During the first week of April 2022, Nutter and Associates, Inc. (NAI), conducted a Phase I intensive archaeological survey of a proposed wetlands enhancement project, a ca. 34-ha (83-ac) tract on the Conasauga River floodplain in eastern Whitfield County. The project area in this report is identified as the Simms Farm Wetlands Enhancement Mitigation Project, consisting of three contiguous wetlands enhancement and restoration areas on the Conasauaga River floodplain. The project area, or area of potential effect (APE), is on the northern and western sides of the Conasauga River and is comprised entirely of river flooplain. The survey was undertaken to be in compliance with Section l 06 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, which requires that federal agencies that fund, license, or regulate projects take into account the effects of an undertaking on significant cultural resources. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are the federal agencies involved in this wetlands mitigation project. The proposed wetlands enhancement tract consists of formerly cultivated land, with wooded terrain bounding its perimeter. The Phase I intensive archaeological survey relied on a pedestrian survey and shovel testing to identify cultural resources within the APE.
Archival research revealed no previously recorded sites or twentieth century structures within the Simms Farm Wetland Enhancement Mitigation Project tract, but significant archaeological sites have been identified nearby.
The Phase I intensive survey identified no archaeological sites in the project APE, but one archaeological isolated find, likely dating to the Early Woodland period was identified. Since an isolated find is not an archaeological site, it does not qualify for evaluation against National Register criteria. Thus, if the proposed undertaking is implemented, the undertaking would not adversely affect significant cultural resources on the wetlands enhancement project area. Therefore, since no significant cultural resources will be adversely affected by the proposed undertaking, we recommend that the wetlands enhancement project be allowed to proceed as planned.
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