Cultural Resource Surveys

Cultural Resource Surveys

Phase I/Class III and Phase II Cultural Resources Investigations are performed to identify and evaluate cultural resources that are present within a project area. Most projects involving federally managed lands will require a cultural resource survey prior to the issuance of a permit.

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Phase I/Class III Cultural Resources Assessments

Reagan Smith archaeology team is permitted through many federal agencies including the Bureau of Land Management and holds Registered Professional Archaeologist certificates.

The primary goals of Phase I Cultural Resource Investigations are to identify archaeologically sensitive areas, cultural/sacred areas, and standing structures that are at least 50 years old, that may be affected by a proposed project and to locate all prehistoric and historic cultural/archaeological resources that may exist within the proposed project area. Most projects involving federally managed lands will require a cultural resource survey prior to the issuance of a permit. The survey involves research and literature reviews as well as a ground survey typically involving walking transects and digging shovel tests to identify cultural resources.

Phase II Site Evaluations/Nature and Extent Testing

Chris Arch Fieldwork Rose Hill Excavation 2.JPG

Phase III Mitigation and Data Recovery

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Section 106 Compliance and Consultation

Reagan Smith is specialized in Section 106 Compliance and Consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act.

The ACHP’s regulations define consultation as “the process of seeking, discussing, and considering the views of other participants, and, where feasible, seeking agreement with them regarding matters arising in the Section 106 process” [36 CFR § 800.16(f)]. By definition, then, consultation is an active exchange of ideas and information between a federal agency and other Section 106 participants that seeks consensus about what eligible or listed archaeological sites may be affected by an undertaking; why those properties are significant and of value, and to whom; and how any adverse effect to them might be avoided, minimized, or mitigated.

Federal agencies are encouraged to use, to the extent possible, existing agency procedures and mechanisms to fulfill the consultation requirements of the ACHP’s regulations [36 CFR § 800.2(a)(4)]. For example, an agency may use its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures to identify additional consulting parties. Usually, however, reliance on NEPA efforts alone will not meet the regulatory standard for consultation essential to Section 106 review because consultation requires interaction between the agency and consulting parties.

Tribal Consultation

Reagan Smith regularly consults with Tribes through the Section 106 process on a variety of project. The Reagan Smith archaeology team also assist THPOs in developing their Section 106 process through mapping, project analysis and process flow in order to protect cultural resources. Oral histories and sacred sites identification is paramount to assisting in protecting cultural resources.

Tribal consultation is required in all steps of the Section 106 process when a federal agency undertaking may affect historic properties that are either (1) located on tribal lands, or (2) when any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization attaches religious or cultural significance to the historic property, regardless of the property’s location.

When an undertaking occurs on tribal land, the federal agency must notify appropriate Indian tribes of the undertaking and give those tribal groups the opportunity to consult, should they wish to do so.

If a tribe has assumed State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) responsibilities for tribal lands by designating a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), as provided for in NHPA Section 101(d)(2), then the federal agency shall consult with the THPO in lieu of the SHPO regarding undertakings occurring on or affecting historic properties on tribal lands.

If a tribe has not assumed SHPO responsibilities by designating a THPO as provided for in NHPA Section 101(d)(2), then the federal agency shall consult with official representatives of the tribe as well as with the SHPO. Such Indian tribes have the same rights of consultation and concurrence that tribes with THPOs have, except that consultations about undertakings on tribal land shall be in addition to and on the same basis as consultation with the SHPO.

Determination of Eligibility

Reagan Smith is specialized in applying for National Register recognition for Historic Places.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

The following criteria are designed to guide the states, federal agencies, and the Secretary of the Interior in evaluating potential entries for the National Register.

A. that are associated with events that have made significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or

B. that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or

C. that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or

D. that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Historic Archaeology

Historical archaeology is the study of the material remains of past societies that also left behind some other form of historical evidence. By examining the physical and documentary record of these sites, historical archaeologists attempt to discover the fabric of common everyday life in the past and seek to understand the broader historical development of their own and other societies.

Prehistoric Archaeology

Prehistoric archaeology is the study of the past before historical records began. It is a field of research that looks at all the pre-urban societies of the world. It also has distinctive set of procedures for analyzing material remains so that archaeologists can reconstruct their ecological settings. The study of prehistoric archaeology reflects the cultural concerns of modern society by showing interpretations of time between economic growth and political stability. It also has very close links with biology, biological anthropology, and geology. It is also sometimes termed as anthropological archaeology because of its indirect traces with complex patterns.