North America.
However, archaeological sites near INL, such as
Bison Rockshelter and Veratic Rockshelter
(Swanson 1972), Owl Cave (Butler 1978, 1986;
Miller 1982, 1990), and Jaguar Cave (Dort 1975;
Guilday and Adams 1967; Kurten and Anderson
1972), provide evidence of these animals’ past
presence and indications of their importance to
prehistoric people. It is certain that many species
also provided welcome meals and useful products
for early historic explorers, Oregon Trail
emigrants on their way through the area, and early
homesteaders who tried to make a living there.
The most abundant big game animal currently
in residence at INL is the pronghorn (Antilocapra
americana) (see Figure 7). It is estimated that up
to 40% of the pronghorn population of Idaho (as
well as many from Montana) may utilize the area
during the winter months (Hoskinson and Tester
1980).
site near the INL Critical Infrastructure Test
Range Complex (CITRC; formerly Power Burst
Facility [PBF]) also indicate that bison were once
hunted within INL boundaries (Ringe 1988).
Prehistory: Paleontology and
Paleoecology
Fossils of several different time periods have
been found in southern Idaho near and within INL
boundaries, from truly ancient marine
invertebrates in the limestones of the central and
eastern mountains to packrat middens and trees a
few centuries old on the basaltic plains. Fossils of
interest from the Pleistocene and Holocene have
primarily been recovered from lake, marsh, and
river deposits of the Snake River and Lost River
systems; lava tubes, rockshelters, and caves; and
archaeological sites. These finds and a few
subsequent investigations allow a glimpse into the
prehistoric biology and ecology of the Snake River
Plain. They guide present and future scientific
work and form the basis for interpretation of past
conditions.
Much of the paleoecological work has
centered on the eastern Snake River Plain
Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. This
research-oriented work has been conducted at lava
caves (see Figure 8) and rockshelters on the Plain
proper as a paleontological effort or in conjunction
with archaeological investigations (cf. Bright and
Davis 1982; Butler 1968, 1972, 1978; Davis and
Bright 1983; Dort and Fredlund 1984; Dort and
Miller 1977; Fredlund and Dort 1986; Miller 1982,
1983, 1990; White et al. 1984).
Figure 7. Pronghorn on the INL high-desert plain.
Deer, elk, and mountain sheep are also
occasionally observed at INL. Other big game
animals, such as bison, no longer inhabit the area,
but were also utilized by prehistoric and early
historic populations. Bison Rockshelter, Veratic
Rockshelter, Owl Cave, and Wilson Butte Cave
contained bison remains with associated cultural
materials. Test excavations at a small prehistoric
Figure 8. Entrance to West Rattlesnake Cave at
INL.
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