APPENDIX I: 

CULTURAL RESOURCE 

USE CATEGORIES 
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Jarbidge Draft RMP/EIS Appendix I 

APPENDIX I: CULTURAL RESOURCE USE CATEGORIES 

All cultural properties in the planning area, whether already recorded or projected to occur, are allocated 

to one or more of the uses described below. Allocations apply to individual properties and to classes of 

similar properties. The purpose of these allocations is to provide up-front management guidance to aid 

the authorized officer in responding to conflicts between specific cultural resources and land uses and to 

enable the authorized officer to analyze needs and develop appropriate mitigation and treatment options
 

during the compliance process for proposed actions. Managing cultural properties according to use 

categories does not relieve the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of its obligations to consult with the 

tribes, the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), or the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
 

(ACHP) regarding the specific treatment of historic properties, or the potential effects of land use 

proposals on cultural resources.
 

Allocations may be revised when site conditions change or new information becomes available. Changes 

that may warrant revision of a site’s use allocation include:
 

 Destruction of a site’s primary use values due to natural or human caused disturbance. 

 When ethnographic, historical, or archaeological research reveals important but previously 

unrecognized values that may be damaged or destroyed under the current allocation or that may 

more effectively meet resource management plan (RMP) goals and objectives if used in another way. 

 When a site’s primary values are legitimately expended or its use potential is fully realized. 

 Following consultation with the tribes, SHPO, or ACHP, as appropriate for the resource and use 

category being revised. 

Traditional Use 

The Traditional Use category applies to any cultural resource in the planning area known to be perceived 

by the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes or the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes as important in maintaining their cultural 

identity, heritage, or well-being. Cultural properties assigned to this category are managed in ways that 

recognize the importance ascribed to them and seek to accommodate their continuing traditional use. 

Management Direction 

1. Avoidance is the preferred treatment. 

2. If impacts are unavoidable, data recovery and/or other measures will be implemented after 

appropriate consultation and before implementation of a proposed activity. 

3. Sites in this category are available for use by members of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes and the 

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes for traditional uses. Access to these sites will be accommodated to the 

extent practicable. 

4. Ethnographic studies may be initiated when funding is available to identify these types of properties 

and to ensure that they receive the appropriate level of management. 

The following property types in the planning area are allocated to Traditional Use: 

 Historic/Ethnographic Tribal Sites 

 Ceremonial Locations 

 Burial Sites8 

 Sacred Sites 

 Natural Resource Collection Sites 

 Native American Trails 

8

 Native American burials on public lands would normally be subject to the Native American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). 

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Appendix I	 Jarbidge Draft RMP/EIS 

Conservation for Future Use 

The Conservation for Future Use category is reserved for any cultural property in the planning area that is 

unusual because of scarcity or has a research potential that surpasses the current state of the art, 

singular historic importance, cultural importance, architectural interest, or comparable reasons. These 

properties are not currently available for consideration as the subject of scientific or historical study that 

would result in its physical alteration. 

Management Direction 

1. Avoidance is the preferred mitigation measure. Discretionary activities will usually be denied within 

the boundaries of these resources if such activities are likely to result in adverse effects to the cultural 

property. 

2. If impacts are unavoidable, data recovery or other measures may be allowed after going through the 

required consultation processes. Avoidance should be possible in most cases. 

3. Sites in this category have the highest priority for protection and preservation and will generally not be 

available for other uses, including research and interpretation. 

4. A resource listed in the Conservation for Future Use category may be placed in another use 

management category if: (a) BLM identifies the specific criteria underlying this classification (e.g., 

outstanding research potential), (b) the specific reasons for prohibitions or limitations are identified, 

and (c) BLM identifies or accepts methodological, technological, or other criteria that, if met or 

implemented, justify alterations to the integrity of the resource and placement in another use 

category. 

5. Protective actions may be taken to ensure preservation of those qualities providing the basis for 

classification. These actions, such as fencing, installation of erosion control structures, road closures, 

etc., must not impinge on the values and integrity of the site. Sites in this category are generally the 

highest priority for monitoring of potential threats. 

