Class III Cultural Resources Inventory of 1,555 Acres East of the Virgin River, Clark County, Nevada

Summary

Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc., (Far Western) completed a Class III cultural resources inventory for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Lower Colorado Region, as part of Reclamation’s ongoing compliance efforts with Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA; 54 US Code 306102). The contracted survey area (2,921 total acres; Table 1) is located between Black Ridge and the eastern bank of the Virgin River, north of the Muddy-Virgin river confluence with a view of Mormon Mesa to the west. The survey area vicinity is shown in Figure 1, and a detailed depiction of the three adjacent parcels that comprise this survey area (i.e., VR-1, -2, and -3), is in Figure 2. These parcels are located on the Overton Southeast (1984) 7.5-minute quadrangle and encompass or overlap T15S, R69E, Sections 29 and 32, as well as T16S, R69E, Sections 5, 7, and 8.

Due to the remoteness of the project area and related difficulties safely accessing the southern reaches of Parcels VR-2 and VR-3, Far Western and Reclamation agreed to reduce survey coverage to those areas that could be safely and reasonably accessed (i.e., <four kilometers from a vehicle or within 1.5-hours of one-way walking) by the solitary road extending into the northernmost reaches of Parcel VR-1. The southern parcels are bounded to the east by the Black Ridge and to the west by the Virgin River, which is bordered by dense, largely impassable vegetation. Likewise, the nearest road access to the southern parcels is five kilometers from their southernmost boundaries, as vehicle traffic north is prevented by fences and discouraged by agency signs. Ultimately, 1,555 acres of the original survey area (ca. 53%) were inventoried for cultural resources.

Fieldwork was completed over the course of two rotations between October 25, 2017, and November 1, 2017, and from January 10, 2018, to January 17, 2018. Daron Duke served as Project Manager and Principal Investigator, and Ryan Byerly operated as the Field Director. Eric Gingerich, Andrew Hoskins, Erik Martin, and Sarah Rice variably lead the field crews, which included Dave Ingbar, Greg Lou, Gene Romanski, and Alexa Uberseder. Reclamation archaeologist Mark Slaughter served as the government’s technical lead, assisted by Jim Kangas.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• US Bureau of Reclamation – Lower Colorado Regional Office

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Mark Slaughter

Prepared By(s): Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc.

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