Environmental Surveys, Assessments and Documentation for Land Exchange Between the U.S. Army (Fort Benning, Georgia) and Consolidated Government of Columbus/Muscogee County, Georgia

    Cultural resources investigations were conducted in two tracts as part of a proposed land exchange between the Consolidated Government of Columbus/Muscogee County and the United States Army Infantry Center, Fort Benning. Intensive cultural resources survey and testing were conducted in Parcel 1 (3,125 acres, Fort Benning Military Reservation, Muscogee County) and Parcel 2 (3,225 acres, Mead Coated Board, Inc., Chattahoochee County) from January through August 1994.     Project goals consisted of location, delineation, and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) evaluation of all cultural resources within the project parcels. Historical research consisted of examination of relevant archival resources. Field survey involved pedestrian coverage of the entire tracts. Screened shovel testing at 30 meter intervals and visual inspection of exposed ground surface were the primary methods used to locate cultural resources. Cruciform pattern short interval shovel testing and surface artifact distribution were used to define site boundaries. Archaeological testing, consisting of excavation of formal 1 by 1 m units, was conducted at 11 sites in Parcel 1 and at 6 sites in Parcel 2. A report documenting cultural resources investigations of a 350 acre portion of Parcel 1, proposed for use as a landfill by the Consolidated Government of Columbus/Muscogee County, is included as Appendix D.     Cultural resources investigations resulted in the location, delineation, and evaluation of 88 archaeological sites (Table 1) and 65 isolated finds of cultural material (Table 2) in Parcels 1 and 2. Isolated finds are considered ineligible for the NRHP. A total of 26 sites (10 sites in Parcel 1 and 16 sites in Parcel 2) is recommended eligible for the NRHP under Criterion D, at the local level of significance. Archaeological investigations at these sites have produced artifact and context data which can contribute to our understanding of history and prehistory in the area, and/or exhibit additional research potential. These sites should be preserved in place; if preservation is not a viable alternative, data recovery plans should be developed and implemented.     The remainder of the recorded archaeological sites (19 sites in Parcel 1 and 43 sites in Parcel 2) are recommended ineligible for the NRHP. In general, the research value of these sites is considered to be extremely limited based on low artifact frequency and diversity, and poor site integrity and clarity. The majority of these sites have been adversely impacted by past land management practices and natural processes (e.g., agriculture, silviculture, military maneuvers, erosion) such that their research potential is extremely limited and has been realized at the survey and/or testing levels. No further cultural resource investigations are recommended at these locations. If preservation or data recovery can be assured for the 26 sites recommended eligible for the NRHP, then cultural resources clearance is recommended for the land exchange .