The following property types in the planning area are allocated to Conservation for Future Use: 

 Cemeteries and Grave Sites 

Scientific Use 

The Scientific Use category applies to any cultural property in the planning area available for 

consideration as the subject of scientific or historical study at the present time, using currently available 

research techniques. Study includes methods that would result in the property’s physical alteration or 

destruction. This category applies almost entirely to prehistoric and historic archaeological properties, 

where the method of use is generally archaeological excavation, controlled surface collection, and/or 

controlled recordation (data recovery). Recommendations to allocate individual properties to this use 

must be based on documentation of the kinds of data the property is thought to contain and the data’s 

importance for pursuing specified research topics. Properties in this category need not be conserved in 

the face of a research or data recovery (mitigation) proposal that would make adequate and appropriate 

use of the property’s research importance. 

Management Direction 

1. Data recovery rather than avoidance is the preferred option; although sites should be preserved until 

research potential is realized. Data recovery should be accomplished prior to impacts from conflicting 

uses or natural or human-caused deterioration and may be undertaken to mitigate impacts that have 

already occurred. 

2. Resources in this category are available for testing and excavation by qualified researchers operating 

under valid permits with acceptable research designs. Resources in this category may be discharged 

from use or assigned to a category other than Conservation for Future Use once the resource has no 

further scientific use. 

The following property types in the planning area are allocated to Scientific Use: 

 Fur Trade Camps 

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Jarbidge Draft RMP/EIS Appendix I 

 Cabins/Line Shacks, including Ruins 

 Abandoned Homesteads, including Ruins 

 Historic Cairns 

 Trash Dumps – Community 

 Irrigation Project Construction Camps 

 Moonshine Distilleries 

 Prehistoric Archaeological Sites that are not identified through consultation as traditional cultural 

properties or sacred sites 

Public Use 

This category may be applied to any cultural property in the planning area found to be appropriate for use 

as an interpretive exhibit in place or for related educational and recreational uses by members of the 

general public. This category may also be applied to historic features (e.g., roads, dams) that are still in 

use. 

Management Direction 

1. Interpretation through the development of on-site facilities and/or published materials made available 

to the public is the preferred treatment. Interpretation will be based on appropriate archaeological, 

historic, or ethnographic research and will reflect consultation with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes and 

the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes when Native American information is included. 

2. These sites are available for educational and recreational use by the general public. Testing, data 

recovery, historic research, oral histories, ethnographic research, and other treatments may be 

necessary to gather sufficient information for suitable educational and interpretive uses and to 

prevent damage from proposed recreational or educational uses. 

3. Interpretive facility designs will be consistent with the area’s visual resource management (VRM) 

class and compatible with the physical setting of the interpreted site. 

4. Fences, erosion control devices, vehicle barriers, parking areas, and other protective structures may 

be constructed to prevent or limit site damage. 

The following property types in the planning area are allocated to Public Use: 

 Crippen Grade 

 Non-CCC Reservoirs – Still in Use 

 Portions of Historic Roads and Trails that are Improved for Modern Use 

Experimental Use

This category may be applied to a cultural property in the planning area determined to be well-suited for 

controlled experimental study, conducted by BLM or others concerned with the techniques of managing 

cultural properties, which would result in the property’s alteration, possibly including loss of integrity and 

destruction of physical elements. Committing cultural properties or the data they contain to loss must be 

justified in terms of specific information that would be gained and how it would aid in the management of 

other cultural properties. Experimental study should aim toward understanding the kinds and rates of 

natural or human-caused deterioration, testing the effectiveness of protection measures, or developing 

new research or interpretation methods and similar kinds of practical management information. It would 

not be applied to cultural properties with traditional cultural importance, research potential, or public use 

potential. 

Management Direction 

1. These sites are reserved for studies concerning the effects of erosion, fire, land treatments, or other 

site formational processes on cultural resources. The preferred treatment for sites placed in an 

Experimental Use category will be avoidance unless the proposed impacts are related to the study 

being conducted. 

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Appendix I	 Jarbidge Draft RMP/EIS 

2. If impacts unrelated to the study are unavoidable, then the site may be placed in the Discharged from 

Management category, or may undergo data recovery or other treatment depending on eligibility for 

the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or other factors and after appropriate consultation. 

