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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTeslaSSD_IDP_060325.pdfInadvertent Discovery Plan for the Tesla SSD and Collision Center Project, King County, Washington Prepared for: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. Prepared by: Jason Jones, MA, RPA, and Nate Padovano, BA Reviewed and Submitted by: Steven Dampf, MS, RPA WestLand Engineering & Environmental Services 12121 Harbour Reach Drive, Suite 210 – Mukilteo, Washington 98275 Cultural Resources Report No. 2025-171 Agency Project File No. PR23-000169/LUA24-000157, ECF, SA-H, MOD WestLand Project No. 13789 June 3, 2025 Contains Privileged Information—Do Not Release Page i Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Project Description and Regulatory Context ................................................................................ 1 2.0 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND CULTURE HISTORY ............................................................... 4 2.1 Environmental Context ................................................................................................................ 4 2.1.1 Topography and Geology ........................................................................................................ 4 2.1.2 Paleoclimate and Vegetational Shifts ...................................................................................... 6 2.1.3 Fauna ...................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Cultural Context ........................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Precontact Period .................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Ethnographic Period .............................................................................................................. 10 2.2.3 Historic Period ....................................................................................................................... 12 3.0 ARCHIVAL RESEARCH................................................................................................................. 14 3.1 Previous Cultural Resources Investigations .............................................................................. 14 3.2 Cemeteries................................................................................................................................. 16 3.3 Built Environment ....................................................................................................................... 17 3.4 Historic Maps and Aerial Imagery .............................................................................................. 18 3.5 DAHP Predictive Model ............................................................................................................. 20 4.0 ANTICIPATED FINDS .................................................................................................................... 21 5.0 DISCOVERY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES .................................................................. 22 6.0 DISCOVERY OF HUMAN REMAINS ............................................................................................ 26 7.0 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 27 Page ii Figures Figure 1. Vicinity map ............................................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2. API map ................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 3. Approximate API on 1949 USGS topographic map photo revised (purple) in 1968. ............ 19 Figure 4. Shell midden and layered stratigraphy of shell and blackened soil ...................................... 22 Figure 5. Examples of stone tools and flaked stone ............................................................................. 23 Figure 6. Examples of hearth features and unusual accumulations of rocks, possibly with burnt or charcoal-stained soils ............................................................................................................ 23 Figure 7. Examples of historic artifacts ................................................................................................. 24 Figure 8. Examples of historic bottles ................................................................................................... 24 Figure 9. Example of a historic building foundation .............................................................................. 25 Tables Table 1. Comparative Chronological Sequences for Western Washington (adapted from Kopperl et al. 2016). .................................................................................................................................. 8 Table 2. Previous Cultural Resource Investigations within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API ...................... 14 Table 3. Previously Recorded Archaeological Resources within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API ............. 16 Table 4. NRHP-Listed Built Environment Resources within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API ..................... 17 Page 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Description and Regulatory Context Tesla , in coordination with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. (Kimley-Horn), is proposing to operate an auto dealership with an associated service and repair component within an existing industrial building located on a partially developed 4.38-acre parcel (APN 2146000050) at 600 SW 10th Street in the city of Renton, King County, Washington. The Tesla Solid State Drive (SSD) and Collision Center Project (the project) qualifies as a change of use; the parcel has a zoning designation of Medium Industrial (IM) and a Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation of Employment Area. The proposed use would include a showroom and sales area, a service area with 64 work bays, a customer lounge, and office space within the existing 114,531 square foot tilt-up concrete structure, located in the NW¼ of Section 19, Township 23 North, Range 5 East, (T23N, R5E), Willamette Meridian, as depicted on the Renton, Washington, 7.5- Minute US Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle (Figure 1). The work is primarily interior in nature, but it also includes various façade and parking lot improvements. The project will not involve state or federal funding; however, the project is subject to compliance with the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). As