SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 3 ⎯ Affected Environmentcinity of lower Booth Gulch and the southernmost reaches of Booth Mountain. Other smaller stonequarries and clay mines are known to exist inside FTC, but have not been formally recorded. Recordsof mineral entries on public lands indicate that several claims were filed between 1915 and 1919 inareas removed from stream courses, which probably means that the claims were filed to reserve miningrights to stone or clay.Nearly all of the historic period sites recorded to date on FTC are related to the settlement theme.Most of the sites consist of remains of stone or concrete foundations, depressions, and scatters of domesticand agricultural artifacts. The only known intact standing structures related to settlement remainingin FTC include Turkey Creek Ranch, one building in the FTC cantonment area, and possiblyseveral buildings at the FTC Rod and Gun Club and at Camp Red Devil. All but a very few of the recordedsettlement sites appear to have had stock raising as the primary economic base; the remainderappear to have had a partial fruit-growing economic base.The modern history of the FTC region began in 1940 when a group of Colorado Springs business andcommunity leaders started lobbying for a military installation near their city in hopes of reviving asagging economy. During World War II, four infantry divisions prepared for combat at Camp Carson.The camp’s troop strength peaked in late 1943 with approximately 43,000 military personnel. In June1942, the 89th Infantry Division from Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, reactivated at FTC on July 14,and deployed in 1944. Also in 1942, Camp Hale, constructed west of Pikes Peak near Leadville,Colorado, operated as a sub-installation of Camp Carson during the war. The Mountain TrainingCommand, activated at Camp Carson on September 2, 1942, moved to Camp Hale in November. Anincreased need for troops trained in the art of mountain warfare led to the formation of the 10thMountain Division. The Carson Hospital Center, the largest of nine medical centers built in the nationduring World War II, opened to provide immediate medical care for Camp Carson’s Soldiers. TheOld Hospital Complex at FTC was determined eligible for the National Register in 1991.By 1946, with activities greatly reduced, it appeared that Camp Carson would close. The militarystrength at the camp had dropped to around 600, not including 320 patients at the hospital. In 1950, atthe onset of the Korean War, activities at Camp Carson increased. As the nation emerged from war topeace in the early 1950s, Camp Carson continued to serve as duty station for approximately 25,000troops. The post was officially designated as FTC on August 27, 1954. The role of FTC has evolvedover the years.ArchaeologyTo date, 1,693 archeological sites have been recorded on FTC (USACE 2006a), of which 131 areconsidered eligible for the National Register. Approximately 81 percent (1,374) of the total number ofrecorded archaeological sites on FTC are prehistoric. An additional 3 percent (55) contain both prehistoricand historic materials. Prehistoric site types include complex habitation sites, temporary fieldcamps, and lithic as well as food procurement and processing locations. Historic site types includeranching and homestead complexes and small mining operation sites. Both prehistoric and historicrock art is found on FTC, again, with prehistoric elements predominating. The Turkey Creek RockArt District, designated as eligible for the National Register in 1976, contains at least 31 archaeologicalsites, five of which are known to have rock art. Because of problems with the delineation of theDistrict’s boundaries, a re-evaluation project is ongoing to properly identify contributing sites andprovide clear boundaries for management purposes. Based on densities of known sites in differentgeographic settings of FTC, it is anticipated that 34,594 acres of unsurveyed areas may contain approximately792 undocumented sites, and 183 of those may be eligible for the National Register.February 2008 3–153 2/25th SBCT Final EIS