SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 3 ⎯ Affected EnvironmentPaleoarctic Tradition sites (12,000 to 6,000 BP) are typically camps on terraces, buttes, and bluffs orother high ground from which they could locate and track large mammals, such as bison and mammoth,in the treeless environment. The nomadic lifestyle of these groups, the perishable organic materialsthat they used, and subsequent environmental changes have made it difficult to find traces oftheir cultures. This tradition includes the Denali Complex and the Chidadn Complex. The DenaliComplex includes distinctive microblade cores, core tablets and their derivative microblades, largeblades, biconvex bifacial knives, certain end-scraper forms, and burins. The Chidadn Complex ischaracterized by Chidadn points, and bifacially flaked triangular or teardrop shaped projectile points.The Northern Archaic Tradition (6,000 to 1,000 BP) was an adaptation to expanding boreal forests.Settlement patterns and the range of terrestrial animals exploited were more varied in this period. Thehallmark of the Northern Archaic Tradition is the presence of side-notched points.The Athabascan Tradition (2,000 to 150 BP) begins to exhibit distinct traits of subgroups within generalgeographic areas. These traditions develop into the historic subgroups of the region. The AthabascanTradition includes a reorganization of raw materials, which de-emphasized stone tool makingand increased the emphasis on the manufacture of items from native copper and organic materials.More detailed descriptions of these traditions can be found in Section 2.4.1 of the ICRMP for FortWainwright and Fort Greely.Historic ContextFirst contact between the Athabascan and European cultures probably commenced with trade goodsfrom Russian fur trading posts on the Copper and Yukon Rivers and a British trading post establishedwhere the Porcupine River joins the Yukon River in 1847. Contact between Tanana Athabascans andwhite traders increased steadily in the 1860s. Several village sites associated with the early contactperiod have been reported near the Fort Wainwright Main Post, two just northwest of the fort’sboundary and one near Fairbanks. With the U.S. Purchase of Alaska in 1867, control of the tradingstations fell to the Americans, and American traders established new posts on the Yukon and TananaRivers. Natives became increasingly exposed to trade and established permanent settlements.Gold discoveries in 1886 and 1894 northeast of Fairbanks led to an influx of Anglo-American settlementsin the Tanana Valley. The first settlers established themselves in the Tanana Valley in the1890s. A trading post was established at Chena in 1900, and another was established by E.T. Barnetteat the future town site of Fairbanks in 1902. Further gold discoveries in 1902 and 1903 near Fairbanksled to a dramatic increase in the town’s population to 15,000 in 1909. Most of the mining activity occurredon creeks north of Fairbanks, and no workings associated with early mining have been foundin the in DTA. Cabin remains, sites, and trails from the Gold Rush period have been identified.The initial means of transport to interior Alaska was by riverboat along the Yukon River to theTanana River, either upstream from St. Michael or downstream from the White Pass and Yukon railheadat Whitehorse in Canada. An overland trail was established by the Army in 1899 from Valdez toEagle, and later to Fairbanks. The original Valdez to Fairbanks Trail crossed the Main Post and followedwhat is now Gaffney Road. Portions of the trail were upgraded to a wagon road and an automobileroad over the years. Roadhouses were established along the route to cater to the travelers.Traces of several of these roadhouses have been identified including Gordon’s Roadhouse and Sullivan’sRoadhouse on Fort Greely (DTA). The Alaska Railroad was later completed, linking Fairbanksto Anchorage.Military aviation activities began in the Fairbanks area in 1913. The town became the aviation hub forinterior Alaska by 1928. Federal legislation in 1935 and 1937 established Ladd Airfield near Fair-February 2008 3–110 2/25th SBCT Final EIS