per the City of Renton Department of Community and Economic Development’s (the City’s) Determination of Non-Significance, the project must have an Inadvertent Discovery Plan (IDP) in place prior to the start of any ground-disturbing activities. WestLand Engineering & Environmental Services (WestLand) was subcontracted by Kimley-Horn to provide cultural resources services including a desktop review and creation of an IDP for the project. In coordination with Kimley-Horn and the City, WestLand is recommending that the project’s Area of Potential Impacts (API) be defined as the 4.38-acre parcel encompassing the project elements described above (Figure 2). This API is intended to address the areas that will receive subsurface impacts from any proposed ground-disturbing activities. No indirect (visual, noise, and so forth) effects are anticipated due to the minimal change in setting that will result from the project. This IDP has been developed for Kimley-Horn and meets the standards and guidelines for monitoring prepared by the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP). Background information regarding the project vicinity is summarized below, followed by a discussion of archaeological expectations, and the report concludes with a description of protocols to follow should archaeological resources or human remains be encountered during ground disturbance associated with the project. WestLand E ngineering & Environmental Services Path: G:\13700s\13789\ARC\TemplateFolderForTasks--CopyAndRename\ArcGISpro\ARCH_13789_TeslaSSDandCollisionCenter_Figures\ARCH_13789_TeslaSSDandCollisionCenter_Figures.aprx: 1 Project locationDate: 5/30/2025 User: DaltonBush m 0 300 600 Meters 0 1,000 2,000 Feet Figure 1. Project location map Legend API T23N, R5E, a Portion of Section 19, King County, Washington, Renton USGS 7.5' Quadrangle, Projection: NAD 1983 UTM Zone 10N 99 Newcastle East Renton Highlands Tukwila Boulevard Park East Hill-Meridian SeaTac 3age  WestLand E ngineering & Environmental Services Path: G:\13700s\13789\ARC\TemplateFolderForTasks--CopyAndRename\ArcGISpro\ARCH_13789_TeslaSSDandCollisionCenter_Figures\ARCH_13789_TeslaSSDandCollisionCenter_Figures.aprx: 2 APIDate: 5/30/2025 User: DaltonBush m 0 30 60 Meters 0 100 200 Feet Figure 2. Area of Potential Impacts 21 4 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 21 4 6 0 0 0 0 6 0 2146000050 Se n e c a A v e S W SW G r a d y W a y Th o m a s A v e S W SW 1 0 t h SW 7th St Li n d A v e S W Legend API BNSF Parcel T23N, R5E, a Portion of Section 19, King County, Washington, Image Source: Maxar 7/27/2022, Projection: NAD 1983 UTM Zone 10N 3age  Page 4 2.0 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND CULTURE HISTORY Determining the probability for cultural resources within the project vicinity requires review and analysis of past environmental and cultural contexts. The following paragraphs describe the depositional conditions that influence the likelihood of intact archaeological deposits, as well as the patterns of precontact, ethnographic, and historic activity in the project vicinity. This information is relevant to assessing a location’s sensitivity for containing cultural resources and provides context for site type expectations. 2.1 Environmental Context 2.1.1 Topography and Geology The availability of the API for prehistoric and historic Native American peoples was affected by both environmental factors and historic land modifications. Changes in habitat, and the types of resources available in these habitats, influenced the prehistoric and historic use of the project area. Climatic changes and seismic events throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs conditioned shifts in the alignment of the Black and Cedar River channels. Currently, the API lies less than 213 m (700 ft.) south of the historic Black River channel. The project vicinity is part of the Duwamish River-Green River Valley, a landform carved from the glacial ice of the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (Dragovich et al. 1994; Galster and Laprade 1991). As the Puget Lobe retreated northward, approximately 16,000 years ago, the Duwamish River Valley was blocked by an ice dam to the north and filled with glacial meltwaters and waters supplied by the ancestral channels of the Duwamish, Cedar, and Green Rivers (Dragovich et al. 1994; Porter and Swanson 1998). By 14,000 to 15,000 years ago, the retreating glacier had reached the north end of Puget Sound. Marine water broke through the ice dam and flowed under the glacier, and into the Duwamish River-Green River Valley, turning it into a marine fjord that geologists term the Duwamish Embayment. Lake Washington was part of the Duwamish Embayment until approximately 14,000 years ago when the embayment was cut off from Puget Sound by an alluvial delta deposited by the Cedar River (Dragovich et al. 1994). The Duwamish Embayment filled with alluvial sediments when deposits from the Osceola Mudflow, a massive lahar that swept down the slopes of Mount Rainier approximately 5,800 years ago, formed the ancestral delta of the Duwamish River (Dragovich et al. 1994). Alluvial sediments transported by the Cedar River formed the ancestral delta of that river, which gradually moved north pushed by the continued deposition of reworked Osceola Mudflow deposits. By approximately 2,500 years ago, the ancestral Duwamish River had filled the Duwamish Embayment from the Auburn area to Renton (Mullineaux 1970). Flood deposits from the ancestral Duwamish and Cedar Rivers formed a floodplain surface that was higher Page 5 than the surface of Puget Sound. After approximately 2,500 years ago, the Renton vicinity was an active floodplain of the Cedar, Black, and Duwamish Rivers. Between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago, the Cedar River continued to change position through a process known as avulsion, by which a large segment of a river channel changes position rapidly, leaving the old river channel abandoned. Based on evidence for multiple avulsion events, the Black River is likely an old channel of the Cedar River. The erratic movement of the Cedar River continued well into the historic period as a General Land Office (GLO) surveyor noted in 1873: “The river has manifestly changed its bed...which it is still doing…” (United States Surveyor General [USSG] 1873). The Black River was named for its color, which was due to the waters slowly transporting a high content of organic