SRARP Archaeological Compliance-Fiscal Year 2001

Archaeological survey of Site Use Permit Application and Timber Compartment Prescription projects by SRARP staff continued through FY01 according to procedures outlined in 1990. During FY01, archaeological survey was conducted on 4,927 acres for 25 field surveys, resulting in the excavation of 5,612 shovel test pits (STPs). Altogether, 138 new and previously recorded sites were investigated during FY01. For most of these sites, adequate information was not obtained, based on the level of survey sampling conducted, to allow National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility determinations. Finally, a total of 45 isolated artifact occurrences was recorded during FY01 surveys.

Over the past nine years, the SRARP has conducted compliance survey according to a predictive locational model, as established in the Archaeological Resource Management Plan, for archaeological sites. This Management Plan was developed in agreement with the US DOE-SR, the SCSHPO, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The predictive model has proven thus far to be a scientifically sound and efficient method with which to locate and manage archaeological resources on the SRS. Additionally, the location model is a cost-effective means of conducting survey, especially in these austere times of federal government financial reductions. For these reasons, the development of predictive models is encouraged by regulatory guidance to federal landholders who manage archaeological resources on a daily basis.