Ho! To the Land of Sunshine: Mitigation and Public Outreach for the BNSF Abó Canyon Double Track Project in Central New Mexico and The Ute Lake Subdivision Project in Northeastern New Mexico: Lawsuits, Artifacts, and an Archaeological Right-of-Entry Agreement

Summary

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Regulatory Program initially served a fairly simple, straightforward purpose: to protect and maintain the navigable capacity of the nation's waters. Time, changing public needs, evolving policy, case law, and new statutory mandates have changed the purview of the program, adding to its breadth, complexity, and authority. Prior to the issuance or authorization of any Department of the Army permit under Corps regulatory authorities (e.g. the Clean Water Act), the Corps must consider potential effects on historic properties in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and other applicable regulations. Per these regulations, the Corps requires that applicants mitigate for unavoidable adverse effects to historic properties from any work, structure or discharge within Corps jurisdiction that requires a DA permit. Increasingly, project stakeholders want collaborative mitigation with tangible products that address a broad spectrum of issues. Relative to this trend, this paper discusses two projects in New Mexico that resulted in creative forms of mitigation to resolve adverse effects to historic properties: the Abó Canyon Double Track Project and the Ute Lake Ranch Subdivision Project.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Regulatory Program and Historic Property Mitigation   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16958