debris. Depending upon shifts in the main channel of the Cedar and Black Rivers, the API was at times on the bank of the main river channel, at times on a flat floodplain, and at other times within an abandoned river channel. During flood episodes much of the Black River floodplain was inundated. The complex tapestry of Black and Cedar River migration can be seen in geotechnical borings in the project vicinity that display alternating layers of gravel, silt, clay and sand deposits (Reigel and Campbell 2006). Gravel deposits represent river channels, while the deposition of silts and clays indicates flooded, backwater areas removed from active channel margins. In 1916, the Hiram S. Chittenden Locks and Lake Washington Ship Canal were constructed. This construction lowered the level of Lake Washington by 2.7 m (9 ft.) (Chrzastowski 1983). At the same time, the Cedar River was channelized. Lacking the flow from the Cedar River and Lake Washington, the Black River dried up. According to Kramer et al. (2001:8–9) “…small braided distributary channels occurred in the area during the historic period and serve as analogs for old, buried channels. The early historic period flood channels demarcated older, abandoned channels of the Black and Cedar Rivers.” Soils in the API are mapped as Urban Land, which indicates the amount of disturbance and general lack of intact native sediment across the surface of the landscape. The nearest area not overlaid by impermeable surface and urban development lies approximately 0.41 km (0.25 mi.) northwest of the project, where the soil is mapped as Woodinville silt loam. Found at elevations of 0–27 m (0–90 ft.) above mean sea level, Woodinville silt loam forms on floodplains in alluvium and consists of an upper silt loam stratum measuring 18 cm (7 in.) thick; a middle stratum composed of silty clay loam that ranges from 18–38 cm (7–15 in.) below surface (bs); and a lower stratum of stratified muck to silt loam that is typically found in the range of 38–152 cm (15–60 in.) bs (Porter and Swanson 1998; Natural Resources Conservation Service [NRCS] 2025; Washington State Department of Natural Resources [WA DNR] 2025). Deep archaeological deposits would not be expected on this landform. Page 6 2.1.2 Paleoclimate and Vegetational Shifts Vegetation on the Puget Lowland has been especially variable since the last glacial maximum. Over time, the changing climate coupled with natural disasters have shaped both vegetation distribution. By about 10,000 BP, changes in solar insolation, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric trace gases had produced a warm-dry climate in the Pacific Northwest. Pollen records in the southern Puget Lowland between 10,000 and 6000 BP indicate a predominance of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), oak (Quercus spp.), red alder (Alnus rubra), and assorted grasses and prairie herbs (Brubaker 1991:21). By 6000 BP, the climate became cooler and moister. Pollen levels of Douglas-fir and red alder decreased while western redcedar (Thuja plicata) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) pollen increased. Climate and vegetation in the project vicinity have remained relatively stable over the past 2,500 to 2,000 years. The project vicinity probably had stands of deciduous trees such as black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), bigleaf maple (acer macrophyllum), red alder (Alnus rubra), willow (Salix sp.), and Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia). Marshy areas on river floodplains forming in abandoned river channels and backswamps would have supported willow, cattail (Typha latifolia), bulrush (Scirpus sp.), and hardhack (Spirea douglasii). Dendrochronological and historical records make clear that numerous catastrophic fire events have affected the western Washington landscape over the past 1,000 years (Hollenbeck 1987). A majority of the mixed coniferous forests in the area of the Green River Valley are typically younger than 200 years old in consequence of forest fires, landslides, and mudflows (Dragovich et al. 1994), as well as timber production and both urban and rural development (adapted from Buvit 2025). The API is within the Tsuga heterophylla vegetation zone that is characterized by western redcedar, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir. Forest understories are typically dense, consisting of shrubs and herbaceous species such as deer fern (Blechnum spicant), sword fern (Polystichum munitum), bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), trailing blackberry (R. ursinus), snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), salal (Gaultheria shallon), Oregon grape (Berberis nervosa), and rose (Rosa gymnocarpa) (Franklin and Dyrness 1988). Along the waterways and in wetter areas, flora includes lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina), black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera), skunk cabbage (Lysichitum americanum), water parsley (Oenathe sarmentosa), coast willow (Salix hookeriana), red alder, and various sedges (Carex spp.). Inland prairies feature understory vegetation including camas (Camassia quamash) and a host of edible tubers, berries, fruits, and nuts (Franklin and Dyrness 1988). 2.1.3 Fauna The precontact and historic period environment provided foraging and breeding habitats for a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic mammals, including elk (Cervus elaphus); black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus); black bear (Ursus americanus); coyote (Canis latrans); cougar, or mountain lion (Puma concolor); raccoon (Procyon lotor); red fox (Vulpes vulpes); and porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) Page 7 (Larrison 1976). Wetland habitats supported a diverse array of fauna, including waterfowl (Aix and Anas spp.), beaver (Castor canadensis), river otter (Lutra canadensis), and mink or weasel (Mustela spp.) (Kruckeberg 1991; Larrison 1976). Freshwater fish such as rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), whitefish (Coregonus sp.), and suckers (Catostomus sp.) live in the nearby rivers and lakes. Five species of salmon— Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch), sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka), pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and chum (Oncorhynchus keta), as well as steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus), coastal cutthroat (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii), and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)—have been observed in the Green/Duwamish River watershed (King County 2016). After the Lake Washington Ship Canal was constructed in 1916, coho salmon were recorded swimming up the Black River to spawn and die in the shallow pools formed as the river dried up (Slauson 1976). The API was, at different times depending upon the position the Black River, on a floodplain, in an abandoned channel of, or on a bank or levee of the Black River. All of these landform iterations have a high probability for containing prehistoric and/or historic Native American archaeological resources 2.2 Cultural Context Archaeological studies, ethnographic accounts, and historical records provide a framework in which to identify and evaluate cultural resources within the API. Archaeological studies documenting successive occupation episodes in the region provide general information about settlement patterns, resource use, and subsistence economies. Ethnographic and historical sources contain accounts of Native American occupation and land use after Euro-American settlement. Historical documents, maps, and aerial photographs contain information about settlement, transportation, and agricultural activities. All these types of sources were consulted for this review. 2.2.1 Precontact Period Archaeologists have proposed several succinct divisions of the precontact period supported by changes in technology, material culture, settlement patterns, and/or climate, for example, as identified in the archaeological record (Table 1). Early theories related to the peopling of the Americas suggest that around 13,500–12,000 BP, humans followed a corridor through the glaciers that led them south from Canada down the Rocky Mountains. Scientific evidence for this theory was the large Clovis-like fluted points and associated flakes found in inland settings over the years. Preliminary understanding of settlement of the Puget Lowland prior to 10,000 BP was also initially based on the presence of a small number of Clovis-like points; Clovis points near the API include the Hamilton Bog site (45KI215; roughly 10 km [6.25 mi.] east of the API); the Luckey Clovis site (45KP139; about 25 km [15.5 mi.] northwest of the API); and a fluted point found in Olympia (about 86 km [54 mi.] southwest of the API (Avey n.d.; Carlson 1990; Kopperl et al. 2016; Meltzer and Dunnell 1987). Page 8 Table 1. Comparative Chronological Sequences for Western Washington (adapted from Kopperl et al. 2016). Evidence of human occupation of the Pacific Northwest in the pre-Clovis Pleistocene-Holocene transitional period is rare, but evidence in the Pacific Northwest has been documented (Davis et al. 2019; Davis et al. 2022; Gustafson et al. 1979; Kopperl et al. 2015; Lawler 2011; Lubinski 2024; Mehringer 1989; Waters et al. 2011), and a handful of sites have been identified across western North America to further support regional archaeological evidence (e.g., Bennett et al. 2021; Briggs and Thissell 2023; Montaigne 2020; Pringle 2011). Migration into the region may have occurred by way of a Pacific coastal route prior to glacial recession, or perhaps via the Columbia River. Regardless, it is generally accepted that Native populations moved into North America and the Pacific Northwest sometime before 13,500 BP in pursuit of now-extinct megafauna, while also opportunistically hunting small game and fishing, and gathering plant resources (Gustafson et al. 1979; Hoffecker et al. 2023; Kopperl et al. 2016; Potter et al. 2018, 2021; Pringle 2011; Waters et al. 2011). Debate about pre-Clovis sites and migration theory are ongoing (Fiedel et al. 2020; Madsen et al. 2022; Oviatt et al. 2023; Pigati et al. 2024). On the north shore of Lake Sammamish, less than 23 km (14 mi.) north-northeast of the API, archaeologists identified large projectile points with stemmed bases in association with sediments dated to as early as Page 9 12,000 BP. Artifacts from the Bear Creek site (45KI839) also included salmon vertebrae and evidence for the harvest of bears, bison, deer, and sheep (Kopperl et al. 2015). While there are few archaeological sites that pre-date 10,000 BP in western Washington, archaeological sites dating to between 9000 and 5000 BP are more common. Sites that date between 9000 and 5000 BP have been found on glacial outwash surfaces, alluvial terraces, and in foothill valleys in the Puget Lowland. These sites are characterized by leaf-shaped projectile points and large scrapers and are regionally referred to as Olcott, named after the landowner of a quintessential site of this type in Snohomish County. Age estimates of Olcott sites have been inferred from similarity of the assemblages to older (about 10,000 to 6000 BP) dated components from British Columbia (Old Cordilleran) and eastern Washington (Cascade). The Olcott assemblages typically include opportunistic tools derived from local cobbles; large, leaf-shaped, and stemmed points; scrapers; flaked cobbles; and waste flakes. It has been suggested that Olcott sites are residential base camps and represent a time when early mobile hunter-foragers became semisedentary in response to changing environmental conditions (Ames and Maschner 1999; Carlson and Dalla Bona 1996; Chatters et al. 2011; Kidd 1964; Mattson 1985). Sites with Olcott-type assemblages are often located in elevated areas some distance inland from modern shorelines. Sites 45SN303 and 45SN28 (both about 72 km [45 mi.] north of the API) have extensive Olcott- type assemblages and include extremely rare instances of cooking features from this period. Investigations at these sites indicate that the Native occupants (1) relied heavily on terrestrial game and acorns, which were cooked with heated rocks, and (2) formed highly mobile settlements, repeatedly occupying one locus and occupying others only briefly on one occasion (Chatters et al. 2011). This pattern might have persisted for over 6,000 years, with the end of this period marked by an increased reliance on marine and riverine resources. Marine resource use might extend back further in time, but evidence that might exist on early shorelines has been inundated by rising sea levels, which stabilized and reached near-modern levels by about 5000 BP (Kopperl et al. 2016). As the climate and sea level stabilized, Native American groups expanded the range of their resource pursuits but also became semisedentary and reliant on the intensification of local food sources, particularly