Proposed Infrastructure Development, Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, McIntosh County

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposes to construct a retention pond and a new employee parking area at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge in McIntosh County. The projects are located adjacent to the Refuge's Visitor Center and Maintenance Complex. The proposed retention pond will be located in a hardwood/pine stand; the employee parking area will be built in the Refuge's former "bone yard". An unimproved road provides access to the bone yard. A review of the FWS's Regional Site Files did not reveal any recorded archaeological sites within the projects' "area of potential effect." Nearby historic properties are associated with the late 19th-early 20th century African American community of Harris Neck and the World War II-era Harris Neck Army Airfield. South of the project area and the paved Wildlife Drive stood the early 20th century McIntosh County Schoolhouse. By 1943, the Army Air Corps had converted the schoolhouse into an administrative office. Earthen open bomb storage revetments, the brick Ammunition Assembly & Maintenance Building, a small brick Storage Magazine, a small brick Pyrotechnic Storage Building, and five metal fuse storage buildings were built in this area. As the proposed work possesses the potential to adversely impact cultural resources, a Phase I archaeological survey was deemed necessary. Fieldwork was conducted September 9 - 10, 2008. Methodology included a pedestrian walkover, photodocumentation, and systematic shovel testing. No artifacts or other evidence of intact subsurface cultural occupation were recovered. The Refuge's former bone yard, the proposed location for the employee parking area, is littered with a variety of modern debris, such as PVS pipes, signs, tires, and tractor parts. The debris, though illustrative of past Refuge disposal practices, are not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The proposed work will have "no adverse effect" upon any of the Refuge's historic properties. Further archaeological investigations are not warranted.