Phase I archaeological Survey of Scrubgrass Stream Restoration Tract in Nicholas County KY

This proposal has been prepared in response to a request from Mr. Scott Fennell of the Northern Kentucky University Center for Environmental Restoration (NKU-CER; the Client) for a proposal and cost estimate for conducting Phase I archaeological survey of the proposed Scrubgrass Stream Restoration Tract in Nicholas County, Kentucky. More than 40,000 linear feet of stream courses will be subjected to various stream restoration tasks including, preservation, stream enhancement, stream re-establishment, and stream rehabilitation. The tract (project area) measures about 536 acres in extent, but only small sections of the overall tract will be directly impacted by the stream restoration work and will require systematic archaeological survey. Other landforms within the tract have high probability for containing historic or prehistoric archaeological sites, and these areas are recommended for archaeological survey so that the ultimate owners and managers of the tract (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources) will have knowledge of the locations of potentially significant sites that can help guide any future development of the tract. These two types of Phase I archaeological survey—required versus recommended—are discussed in more detail below. The work that will be conducted will conform to the Kentucky Heritage Council’s Specifications for Conducting Fieldwork and Preparing Cultural Resource Assessment Reports (revised 2006). The Phase I archaeological survey will provide an inventory of the cultural resources within the investigated portions of the project area and will provide preliminary evaluations of the research potential of each cultural resource (archaeological site) identified and of each site’s eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). An archaeological site is any location on the landscape that produces artifacts more than 50 years old from intact deposits. Agricultural activities alone do not constitute disturbance of a site under current guidelines.