Western Cultural performed Class III cultural resource surveys for numerous projects and Ranger Districts under contract to the USDA Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Idaho and Wyoming. The projects included cultural resource surveys for fuels reduction projects, post wild fire surveys, and surveys for placer mining reclamation within the forest.
The Willow-Timber Fires Post-Burn project involved cultural resource surveys of 700 acres of high probability landforms within two units of the 5,664 burned acres from the Willow and Timber wild fires. The project was located in the Ashton-Island Park and Dubois Ranger Districts of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Idaho. The survey updated one previously recorded National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligible prehistoric lithic scatter, and located three NRHP ineligible prehistoric lithic scatters within the project areas. The Caribou Mountain Small Placer Mining Restoration project involved cultural resource surveys of 100 acres in three project areas within the Palisades Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The project focused on potential impacts to cultural resources from proposed placer mining operations within the vicinity of Caribou Mountain and McCoy Creek. The surveys updated one NRHP eligible historic cabin site, and located four NRHP ineligible historic mining sites within the project areas
A total of four cultural resource surveys of aspen regeneration projects were performed on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The projects focused on potential impacts to cultural resources for aspen regeneration projects, which proposed to reduce conifer and sub-alpine fir trees to regenerate aspen growth. The Fall Creek Aspen Improvement Project involved cultural resource surveys of 1,100 acres of high probability landforms in two restoration units, within the Palisades Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The project located five NRHP ineligible sites; four prehistoric rock cairn sites and one historic mining test pit site. The Badger Creek Thinning and Fuels Treatment project involved cultural resource surveys of 700 acres in 23 restoration units, within the Teton Basin Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The project did not locate any cultural resources. The Strawberry Aspen Restoration Project involved cultural resource surveys of 800 acres, within the Montpelier Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The project did not locate any cultural resources. The Tin Cup Mountain Aspen Improvement Project involved cultural resource surveys of 1,500 acres of high probability landforms, within the Soda Springs Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The project located two NRHP ineligible sites, an historic arborglyph and a segment of an historic road.
The project reports described the areas that were inventoried, the field methodology, and the results of the inventory with complete recommendations for the NRHP. Site forms for all resources located during the inventory were completed. Maps were created at a 1:24,000 scale showing the areas of potential effect, parcels inventoried, and the cultural resources located during the investigations. The project required knowledge of the prehistory and history of Idaho and western Wyoming, knowledge of archaeological and historical recordation and evaluations, as well as knowledge of the potential and current effects to cultural resources by the various projects proposed on the forest. The project required knowledge of the standards and guidelines of the Idaho and Wyoming State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) and how to meet those requirements, as well as knowledge of the Secretary of Interior’s standards and the ability to comply with such standards.