5
report will state whether the resource can be avoided. If the project cannot avoid
the site, further evaluation will be initiated, as warranted, to determine the
significance of the site. Recommendations for additional investigations will also
be included in the report. Completed forms will be routed to the FS archaeologist.
8.
The archaeological consulting firm will complete all appropriate SHPO
documentation and prepare and submit to the FS a recommendation of eligibility
and, if the site is recommended eligible, a site-specific treatment consistent with
the Treatment Plan. The FS shall consult with the SHPO regarding the discovery
and recommended procedures. The discovery of human remains warrants a
different set of procedures (see below).
9.
If the discovery is determined to be a significant cultural resource and the
documentation of the discovery will entail continued investigation, then an area of
at least 30 feet (10 meters) surrounding the discovery will be fenced with safety
fencing. The procedures to be followed once a significant discovery has been
identified will vary depending on the location and complexity of the resource. A
discovery that has been identified as a significant resource by the archaeologist
and the FS archaeologist will be considered equivalent to a cultural resource that
is recommended as eligible for nomination to the NRHP. A set of standardized
treatment recommendations applicable to discovery situations are presented
below. The procedures are recommended as a tactic that will ensure adequate
preservation of significant cultural resource data values, yet will curtail
unnecessary delay to the construction schedule. The archaeological contractor
proposes to implement the recommended procedures following the identification
of a significant discovery and authorization to proceed by FS. Documentation of
isolated features may be accomplished within several hours of the discovery.
Conversely, complex cultural deposits, stratigraphic sequences or features may
require several days to adequately document. Where the horizontal exposure of
the resource is an option, the investigation of the discovery may entail excavation.
In these cases, the investigation of the discovery will typically follow the
standardized treatment recommendations (see below). Deviations from the
standardized treatment recommendations will proceed following consultation with
the FS, SHPO, other appropriate land managing agency, and representatives for
RER.
10. See Item #4 above under “Procedures in the Event of an Impact to a Known Site.”
11. See Item #5 above under “Procedures in the Event of an Impact to a Known Site.”
Procedures in the Event of a Discovery of Human Remains or Funerary Objects on
Federal Land
The following procedures have been developed in the event of a discovery of human
remains or funerary objects during the project.
1.
All work will immediately cease in the area of the discovery, and appropriate
measures (see “Procedures in the Event of the Discovery of an Unanticipated
Historic Property” above) will be taken to protect the remains from further
disturbance until they have been fully evaluated. Vehicles and equipment will be
removed in such a way as to prevent disturbance of the remains.