marine animals and anadromous fish. This gradual shift in settlement pattern was marked by the seasonal round resource procurement strategy (Carlson and Dalla Bona 1996; Matson and Coupland 1995). At this time, sites were still situated on terraces, but groups also began to reside along coastal areas (evidenced by extensive shell middens), and on nearshore islands (i.e., evidence of seafaring); these data suggest an increased reliance on marine resources. By this time, projectile points were highly diversified with leaf- shaped, triangular, and other stemmed/lanceolate varieties dominating archaeological assemblages (Ames 2003; Kopperl et al. 2016). Page 10 Development of well-defined, marine-oriented cultures is apparent around 2500 BP. Archaeological sites from this later period include village sites, base camps, field camps, and special-use sites. The village sites of this time were comparable to those described by early ethnographers. Residential sites are often recognized by large shell middens located near the modern shoreline or inland at river confluences. However, traditional people living along shorelines frequented the glacial drift plains to increase the variety of available resources. Base camps and field camps represent the exploitation of specific plant and animal resources by task groups traveling out from the winter village. Task camps might include hearths or large cooking features with abundant fire-modified rock (FMR); fishing stations; large shell middens; shelters for short-term occupation; and other features and artifacts indicative of processing, preservation, and/or preparation of plant and animal resources. Field camps reflect short duration use by small task groups and may include hunting and plant processing sites represented by lithic debris scatters, formed tools such as projectile points and scrapers, and discrete FMR features (Ames and Maschner 1999; Forsman et al. 2003:12; Kopperl et al. 2016). Special-use sites include lithic and mineral quarries, peeled cedars, or spiritual sites. Lifeways like these, which emerged by 2500 BP and long before Euro-American contact, continued into the Contact period. Puget Sound was a travel corridor used by Native peoples from the Gulf of Georgia in the north, then south to near Olympia (Lewarch et al. 1999:29–30). The regional exchange network of Tribes of the Pacific Northwest also ran east to west, over the Cascade Mountains, from the Pacific Coast to the Columbia Plateau (Hedlund et al. 1978:14). These data suggest that changes in material culture as identified in the archaeological record are likely indicative of both technological innovations and cultural diffusion. 2.2.2 Ethnographic Period Based on oral history and ethnographic accounts, this period is generally regarded as the transition from the Late Precontact period to the approximate point in time when Native Americans were placed on reservations. The Ethnographic period (500–150 BP) can be divided into Protocontact (500–210 BP) and Contact (210–150 BP) periods. This is in recognition of the significant impact that European activities had in the region prior to actual person-to-person interaction. These Protocontact impacts included disease and trade goods (both of which could have been introduced well ahead of the earliest European trappers and traders) (e.g., Ames et al. 1999). The Native Americans who occupied the region encompassing the API considered by anthropologists to be part of the Puget Sound Salish culture. Characteristics of the Salish culture included an economy based on salmon as a staple, a seasonal settlement pattern that utilized permanent winter villages composed of large plank houses and short-term campsites located at prominent resource patches, and a society composed of three distinct social classes: slaves, commoners, and nobles (Miss and Campbell 1991:22). Page 11 The API is most closely associated with the traditional territory of the Lushootseed-speaking Duwamish peoples. The settlements of this ethnographically documented Coast Salish group were principally located along the Duwamish, Black, and Cedar Rivers, as well as along the coasts of Puget Sound and Lake Washington in the vicinity of present-day Seattle (Duwamish Tribal Services 2018; Ruby and Brown 1992:72). The Duwamish were part of the broader Southern Coast Salish culture, which was generally adapted toward the intensive utilization of marine and riverine resources (Suttles and Lane 1990). A principal division among the Duwamish existed between the Sxwaldja’bc (“saltwater dwellers”) who lived in settlements on Puget Sound and the Xatcua’bc (“lake dwellers”) who lived along the shores of Lake Washington. The latter, as well as Duwamish groups living along the interior rivers of the region, were considered to be poorer and of lower status than the coastal communities (Hilbert et al. 2001:45; Ruby and Brown 1992:72–73; Suttles and Lane 1990:485–486; Swanton 1952:26). Like other Southern Coast Salish peoples, the Duwamish relied heavily upon salmon and other fish for subsistence and utilized a diverse suite of technologies to harvest them in different settings. They made use of trolling, seine, and gill net technologies to harvest fish in Puget Sound, while weirs, nets, gaff hooks, harpoons, and spears were all employed in rivers (Suttles and Lane 1990:488–489). Terrestrial mammals, especially black-tailed deer and elk, were also hunted by the Duwamish and neighboring Coast Salish groups using the bow and arrow, and they gathered a great variety of plant foods, including edible roots, bulbs, and berries (Duwamish Tribal Services 2018; Gunther 1945; Suttles and Lane 1990:489). The Duwamish lived a semisedentary lifestyle, spending part of the year in permanent winter villages and the warmer months in temporary encampments from which they fished, hunted, and gathered plant resources. Smaller bands would travel across their territory to hunt and forage for plant resources during the summer months, returning to their permanent settlements for the ceremonially rich winter season and to intensively fish in the spring and fall (Duwamish Tribal Services 2018; Suttles and Lane 1990). Several Duwamish villages were located in the project vicinity. The village of sbabadid (“small hills”) was located less than 0.5 miles northeast of the APE in the vicinity of the present-day west Renton Shopping Center. Another village, dəxʷəbqʷuʔ (“place where fresh water thrown”), was located approximately 1 mile