Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
site. In general, isolated occurrences are thought to result from accidental or inadvertent
deposition of a few artifacts, whereas a site indicates purposeful use of a particular place. Within
the proposed project area, isolated occurrences generally consist of only a few artifacts. All of the
isolated occurrences have been determined not eligible for the NRHP by the Forest Service.
Agricultural Fields
The tribal ethnographic assessments and tribal consultation illuminated a concern regarding
potential agriculture related resources located within the proposed project area. The involved
tribes view some areas of the project, particularly basins, canyon heads, upland areas at the
headwaters of drainages, and alluvial fans at the mouths of watercourses in Section 10 and 16, as
settings where traditional agricultural techniques were practiced both prehistorically and
historically. What makes these types of settings preferable for farming is the types of soil present,
the presence of adequate water, and control of the water. Techniques implemented at these
locations would have included water management practices (to divert, convey, and distribute
surface water), pest management, and nutritional supplementation of the soil. These fields would
not be located in isolation, but would be associated with other archaeological resources such as
field houses or other habitation sites. It is hypothesized by the tribes that these areas are still
affected today by those techniques, that the results are visible in the current vegetation growing
on them, and because of this, “they are the tangible products of human interaction with natural
environmental variables, [and] are, by definition, anthropogenic features” (Anschuetz, 2012:28).
Further study of these places would be necessary in order to determine if each is actually an
agricultural area and retains cultural deposits. If such deposits were found, such a place would be
considered an archaeological resource and would be evaluated for NRHP eligibility.
Chaco Roads
Research was conducted to address the potential for prehistoric roads, associated with the Chaco
Great Houses, to be located within the physical APE. Based on the work conducted (see section
above on “Chaco Roads Reconnaissance”), no definitive cultural features indicating the presence
of such a road or trail were detected.
Setting APE
As described above, the setting APE includes the area within which the project could potentially
impact or affect the visual or audible character of cultural resources or their settings. This APE
includes the physical APE, plus additional area around the proposed mine site, and totals 75,023
acres in size. The setting APEs for the alternatives are very similar to one another, with only very
slight differences and, thus, are blended together to form one setting APE that is the same for all
three alternatives.
Because the setting APE includes the physical APE, all of the resources in the latter are also
located within the former. This includes the Mt. Taylor TCP and the archaeological resources.
Due to the large size of the setting APE, a much larger portion of the Mt. Taylor TCP
(approximately 40,359 acres) is included in this APE (figure 63). The ethnographic landscapes
discussed above are also encompassed within the setting APE.
Mt. Taylor TCP
The Mt. Taylor TCP overlaps a large portion of the setting APE (approximately 40,359 acres).
Information presented in the Forest Service’s determination of eligibility for the TCP (Benedict
324 DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest