Archaeological Survey of Realigned Portions of the Proposed North Burton 115 kV Transmission Line and Access Roads in the Tallulah Ranger District of Chattahoochee National Forest, Rabun County, Georgia

In late 2000 Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) conducted a Phase I intensive archeological survey of four alternative corridors for a proposed 115 kV transmission line that would run from just south of Tiger to near the headwaters of Lake Burton in Tallulah Ranger District, Chattahoochee National Forest, Rabun County, Georgia (Pluckhahn 2001). The survey was limited to only U.S. Forest Service lands. Because the precise layout and design of the proposed transmission line had not been established, the survey examined a wide (152 m, or 500 ft) corridor for each alternative. The report for the survey was completed on January 29, 2001. Fifteen sites on the four alternatives were recorded, including five that were assessed as being potentially eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. One of the five potentially eligible sites, prehistoric site 9RA247, was on Alternative D. Since the time of the original survey, a preferred alternative has been selected (Alternative D) and a precise route has been mapped and marked on the ground for further study. Much of the final alignment lies within the 152-m wide corridor surveyed in late 2000, but portions fall outside of the previously surveyed corridor. This report presents the results of an intensive Phase I archeological survey of the approximately 5 km (3 mi) of proposed transmission line corridor that falls outside of the 152-m wide corridor surveyed last year. In addition to these realignments, a 0.6 km (0.4 mi) section of the original alignment of Alternative D over Crukleton Ridge also was surveyed. This section was not surveyed initially due to lack of access. The present survey also includes all construction access roads that will be constructed or improved, which total approximately 5 km (3 mi). The final route of Alternative D avoids potentially eligible site 9RA247 by a considerable distance (229 m, or 750 ft), so there was no need to conduct Phase II archeological testing of this site. The survey was conducted to ensure compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended). The United States Forest Service (USFS) issued a special use permit for the archeological survey and any potential Phase II archeological testing on April 1, 2002 (Appendix A). Significantly different from the original North Burton transmission line archeological survey (Pluckhahn 2001), the width of the area of potential effect for the transmission line corridor is 23 m (75 ft). The area of potential effect for both existing and new road right-of-way was estimated at about 15 m (50 ft). Improvements to existing roads will involve grading the existing bed, leveling any berms along the low side of the road and possibly recutting the slope on the high side of the road. Total length of existing road that was surveyed was approximately 4.5 km (2.8 mi), but portions of the existing road coincide with the proposed transmission line corridor. Approximately 600 m (1970 ft) of new road right-of-way was surveyed. About half of this runs along a steep slope and half along a narrow ridge crest. Tom Gresham and Rob Benson conducted the archeological survey of the corridor and access road rights-of-way on April 17 and 18, 2002. During the survey, one cultural resource was recorded, archeological site 9RA255, which consists of cut logs laid parallel across the course of a small creek on an existing mountain road to form a creek crossing. The focus of the following pages is the results of the present survey. Background information that includes the environmental setting, previous.