New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 4 - CULTURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 10 - CULTURAL PROPERTIES AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION › Part 15 - STANDARDS FOR SURVEY AND INVENTORY › Section 4.10.15.10 - INTENSIVE SURVEY STANDARDS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
Intensive surveys performed on state land shall be conducted
				  in accordance with the following specifications. The state agency with
				  jurisdiction may specify additional requirements and standards that meet or
				  exceed the following specifications. All work shall be performed under the
				  general supervision of individuals listed in the SHPO directory of qualified
				  supervisory personnel (4.10.8.11
				  NMAC). All fieldwork shall be performed under the direct supervision of an
				  archaeologist listed in the SHPO directory unless the properties recorded
				  consist primarily of historic structures and buildings (see
				  4.10.15.12
				  NMAC). The supervisor in the field is responsible for assessing field
				  conditions, altering field methods such as decreasing survey interval, making
				  collections or conducting limited tests, and determining when slope, vegetation
				  or other factors affect field conditions. Document these conditions and
				  specific methods used during the survey in the survey report.
A.
Survey area.
Conduct a
				comprehensive, systematic, pedestrian survey of the APE or project area to
				identify, document and record all cultural properties including archaeological
				sites, historic structures and buildings, isolates and other properties of
				historic and scientific interest 50 or more years old that may be reasonably
				detected from the surface or which are exposed in profiles. Record historic
				structures and buildings less than 50 years old that may be eligible for the
				state or national registers within 5 years of the date of the survey. Identify
				and record properties that meet the requirements of national register criteria
				consideration G (properties that have achieved significance within the past 50
				years).
B.
Survey interval
				and transect width.
Transect width for surveys shall not exceed 15
				meters and shall be contiguous with no uninventoried areas left between
				transects. Intervals shall be reduced when surface visibility is poor. The
				terrain, vegetative cover and the nature of cultural properties influence
				transect width and intensity of survey coverage. For linear projects the
				minimum width of the APE or project area is 15 meters.
C.
Survey velocity.
The amount
				of area surveyed including recording time should not exceed a rate of 30 acres
				per person per eight hours of survey calculated for the survey project as a
				whole and not daily. Terrain and the number and complexity of cultural
				resources influence survey velocities. When survey velocities are greater than
				this standard, include an explicit explanation in the survey report. HPD and
				the state agency with jurisdiction will evaluate the explanation and results of
				the survey and may request that the survey or portion of the survey be
				reinventoried if the justification is inadequate.
D.
Items of cultural and religious
				significance.
If these items are encountered during a survey, they may
				be recorded. The permittee shall not disturb these items in any way.
E.
Human burials.
If a human
				burial or unmarked burial ground is encountered during survey, notify the local
				law enforcement agency pursuant to 4.10.11.8 NMAC. Do not disturb the human
				burial or unmarked burial ground in any way.
F.
Survey visibility.
(1) Halt survey if falling precipitation
				(rain, snow, hail or freezing rain) exceeds trace amounts for any length of
				time. Do not conduct survey if fallen snow impairs ground visibility. Ground
				visibility is considered impaired if more than 20 percent of total ground
				surface is covered by snow.
(2) In
				areas with dense, continuous vegetative cover, shovel tests, augers, probes or
				small excavation tests may be necessary to identify cultural properties. The
				supervisory archaeologist shall document areas with reduced visibility and, if
				tests are conducted, document areas of the tests, on the project field map and
				through photographs, and discuss in the survey report.
(a) Place shovel tests, augers, probes or
				small excavation units in a systematic pattern at an interval not to exceed 15
				meters.
(b) Shovel tests shall be
				approximately 30 cm in diameter.
(c) Limited test excavation units shall be 50
				cm by 50 cm in size.
(d) Shovel
				tests and limited test excavation units typically should be excavated to a
				minimum depth of 30 cm or to the depth of cultural materials whichever is
				less.
(e) Sediments removed from
				all limited test units shall be passed through a screen of no greater than
				one-quarter inch (6.35mm).