Successfully
Guiding
Major Projects
Through
Regulatory
Challenges

Case Study

San Franciso Transbay Transit Center Project

URS Corporation/Transbay Joint Powers Authority, San Francisco, California

PaleoWest is conducting archaeological investigations for the 22-Block Transbay Transit Center Project in downtown San Francisco. The project would extend the Peninsula commuter rail service to a terminal in the South of Market neighborhood, and, in the process, relocate necessary utilities, demolish the existing Transbay Terminal and viaduct structure, construct a new Transbay Terminal building, and integrate bus and highspeed rail service serving the city. As part of the project’s cultural resources program, PaleoWest designed and installed an exhibit that describes the history of the project area and relates that history to the artifacts that are on display as part of the exhibit. The exhibit, which received a Preservation Design Award from the California Preservation Foundation, will rotate through the public spaces of various government agencies around the Bay Area.

Case Study

Palen Solar Project

EDF Renewables, Riverside County, California

We are currently providing cultural and paleontological resources support to EDF Renewables for the Palen Solar Project (PSP), located on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Riverside County. PaleoWest is in the process of drafting all cultural and paleontological plans for the PSP, including

• Tribal Participation Plan
• Monitoring and Discovery Plan
• Cultural Resources Research Design and Plan
• Paleontological Resources Monitoring and Mitigation Plan
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Plan of Action

We are also providing cultural and paleontological resources monitoring for preconstruction geotechnical and site fencing activities at the PSP. Paleontological monitors were a late requirement for this effort, but we were successful in providing paleontological field staff ahead of initiation of geotechnical studies and avoiding project delays.

We were instrumental in revising the cultural resources mitigation measures for the PSP, providing the language to replace an overly burdensome survey far afield of the PSP that were not in line with the impacts the project will have on the landscape. Finally, we were successful in revising the mitigation measures for the Desert Training Center to a much less costly mitigation program that still met the project’s requirements to mitigate project impacts.

Case Study

Major U.S. Carrier

Elbert County, Colorado

PaleoWest routinely assists telecommunications infrastructure development clients and major U.S. carriers to navigate the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act and Federal Communications Commission.

In one recent representative case, the carrier proposed to construct a new 195-foot-tall self-supporting tower and associated infrastructure in a rural area and within a historic site. The project also required new access roads and utility easements, which are typical additional elements of these projects.

We conducted an intensive survey of the project site, during which we observed and documented a prehistoric camp that extended into the project area. To address regulatory requirements and facilitate the construction of the communications tower, we collaborated with the client to recommend the installation of protective fencing to confine ground-disturbing activities and protect the prehistoric camp.

In addition, a long-standing Boy Scout Camp was located near the construction zone, and we worked with the client to address stakeholder concerns and identify possible mitigative actions, including facilitation of a workshop to help attendees of the Boy Scout Camp earn an archaeology merit badge and presenting a talk at the Boy Scout Camp about the local archaeology and the importance of heritage resources.

Our proactive communication and creative problem solving allowed the carrier to address regulatory requirements and increase its positive impacts on the community.

Case Study

Florida Department Of Transportation

Multiple Counties, Florida

PaleoWest holds a multi-year contract with the Florida Department of
Transportation to provide all of the Department’s cultural resources assessment work in compliance with state and federal regulations throughout 16 counties. In the past 12 months, PaleoWest has conducted over 90 reviews. This high volume of work is possible because of PaleoWest’s ready team of trained cultural resources professionals located throughout western Florida who are able to respond immediately to fieldwork requests. Reviews have included extensive fieldwork in both rural and urban settings, which have led to the documentation and evaluation for the National Register of Historic Places of several hundred historic buildings, roads, and railroads.

Case Study

NAVAJO-GALLUP WATER SUPPLY CULTURAL RESOURCES PROJECT

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation – Northwest New Mexico.

In 2011, we were awarded the nation’s largest public archaeology contract. To properly treat the wealth of archaeological and ethnographic resources in the path of a 280-mile water pipeline in the Four Corners stemming from a major Congressional Indian water-rights settlement, PaleoWest archaeologists, ethnographers, and historians created successful agreement documents, conducted fieldwork, completed specialized analyses, and produced reports necessary to satisfy two federal and two state agencies, as well as 22 consulting tribal entities.

The multi-year project was tagged by the Obama Administration as the Department of the Interior’s top-priority project nationwide, and we worked in concert with the Department to secure the additional Congressional funding necessary for the project through the passage of Public Law 114-57, the New Mexico Navajo Water Settlement Technical Corrections Act.

Case Study

CHINA LAKE 3D PETROGLYPH MAPPING

U.S. Department of the Navy, China Lake, California

Our aerial mapping and 3D modeling capabilities were tapped by the U.S. Department of the Navy to begin creating a digital record of North America’s largest array of prehistoric rock art, managed by China Lake Naval Weapons Station in California.

Employing unmanned aerial vehicles and pole-mounted data collection, we created the world’s most extensive 3D digital model of prehistoric rock art, allowing the Navy to effectively manage its invaluable resource and share it with researchers and descendant tribes even as military operations at the base close it off to civilian access.

Case Study

CULTURAL RESOURCES SERVICES FOR THE TWENTY-NINE PALMS BAND OF MISSION INDIANS

Twenty-Nine Palms of Mission Indians, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, California

Our key staff have been providing cultural resources support services in support of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indian’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office Program for more than five years. Tasks include reservation-wide services, development of tribal registers and associated GIS databases (along with database training manuals), preparation of tribal resources management plans, and cultural resources monitor training programs. Given the success of our collaborative efforts with the Twenty-Nine Palms Tribal Historic Preservation Office, other tribes have reached out to request similar support for their respective programs.

Case Study

Civil Rights Movement Historic Places Documentation

City of Montgomery, Alabama

Hired by the City of Montgomery, Alabama, PaleoWest recently documented over 2,300 buildings in neighborhoods where the historic Civil Rights Movement was born. Montgomery was and remains an important place in the Civil Rights Movement. As a follow-up public interpretation project, we developed an ESRI “StoryMap” to showcase over 20 significant sites from our survey. The StoryMap provides an accessible and interactive way to digitally explore the sites, bringing each StoryPoint to life with historical photographs, videos, and scans of documents.