north-northwest of the API at the confluence of the Cedar River and the Black River, prior to the redirection of the former into Lake Washington and the disappearance of the latter with the 1916 lowering of the lake. The village of sq̓ʷuʔalqʷuʔ (“gathering of fresh water”) was located approximately 1 mile west of the APE, where the Black River once flowed into the White River to form the Duwamish River (Hilbert et al. 2001:47– 49, 129–131, 148–151). Ethnographically documented geographic features in the project vicinity include xʷacəgʷił (“to lift a canoe, to pull a canoe”) for a place on the south bank of the Black River; štuləgʷəli (“place of a river”) for a creek draining a swamp where a fish weir was built to catch fish; tuʔałədalʔtxʷ (“king salmon house”) for a deep Page 12 place in the Black River full of salmon in summer months; and dəxʷəbqʷuʔ (“confluence”) for the confluence of the Black and Cedar Rivers (Hilbert et al. 2001:148–149); all of these places are within 3 km (2 mi.) of the API. 2.2.3 Historic Period A European presence in what is now Puget Sound began when British sailor James Cook began exploring the area and named his landing point Cape Flattery in 1778. Epidemics that greatly impacted the lives of Indigenous people in the immediate area and throughout the region, however, preceded his ships, and by the time Cook arrived, Indigenous populations had been greatly reduced in size. Spanish naval expeditions sailed into what is now Port Angeles in 1790 (Oldham and Wilma 2005). Captain George Vancouver’s party is believed to be the first non-Native group to enter the project vicinity as empirical evidence shows that they explored the marine waters of Puget Sound sometime in 1792 while exploring North America’s Pacific Coast for the British Crown. By 1824, the British-owned Hudson Bay Company (HBC) had expanded their fur-trading operations into the region. Contact between early Euro- American settlers and Indigenous populations usually involved exchange of furs for manufactured European products such as iron, copper, muskets, cloth, rum, and glass beads. In 1833, the HBC founded Fort Nisqually, a fur-trading outpost on Sequalitchew Creek, the first Euro-American settlement on Puget Sound (about 52 km [32 mi.] southwest of the API). As the fur trade became less lucrative, the focus of Fort Nisqually operations shifted from furs to agriculture with the founding of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC) in 1839. The PSAC utilized over 160,000 acres to raise and graze livestock and grow crops in the project area (Echtle 2018; McPherson 2024; Metro Parks Tacoma 2024). Following the 1846 Treaty of Oregon, when the US-British boundary was set at the 49th parallel (i.e., contemporary US-Canada border), American settlers encroached on HBC holdings south of that line, including the area around Fort Nisqually. In August of 1849, the US Army leased land from the HBC and erected the first buildings of Fort Steilacoom, located less than 41 km (25.4 mi.) southwest of the API. Euro- American settlement of the project vicinity began in earnest shortly thereafter, coinciding with the ratifications of the Treaty of Washington in 1846 and the Donation Land Claim Act in 1850. By 1854, the US military blazed a dirt roadway through the Steilacoom Plain to connect Fort Steilacoom to Fort Bellingham and built a second roadway across the Cascades through Naches Pass, which further facilitated non-Native settlement (Echtle 2018; McPherson 2024; Metro Parks Tacoma 2024). Later, the Point No Point Treaty of 1855 ceded traditional territories to the US government (Ruby et al. 2010). As part of the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855, the Skopamish and Sktamish Indians (who did not sign the treaty) were assigned to the Muckleshoot Reservation, which today is approximately 26.5 km (16.5 mi.) south-southeast of the API on the Muckleshoot Prairie southeast of Auburn. Page 13 Henry Tobin and his family were likely the first European settlers in the area, building a home near the confluence of the Black and Cedar Rivers (about 2 km [1.25 mi.] northeast of the API) in 1853 (Jones 2012). The first sawmill in King County outside of the Seattle area was also at the confluence of the Black and Cedar Rivers and was founded in 1854 by Henry and his partners, Joseph Fanjoy, and O. M. Eaton (Williams 2015). Between 1862 and 1865, the Duwamish, Black, and Cedar Rivers became a focus of non- Native settlement (United States Surveyor General [USSG] 1862, 1863, 1865), and by 1875 the town of Renton was first platted (Stein and Boba 2024). In 1882, coal was discovered in the area, and the Cedar Mountain Mine (about 8.7 km [5.4 mi.] southeast of the API) operated by the Black Diamond Coal Company was established in 1884; coal was transported from this mine to Renton for shipment via ox and cart (Black Diamond History 2020). One of the Black Diamond Coal Company mines was only 0.53 km (0.33 mi.) northwest of the API (WA DNR 2025). In 1887, the Northern Pacific Railway built its line through the White/Green River Valley and opened the project area to settlement and agricultural development. One of the first permanent settlers commonly discussed in the historic literature of the project area is John F. Benson, who in 1906 invested 10 dollars to buy land about 3.8 km (2 mi.) southeast of the API. A trail was the only access to his property for about 10 years, and then in 1916 a dirt road was constructed and designated Benson Road (1.6 km [1 mi.] east of the API). In the early 1900s, Renton was a commercial center and was one of the first outlying communities to be connected by road to Seattle. Many of the residents were employed at either the Renton Coal Mine or the Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company (MOHAI 2025). When the coal mine operations became stagnant, alternative industries such as industrial and commercial manufacturing gained traction. The Boeing Company built a plant in Renton in 1941, which was utilized for services in World War II. After the war, Boeing continued to gain federal funding, which concomitantly supported construction of housing and associated infrastructure. By 1946, many of the once dirt-covered roads were paved, and once isolated residential communities became intertwined. Construction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405, as well as Washington State Routes 167 and 169, further connected the neighboring communities and facilitated quick travel between