3. If BLM determines the useful experimental life of the site is exhausted, then it can be placed into the 

Discharged from Management or other appropriate category. 

Individual sites within the following property types in the planning area may be allocated to Experimental 

Use as needed: 

 Temporary Camps – Livestock Industry 

 Trash Dumps – Unassociated Household Refuse 

Discharged from Management

This category is assigned to cultural properties in the planning area that have no remaining identifiable 

use. These are most often prehistoric and historic properties, such as small surface scatters of artifacts or 

debris, whose limited research potential is effectively exhausted during documentation. More complex 

archaeological properties that have had their salient information collected and preserved through 

mitigation or research may be discharged from management, as should cultural properties destroyed by 

any natural or human activity. Properties discharged from management remain in the inventory, but are 

removed from further management attention and do not constrain other land uses. Particular classes of 

unrecorded cultural resources may be named and described in advance as dischargeable upon 

documentation, but specific cultural properties must be inspected in the field and recorded before they 

may be discharged from management. 

Management Direction 

1. Preservation is not required. 

2. Tribal consultation is required before any site of cultural or religious significance to the tribes is placed 

in this category. 

3. SHPO consultation is required before any property previously determined as eligible for the NRHP or 

unevaluated property is placed in this category. 

The following property types in the planning area are Discharged from Management: 

 General Transportation Routes (e.g., ranching, recreation, farming) 

 Temporary Camps – Livestock Industry 

 Generic Range Developments (e.g., fences, corrals, water tanks). 

 Trash Dumps – Unassociated Household Refuse 

 Non-CCC Reservoirs – Breached 

 Military – Aircraft Debris 

 Military – Expended Ordnance 

 Isolated Historic Artifacts 

 Small, Non-Diagnostic Lithic Scatters 

 Modern Period (post 1960) Sites, Facilities, and Features 

Traditional/Scientific Use 

This category is assigned to cultural properties in the planning area important because of their links to 

traditional values, but also important for the archaeological information they contain. 

Management Direction 

1. Access for traditional use will be accommodated to the extent and manner practicable. 

2. Non-destructive recordation, photography, mapping, and analysis, as well as actions needed to 

protect artifacts and sites threatened by theft or physical destruction, including research and 

stabilization related to criminal violations of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, will be 

allowed. 

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3. Research that does not conflict with traditional use may be allowed after consultation with the tribes, 

SHPO, and ACHP, as appropriate. 

4. Public dissemination of research results will take into account the confidentiality and privacy concerns 

of the tribes. 

5. Cultural resource data recovery, using standard archaeological methods, may be allowed, after 

appropriate consultation, if impacts to sites are unavoidable and non-destructive conservation 

measures are not adequate or feasible, and when necessary to determine a site’s eligibility for the 

NRHP or mitigate adverse effects to NRHP-eligible or -listed properties. 

The following property types in the planning area are allocated to Traditional/Scientific Use: 

 Prehistoric Rock Art Sites (petroglyphs and pictographs) 

 Prehistoric Cave and Rock Shelters 

 Prehistoric Open Habitation Sites 

 Prehistoric Lithic Scatters 

 Tool Stone Quarries 

 Prehistoric Rock Features (e.g., hunting blinds, rock circles, linear rock alignments, and cairns) 

 Isolated Prehistoric Artifacts 

Public/Scientific Use

This category is assigned to cultural properties in the planning area that are most valuable for public use, 

but that may require scientific data collection to enhance their interpretive potential. 

Management Direction 

1. Sites assigned to this category will be available for educational and recreational use by the general 

public. Interpretive and educational actions, including but not limited to on-site interpretation, signage, 

or publications, are the preferred management actions. 

2. Data recovery or other treatments deemed necessary to provide sufficient information for suitable 

educational and interpretive uses, or to treat damage from recreational uses, may be authorized 

providing they do not diminish the public use potential of the site. 

3. Data recovery and stabilization actions related to criminal violations of ARPA will be allowed. 

4. To the extent practical, data recovery and other treatment actions will involve volunteers. 

The following property types in the planning area are allocated to Public/Scientific Use: 

 Oregon Trail Campsites 

 Pilgrim Stage Station 

 Historic School Sites 

 Historic Inscriptions 

 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Dams, Roads, and Related Sites – Still in Use 

 CCC Dams, Roads, and Related Sites – No Longer Used 

Conservation/Public Use 

This category includes cultural resources in the planning area that are suitable for long-term preservation, 

but also possess high public use values. 

