Planning a large solar array and battery energy storage system on over 600 acres of Navajo Nation Off-Reservation Trust Land, a confidential client looked to Barr for cultural resources consultation and a Class III pedestrian cultural resource survey. Our goals were to identify the project’s potential impacts on Historic Properties—cultural resources eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)—and determine actions necessary for the project’s compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Section 106 (36 CFR 800).
Barr first conducted a Records Check and Literature Review of the New Mexico Cultural Resource Information System database to investigate any previous cultural resource surveys or recorded archaeological sites in the project area. We facilitated an additional records check of the Division of Conservation Archaeology at the Navajo Nation Heritage and Historic Preservation Department in Window Rock, Arizona. Through this research, we identified numerous cultural resources at the project site that might be eligible for NRHP listing as well as areas that had not been adequately surveyed.
With this information, Barr conducted a Class III pedestrian survey of the entire project area following fieldwork methods required by the Navajo Nation. We documented all cultural resources in the project area, including archaeological sites, Traditional Cultural Properties, and isolated occurrences (IOs)—non-structural remains of a single event or an assemblage of a limited number of artifacts. In total, we identified 46 archaeological sites and 137 IOs.
Barr assessed each of our findings for NRHP eligibility. In our final report, we documented our survey methods, eligibility determinations, and recommendations for minimizing disturbance to eligible or potentially eligible cultural resources. This report helped the client meet federal requirements under Section 106 of the NHPA and avoid adverse impacts to Historic Properties.
