Front Matter

Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the Mountweazel Chemical Depot  

Loteria Township (T29.5S R13W), New Mexico


Prepared for US Army Corps of Engineers, El Paso District
Under Prime Contract No. W91278-12-D-1313 Delivery Order: 0013
GloboMax, Inc. Alexandria, Virginia





Prepared by

Francis J. Trautman, MS, RPA
Principal Investigator

Thunder Creek Cultural Resources Consulting

Akron, Ohio 

December 2017 

Management Summary

As per U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract, No. W91278-12-D-1313, Task Order 013, Phase I cultural resources investigations of at the Mountweazel Chemical Depot (MCD), Loteria Township, New Mexico were conducted by Thunder Creek Cultural Resources Consulting (TCCRC) in 2012. This facility is to be closed under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012 under the recommendation of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC). This action requires a full cultural resources inventory be completed for compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended through 2004), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s implementing regulations (36 CFR Part 800), and Department of Defense Directive 4710.1. TCCRC (Akron, Ohio) was contracted by the El Paso District of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE-EP), through GloboMax, Inc. (Alexandria, Virginia), to complete the investigations in February 2012.

Following a Scope of Work (SOW) provided by USACE-EP (2012) and draft guidelines provided by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the bulk of the fieldwork was carried out between February 14 and December 21, 2012, under the field direction of Francis Trautman, RPA, Principal Investigator for TCCRC. In the course of the investigations, the entire approximately 30, 000-acre facility was inventoried for archaeological sites, historic architecture or Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP).

The purpose of this document is to provide a full discussion of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) evaluation of all newly recorded cultural resources within the study area for review by the BRAC assessment board and the SHPO. 

Phase I cultural resources survey of MCD resulted in documentation of 54 previously unknown (Field Site [FS] 1-54) cultural resources. This includes numerous prehistoric and historic sites, as well as standing buildings and structures. Pending review and comment by the federal regulatory agencies, these resources will be registered with SHPO. As a whole, these 54 resources represent the cultural history of the Southwestern Closed basin of New Mexico from the Clovis Period over 12, 000 years ago through the present day, and beyond. However, pending additional Phase II assessment, these 54 resources are of unknown eligibility for NRHP. Therefore avoidance and preservation in place in the near term is recommended for these resources.