Beverwyck Archaeology provides services for clients in need of completing a cultural resource management (CRM) project. Such projects arise when an agency, organization, or municipality is required by federal, state, or local regulations to assess how their project may impact potential cultural resources within their project limits. These include historical and/or archaeological resources such as archaeological sites, precontact and historic landscapes and landscape features, historic buildings, and historic infrastructure (e.g., bridges).
The primary reason a company, agency, or municipality, would need a cultural resource survey is compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Section 106 states that any project receiving federal funding and/or needs a federal permit is obligated to consider the project’s effect on cultural resources, specifically those that are on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places. A variety of other federal, state, and local regulations and permitting processes, such as New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), likewise require cultural resource surveys.
CRM projects are divided into phases, each designed to address impacts to a project area, also known as an area of potential effect (APE), or a specific site. Such projects can be completed by professionals who meet the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards for archaeology and historic preservation. These standards are published in the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61. They can be found online here. The principles at Beverwyck Archaeology both meet and exceed these standards, and their qualifications can be provided upon request.
The primary reason a company, agency, or municipality, would need a cultural resource survey is compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Section 106 states that any project receiving federal funding and/or needs a federal permit is obligated to consider the project’s effect on cultural resources, specifically those that are on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places. A variety of other federal, state, and local regulations and permitting processes, such as New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), likewise require cultural resource surveys.
CRM projects are divided into phases, each designed to address impacts to a project area, also known as an area of potential effect (APE), or a specific site. Such projects can be completed by professionals who meet the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards for archaeology and historic preservation. These standards are published in the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61. They can be found online here. The principles at Beverwyck Archaeology both meet and exceed these standards, and their qualifications can be provided upon request.
Phase IA: Literature Review and Sensitivity Assessment
Phase IB: Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey
Both Phase IA and IB projects are typically combined into a single Phase I project. At times, however, a regulatory agency, such as the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in New York State, may only require a literature review and sensitivity assessment depending on the nature and context of the project. This project phase requires little fieldwork, consisting instead of a review of the archaeological site files and historic documents and records. Recommendations derived from this assessment may or may not suggest the need for a cultural resource reconnaissance survey.
A Phase IB reconnaissance survey consists of archaeological fieldwork when recommended by the Phase IA report. The object of a Phase IB survey is to determine, by way of on-the-ground work, if cultural resources exist in the area of potential impact. Survey techniques typically involve hand excavation of small shovel tests in a grid pattern throughout the study area.
A Phase IB reconnaissance survey consists of archaeological fieldwork when recommended by the Phase IA report. The object of a Phase IB survey is to determine, by way of on-the-ground work, if cultural resources exist in the area of potential impact. Survey techniques typically involve hand excavation of small shovel tests in a grid pattern throughout the study area.
Phase II: Site Examination
If potentially significant cultural resources are identified in the Phase I survey, a site examination if often recommended. This consists of targeted archaeological excavation that determines the potential eligibility of a site for the National Register of Historic Places. If a site is considered to be National Register Eligible (NRE), and the proposed work cannot avoid the site, then a Phase III data recovery often follows.
Phase III: Data Recovery
A Phase III data recovery will attempt to extract as much archaeological information as possible, given a specific budget and time frame, from a site that will likely be damaged or destroyed by proposed work. These projects are conducted only on sites deemed eligible for the National Register in an attempt to obtain and preserve information from that cultural resource for future research, analysis, and education.