Puget Sound and the foothills of the Cascades. Renton has continued to be an important manufacturing hub in the Seattle area to this day (Jones 2012; Stein and Boba 2024). Page 14 3.0 ARCHIVAL RESEARCH Given the high number of previous cultural resource investigations and previously recorded archaeological resources in the project vicinity, WestLand reviewed the Washington Information System for Architectural and Archaeological Records Data (WISAARD) for site records and survey reports within a 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) radius of the API. DAHP’s predictive model was reviewed for probability of archaeological resources within the project. WestLand also examined online resources such as the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) GLO survey records database, the USGS historic topographic maps database, and other online map databases, as well as aerial imagery to complement the cultural context provided in the preceding section. 3.1 Previous Cultural Resources Investigations No previous cultural resources investigations have been conducted within the API; however, a total of 18 have been conducted within the 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) search radius (Table 2). Two of these studies (Kaehler 2007; Lewarch et al. 1996) resulted in the identification of cultural resources within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API. Lewarch et al. (1996) recorded additional archaeological deposits associated with the Sbabadid site (45KI51) during construction monitoring along the former Black River channel approximately 0.44 km (0.27 mi.) northeast of the current API. Kaehler (2007) examined core samples for a proposed office building roughly 0.44 km (0.27 mi.) northeast of the API and identified an intact historic artifact concentration (45KI759). Table 2. Previous Cultural Resource Investigations within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API NADB Reference Title Methods Distance From API 1339761 Lewarch et al. 1996 Letter to Kenneth Peckham RE: Cultural Resources Assessment of the Schneider Homes Renton Apartments Project, Renton, King County, Washington Construction Monitoring 0.6 km (0.37 mi.) northeast 1339806 Robbins and Larson 1998 Letter to Kenneth Peckham Regarding Cultural Resource Monitoring for Construction Excavation of the Schneider Homes Renton Apartments Project, King County Construction Monitoring 0.63 km (0.39 mi.) northeast 1339887 Juell 2001 Cultural Resources Inventory of the Proposed Washington Light Lanes Project Pedestrian Survey 0.26 km (0.16 mi.) south 1342207 Shong and Hodges 2003 Letter to Kevin Chinn RE: Results of the Cultural Resources Assessment for Renton Fitness (Fred Meyer Shopping Center) King County, Washington Mechanical Subsurface Testing 0.69 km (0.43 mi.) northeast 1346243 Shantry 2005 Fish Processing and Consumption on the Black River Classification of Features at 45KI501 and 45KI51, Puget Sound, WA Master’s Thesis 0.52 km (0.32 mi.) northeast 1346750 Bowden and Dampf 2005 Cultural Resources Discipline Report for I-405, Renton Nickel Improvement Project I-5 to SR 169 Pedestrian Survey and Subsurface Testing 0.37 km (0.23 mi.) southeast Page 15 NADB Reference Title Methods Distance From API 1349984 Berger 2007 Cultural Resources Assessment for the Rainier Avenue/Hardie Avenue Project: Hardie Avenue Railroad Bridge Replacement. Renton, King County, Washington Pedestrian Survey 0.46 km (0.29 mi.) northeast 1350292 Smith and Hoffman 2007 Cultural Resources Inventory of the Columbia Bank Parcel, King County, Washington Pedestrian Survey and Subsurface Testing 0.29 km (0.18 mi.) northeast 1352447 Bundy 2008 Interstate 405 Corridor Survey: Phase 1 Interstate 5 to State Route 169 Improvements Project Pedestrian Survey and Subsurface Testing 0.46 km (0.29 mi.) southeast 1352458 Berger 2009 Cultural Resources Assessment for the Rainier Avenue South Transit Improvement and Shattuck Avenue South Storm Drain Project, City of Renton, King County, Washington Pedestrian Survey and Subsurface Testing 0.51 km (0.32 mi.) east 1354596 AMEC 2010 Cultural Resources Discipline Report for the RapidRide F Line, NEPA Documented Categorical Exclusion Project Pedestrian Survey 80 m (262 ft.) east 1682766 Kaehler 2007 Archaeological Assessment of the Bob Bridge Toyota Expansion Project, Renton, King County, Washington Geotechnical Monitoring 0.44 km (0.27 mi.) northeast 1683232 Rooke 2012 Cultural Resources Discipline Report for the RapidRide F Line, NEPA Documented Categorical Exclusion Project – Addendum Pedestrian Survey 0.20 km (0.12 mi.) north 1684885 Shong and Miss 2014 Letter to Mike Giseburt RE: Addendum to the Cultural Resources Overview for the SW 7th St./Naches Ave SW Storm System Improvements Project, Renton, King County, Washington Pedestrian Survey and Subsurface Testing 0.53 km (0.33 mi.) northwest 1686391 Smith et al. 2014 Cultural Resources Survey for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s I-405/SR 167 Direct Connector Project, King County, Washington Subsurface Testing 0.48 km (0.3 mi.) southeast 1686829 Shong et al. 2015 Letter to Michael Giseburt RE: Results of Cultural Resources Monitoring for the SW 7th Street/Naches Avenue SW Storm System Improvement Project- Phase 1, Renton, King County, Washington Construction Monitoring 0.21 km (0.13 mi.) northeast 1690970 Metz et al. 2014 Cultural Resources Assessment for the Renton Center Senior Living Project in King County, Washington Subsurface Testing 0.64 km (0.4 mi.) northeast 1691963 Carrilho et al. 2016 Letter to Michael Giseburt RE: Results of Cultural Resources Monitoring for the SW 7th Street/Naches Avenue SW Storm System Improvements Project- Phase 2, Renton, King County, Washington Construction Monitoring 0.21 km (0.13 mi.) north No archaeological resources have been recorded within the API; however, seven archaeological resources have been previously recorded within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API, five of which have been recommended eligible or potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) (Table 3). Many of the previously recorded resources were identified during cultural resources monitoring of construction projects near the API. Page 16 Table 3. Previously Recorded Archaeological Resources within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API Site Number Site Type NRHP Eligibility Distance and Direction From API 45KI51 Precontact Burial, Precontact Shell Midden, Precontact Village Recommended Eligible 0.44 km (0.27 mi.) northeast 45KI59 Precontact Shell Midden, Precontact Village Recommended Eligible 0.37 km (0.23 mi.) north 45KI285 Historic Railroad Property Not Evaluated 0.40 km (0.25 mi.) east 45KI439 Precontact Lithic Material Not Evaluated 0.77 km (0.48 mi.) northeast 45KI538 Historic Railroad Property Not Eligible 0.40 km (0.25 mi.) north 45KI759 Historic Debris Scatter Not Evaluated 0.55 km (0.34 mi.) northeast 45KI1210 Historic Bridge Not Evaluated 0.61 km (0.38 mi.) northeast Tualdad Altu (45KI59) is situated less than 0.4 km (0.25 mi.) north of the API on a former channel of the Black River at 1.5 m (4.9 ft.) bs. Chatters (1988:57–87) recorded over 90 features including hearths, pits, and postmolds. Artifacts included chipped lithic tools such as “arrow” points, atlatl points, harpoon points, and knives. Also present were bone implements including awls, animal effigies, and beads. