In April 2022, Tri leaf Corporation (Tri leaf) performed a cultural resource inventory survey for a proposed self-support, lattice telecommunications tower located in Fort Valley, Peach County, Georgia (Latitude: 32° 35' 51.4" Longitude: 83° 48' 10.06"). The proposed project is located within a wooded area.
Tillman Infrastructure, LLC proposes to construct a 175-foot (53.4-meter) telecommunications monopole, with an overall height of 200 feet (60 meters) and associated equipment within a I 00 x I 00- foot (30.5 x 30.5-meter) lease area. The project includes a 12-foot-wide (6.1-meter-wide) gravel access road within a 30-foot-wide (9.1-meter-wide) access and utility easement, extending approximately 174 feet (53 meters) north-northwest away from the lease area towards Georgia Highway 49. The proposed access and utility easement and proposed tower compound lease area are located within a wooded area. Total acreage of the new construction area is approximately 0.35 acres (0.14 hectare).
Senior Project Archaeologist, Danielle Young, M.A., RPA, under the direction of Tri leaf, performed this survey in response to the planned use of the above-described parcel and the potential impacts that such use might present to archaeological and architectural cultural resources. The Phase I cultural resource survey was designed to discover all precontact and historical period cultural resources that might be present within the project area.
The field survey of the project area, which included a pedestrian survey, shovel testing, and visual inspection, yielded no evidence for the presence of archaeological or architectural properties within the Direct APE for the current project. Additionally, based on a map and survey form search using the resources of the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office GNAHRGIS GIS platform, inspections of the Georgia Archaeological Site Files (GASF 2022), as well as the resources of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) conducted by Danielle Young, M.A., RPA, Senior Project Archaeologist of Tri leaf Corporation, on March 25, 2022, identified no NRHP-listed or NRHP-eligible historical resources located within the ¾-mile Visual APE. However, four (4) GNAHRGIS historical properties (208969, 214368, 209051, 219108) were identified, with no prior determination of NRHP-eligibility, but included for inclusivity. None of these resources could be located in the field. A review of archaeological sites and surveys, conducted by the GASF on March 25, 2022, identified no previously identified archaeological sites and four (4) previously recorded archaeological surveys (7406, 8607, 10695, 11364) within a I-mile radius of the proposed project area.
Based on these findings, Trileaf recommends No Historic Properties within the Direct APE and No Historic Properties within the ¾-mile VJSual APE. Lt is therefore recommended that project clearance be granted with no further investigation or evaluation of the project area.
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