Management Direction 

1. Sites in this category will be managed to avoid degradation from competing land uses and from 

natural processes. 

2. Sites may be used for interpretation or other public purposes and for data recovery and other 

treatments if these uses do not conflict with conservation of the property. 

The following property types in the planning area are allocated to Conservation/Public Use: 

 Oregon Trail (Main Route and South Alternate) 

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Appendix I 

 Kelton Freight Road 

 Toana Freight Road 

 Wilkins Rock Fence 

Jarbidge Draft RMP/EIS 

Summary of Cultural Resource Use Allocations 

Table I- 1 summarizes the cultural resource use categories to which properties of cultural and religious 

importance and prehistoric and historic sites would be allocated under the action alternatives. 

Table I- 1. Properties of Cultural and Religious Importance 

Property Type Use Category 

Properties of Cultural and Religious Importance 

Historic/Ethnographic Tribal Sites Traditional 

Ceremonial Locations Traditional 

Burial Sites Traditional 

Sacred Sites Traditional 

Natural Resource Collection Sites Traditional 

Native American Trails Traditional 

Prehistoric Sites 

Petroglyphs Traditional/Scientific 

Pictographs Traditional/Scientific 

Caves and Rock Shelters Traditional/Scientific 

Open Habitation Sites Traditional/Scientific 

Lithic Scatters with potential for subsurface deposits, diagnostic artifacts, 

surface patterning of cultural debris, or evidence of cultural features Traditional/Scientific 

Lithic Scatters with no or little potential for subsurface deposits, and no 

diagnostic artifacts, surface artifact patterning, or evidence of cultural features 

Traditional/Scientific or 

Discharged from Management 

Tool Stone Quarry Traditional/Scientific 

Hunting Blinds Traditional/Scientific 

Rock Circles Traditional/Scientific 

Linear Rock Alignments Traditional/Scientific 

Cairns Traditional/Scientific 

Isolated Prehistoric Artifacts Traditional/Scientific or 

Discharged from Management 

Archaeological sites that are not identified through consultation as traditional 

cultural properties or sacred sites Scientific 

Historic Sites 

Fur Trade Camps Scientific 

Oregon Trail (Main Route) Conservation/Public 

Oregon Trail (South Alternate) Conservation/Public 

Oregon Trail Campsites Public/Scientific 

Kelton Freight Road (NRHP-eligible segments) Conservation/Public 

Pilgrim Stage Station Public/Scientific 

Toana Freight Road (NRHP-listed contributing segments) Conservation/Public 

Crippen Grade Public 

General Transportation Routes (Ranching, Recreation, Farming, etc.) Discharged from Management 

Portions of Historic Roads and Trails that are Improved for Modern Use Public 

Cabins/Line Shacks, including Ruins Scientific 

Temporary Camps – Livestock Industry Experimental or Discharged from 

Management 

Historic School Sites Public/Scientific 

Abandoned Homesteads, including Ruins Scientific 

Cemeteries and Grave Sites Conservation 

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Property Type Use Category 

Cairns Scientific 

Wilkins Rock Fence Conservation/Public 

Generic Range Developments (Fences, Corrals, Water Tanks, etc.) Discharged from Management 

Trash Dumps – Community Scientific 

Trash Dumps – Unassociated Household Refuse Experimental or Discharged from 

Management 

Historic Inscriptions Public/Scientific 

Irrigation Project Construction Camps Scientific 

CCC Dams, Roads, and Related Sites – Still in Use Public/Scientific 

CCC Dams, Roads, and Related Sites – No Longer Used Public/Scientific 

Non-CCC Reservoirs – Still in Use Public 

Non-CCC Reservoirs – Breached Discharged from Management 

Moonshine Distilleries Scientific 

Military – Aircraft Debris Discharged from Management 

Military – Expended Ordnance Discharged from Management 

Isolated Historic Artifacts Discharged from Management 

Modern Period (post 1960) Sites, Facilities, and Features Discharged from Management 

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