Placer County Water Agency Middle Fork American River Project FERC Project No. 2079

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Placer County Water AgencyMiddle Fork American
River Project FERC Project No. 2079

• February 26, 2008

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Evaluation of Cultural Resources in the Middle
Fork American River Study Area
Image from http//thefirstamericans.homestead.com/
Maidu.html
Image from http//www.legendsofamerica.com/CA-Gold
rush.html
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Introduction

• The relicensing of the Middle Fork American River
  Project is under the jurisdiction of the Federal
  Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
• The FERC must comply with the National Historic
  Preservation Act (NHPA)
• Under the NHPA, a federal agency must identify
  cultural resources eligible for the National
  Register of Historic Places (NRHP) that may be
  affected by the Project
• Significant historical characteristics of
  resources on, or eligible for listing on, the
  NRHP are to be preserved

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Introduction

• Identification of cultural resources in the
  Middle Fork Project Study Area began in 2005 with
  records searches
• Field work to locate archaeological sites and
  other resources began in 2006 and is on-going
• Once it is determined that a resource may be
  affected by the Project, it must be evaluated for
  NRHP eligibility

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Introduction

• The potential for Project affects on cultural
  resources depends on the nature and location of
  Project operations and maintenance (OM)
  activities
• Based on this, a preliminary assessment of
  effects to cultural resources can be made

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Introduction

• This presentation will briefly describe
• Resources that may be affected by Project OM
  activities and therefore need to be evaluated
• The evaluation strategies to be used

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Resource Summary

• A total of 29 resources are known to exist within
  the study area. Of these, 28 have been recorded
  or re-located during surveys. These include
• 10 Native American archaeological sites
• 10 Historic structures/buildings/objects
  (including mine ditches and stream diversions)
• 4 Historic archaeological sites (i.e., include
  both Native American and EuroAmerican remains)
• 2 Mixed-component archaeological sites
• 3 Isolated finds

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Evaluation Categories

• Category 1 Resources that will not be evaluated
  because they are not affected by Project OM
  activities
• Category 2 Resources that will be evaluated
  because they could potentially be affected by
  Project OM activities
• Category 3 Evaluation strategy will be
  determined pending further information
• Category 4 Resources that have previously been
  evaluated for the NRHP

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Category 1

• These are resources that will not be evaluated
  because they are not affected by Project OM
  activities.
• These resources are located near Project
  facilities (i.e. within 200 feet), but ongoing
  operation and maintenance activities will not
  affect these resources because they fall outside
  of the area of potential affect.
• Should the Project description change, these
  resources may be affected, and some may need to
  be evaluated.

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Category 1

• Resources in this category include
• Prehistoric archaeological sites

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Category 1

• Historic mining sites

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Category 1

• Historic roads, ditches, and the remains of
  structures

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Category 2

• These are resources that will be evaluated
  because they could potentially by affected by
  Project operation and maintenance activities
• Evaluation will determine if each resource
  retains integrity and meets one of the following
  criteria for inclusion on the NRHP

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NRHP Criteria
Category 2

• The resource is associated with events that have
  made a significant contribution to the broad
  patterns of history
• is associated with the lives of persons
  significant in our past
• embodies distinctive characteristics of type,
  period, method of construction, represents the
  work of a master, possesses high artistic value,
  or is a contributing element to a significant
  cultural resource
• has yielded or may yield information important
  to history or prehistory

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Category 2

• The evaluation approach can be divided into two
  parts
• Resources to be evaluated by historical research
• Resources to be evaluated by archeological field
  work

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Category 2

• Resources to be evaluated by historical research
  will be completed using
• Histories of the region and of gold mining
• Historic maps, photographs, and documents written
  during the 19th and 20th centuries
• Resources available through local museums,
  libraries, and historical societies

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Category 2

• Resources to be evaluated by archeological field
  work will be completed using the following
  methods
• Excavation using Shovel Probes (50 cm X 50 cm
  units) to define site boundaries, assess
  depositional integrity, and determine age and
  contents of the sites.
• If necessary, test excavation units (1m X 1m or
  1m X 2m units) will be used to better assess
  sub-surface contents of the sites.
• All soil will be screened using 1/8 mesh
  screens.
• Obsidian samples for hydration dating and source
  determination, and basalt and welded tuff samples
  for source determination will be collected.
• Only the most important artifacts will be
  retained and other materials will be left at the
  sites tested. Collected items will be curated by
  the ENF or TNF.

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Category 3

• The evaluation strategy for these sites will be
  determined pending further information.
• Information required to assess potential impacts
  includes the precise location of
• Project facilities or features
• Resource boundaries and features
• These resources will be assigned to Category 1 or
  Category 2 after the potential Project effects to
  these sites are better understood.

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Category 3

• Resources in this category include
• Prehistoric archeological sites

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Category 3

• Historic archeological sites

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Category 3

• Mixed-component (prehistoric and historic)
  archeological sites

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Category 4

• These resources have already been evaluated for
  NRHP eligibility

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Category 4

• There are four prehistoric archaeological sites
  already evaluated by the Forest Service
• One is determined not eligible
• One was determined eligible
• Two are recommended eligible with concurrence
  from the SHPO pending
• All are prehistoric archaeological sites

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Next Steps

• Additional surveys will conducted in 2008 at
  newly identified Project features
• Additional data will be gathered to allow all
  Category 3 resources to be placed in Category 1
  or Category 2
• ARPA permits will be obtained from the ENF and
  TNF to allow archaeological resources to be
  evaluated
• A Historic Properties Management Plan (HPMP) will
  be produced and filed with the License
  Application, detailing how NRHP-eligible
  resources will be managed over the term of the
  new FERC license