Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
NRHP-eligible TCP, but the amount of overlap between the SRCP-listed TCP and the setting APE
is slightly smaller than that for the NRHP-eligible TCP.
NRHP and SRCP Significance
Mt. Taylor holds considerable traditional cultural significance for the area tribes, including the
Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, the western Pueblos of Acoma, Zuni, and Laguna, the Jicarilla
Apache, and many of the Rio Grande Pueblos. It has long standing and ongoing historical,
cultural, and religious importance for these tribes. All consider the mountain to be sacred, and
some acknowledge and have identified specific sites of cultural and religious significance within
the larger boundaries of the mountain. The mountain is used by these tribes for a variety of
traditional cultural and religious activities such as hunting, plant and mineral gathering, religious
pilgrimages, and ceremonial activities (Benedict and Hudson, 2008).
The NRHP-eligible TCP was determined eligible under Criterion A because of its significant
association with traditional cultural practices and beliefs of living American Indian communities
that are rooted in their history and are important in maintaining the continuing cultural identity of
their community. This significant association with tribal practices, beliefs, and history is
discussed in more detail below. Mt. Taylor is rooted in the tribes’ history and traditions. It is
central to their cultural practices as living communities and is critical to the maintenance of their
cultural identity. The mountain is a place that figures prominently in oral traditions regarding
origin, place of emergence, and migration, and plays a vital role in their cosmology, ceremony,
and religion. The multiple roles of Mt. Taylor in the tribes’ cultures illustrate its significant
association with traditional cultural uses.
The NRHP-eligible TCP was determined eligible under Criterion B because of its association
with important beings that figure prominently in the oral tradition of the tribes. The tribes believe
that Spirit Beings inhabit the mountain, and they figure prominently in the oral traditions and
histories. These traditions tie the Spirit Beings to the mountain by virtue of their role in stories of
creation and migration related to Mt. Taylor. While these elements are intangible, it is these Spirit
Beings associated with the mountain that play a vital role in the view of the mountain as a
powerful living, breathing entity.
The NRHP-eligible TCP was determined eligible under Criterion D for yielding, and the potential
to yield, important information through ethnographic and archaeological research. Mt. Taylor has
already provided important insights into Puebloan and Navajo traditions and culture, through
archaeological survey, ethnographic studies, scholarly research, and published stories and poetry
describing the mountain and its importance to the tribes. However, there is more to learn about
this property through archaeological, ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and other avenues of research.
In the SRCP, the TCP is listed under Criteria A, B, and D. Under all three criteria, it is eligible for
the same reasons as the NRHP-eligible TCP, as described above. Under Criterion B, the State
listing expands the description of significance to say that the mountain itself is a live sentient
being.
Integrity
In addition to the significance under Criteria A, B, and D, the Mt. Taylor TCP also possesses
integrity of location, setting, association, relationship, and condition. Integrity in this sense means
the ability of the property to convey its significance. The Forest Service has determined that the
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 329