Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge Survey

A survey of on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, in advance of the implementation of a fire suppression program, located a dozen sites and several historical structures.

Purpose

The BANWR planned fire suppression program involving grubbing mesquite across four irregular parcels, collectively comprising 2,237 acres. Desert Archaeology, Inc. was contracted to perform a Class III cultural resources inventory of the entire Area of Potential Effects (APE).

Actions

• Pedestrian survey of four parcels in the southern half of the BANWR

Results

• Survey documented 10 new sites, three of which are recommended as eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and seven of which are recommended as not eligible for inclusion.

• Desert Archaeology relocated two previously recorded sites; one is recommended as eligible for inclusion and one is currently considered unevaluated.

• In all, 43 isolated occurrences, including 7 maintained historical constructions, were also documented.

• Data collected during the survey indicates that the most intensive use of the area dates to the Sedentary (CE 950-1150) and Classic (CE 1150-1350) periods of the Hohokam sequence. This is indicated by a cluster of habitation sites and activity areas that was part of an enduring Hohokam community that resided along this drainage, which also included five recently documented habitation sites immediately north of the current project area.

• Ranching remains in the project area largely dated to the mid- to late twentieth century, although a small number of artifacts dated to the 1900s–1930s. The historical sites and features recorded were waste dumps, water control infrastructure, roads, and fencing associated with pasture areas.

• Avoidance was recommended for the four sites that are eligible for the NRHP and the area around one site that could not be fully re-recorded, while no avoidance or further work was recommended for seven ineligible sites and isolated occurrences, including maintained historical structures.