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from the site indicate the site was occupied between 1,700 and 1,400 years ago. Butler (1990) suggested the features and subsistence data from Tualdad Altu (45KI59) were typical of a seasonal fishing and/or hunting camp with temporary shelters and processing features such as hearths and drying racks. The Sbabadid site (45KI51) is on the west bank of the historic channel of the Black River approximately 0.44 km (0.27 mi.) northeast of the API. The site was identified between one and three meters (3.28 and 9.8 ft.) bs (Chatters 1981). Chatters (1981) conducted the first extensive archaeological excavation near the confluence of the Black and Cedar Rivers. Archaeological resources identified included multiple shallow, basin-shaped hearths with ash and FMR, concentrations of food refuse such as bone and shell, chipped stone tools, and historic period items such as copper and iron tools, and glass beads. Chatters (1981:33) interpreted the site as the remnant of a village reported in the area in 1865 (USSG 1865); however, Butler (1990) disagreed, interpreting the site as a seasonal fishing camp, occupied only during salmon runs. Chatters (1981) dated the site to between AD 1790 and AD 1865 based on historic-period map data and the presence of European trade goods. 3.2 Cemeteries No cemeteries or human burials have been reported within the API. The nearest documented cemetery was recorded as archaeological site 45KI51, located approximately 0.44 km (0.27 mi.) to the northeast. Page 17 3.3 Built Environment No Washington Heritage Register (WHR) properties have been documented within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API; the nearest is the James Nelson House (45KI00596) located approximately 1.65 km (1.03 mi.) to the southwest. The James Nelson House is a well-preserved, two-and-one-half story, late Victorian farmhouse, originally built in 1905 at Renton Junction. James Nelson was a Danish immigrant, active community leader, and successful dairy farmer in early twentieth-century King County. In 1964, the James Nelson House was moved 18.3 m (60 ft.) to the west to accommodate the widening of West Valley Road (Garfield 1990). There are approximately 28 built environment cultural resources within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API, of which only two have been determined eligible for listing in the NRHP (Table 4). A small portion of the previously recorded built environmental resources in this area were originally developed in the early twentieth century, following the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway, and date from the early 1900s to the 1960s. Table 4. NRHP-Listed Built Environment Resources within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) of the API Resource Number Name Description Address NRHP Eligibility Distance and Direction from API 698948 The Evergreen Building Commercial building 15 S. Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057 Eligible 0.72 km (0.45 mi.) east 48303 Northern Pacific Railway – Lake Washington Beltline Sur line of the Northern Pacific Railway, stretching from Renton to Woodinville via Kirkland 1200 Longacres Dr., SW, Renton, WA 98057 Eligible 66 m (214 ft.) south According to records found on the King County Department of Assessments (KCDA), the land within the API has been sold twice in the last 25 years. GTE Wireless of the Pacific Incorporated sold the commercial/industrial-use zoned land to Crown Castle GT Company LLC, on January 31, 2000. The land of the API would not be sold again until January 28, 2021, when EV 600 LLC and Elion Acq., LLC bought it from Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc; at this time, the warehouse was used for fabricated metal products (KCDA 2025). Within both sales, the property was sold as “Lot 5 of Earlington Industrial Park No. 1” (KCDA 2025). The 114,531 square-foot structure on the API was used as a storage warehouse and office space through the third quarter of 2022 and is currently vacant. The API is bounded on the west and east by Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) rights-of-way (KCDA 2025). Page 18 3.4 Historic Maps and Aerial Imagery The 1865 GLO plat for T23N, R5E shows that the lands around the “Black River” have been mapped and subdivided to support settlement. The confluence of a small stream and the “Black River” are mapped in proximity to the API. The homestead of “John Carr” is mapped about 0.21 km (0.13 mi.) northeast of the API in the NE¼ NW¼ of T23N, R5E. An “Indian Village” with symbology (seven upside-down triangles) is mapped about 0.4 km (0.25 mi.) northeast of the API. The homestead of “E Carr” is mapped about 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) east of the API (USSG 1865). Additional cultural features mapped on the 1865 plat of T23N, R5E include: a “cropping of stone coal” along the right bank of the Black River (0.4 km [0.25 mi.] northeast of API); the homestead of “Christian Clymers” along the right bank of the Black River (0.8 km [0.5 mi.] northeast of API); a trail running southeast-northwest near the Clymers homestead; the homestead of “F. Smithers” along the left bank of the Black River (0.48 km [0.3 mi.] northeast of API); the Donation Land Claim (No. 37) of “H.H Tobin” (about 1.2 km [0.75 mi] east-northeast of API); a wagon road that runs from the “John Jackman” homestead in the SW¼ of Section 23, which crosses the “Cedar River” and then crosses the “Black River” near its confluence with the former before trending southwest into the W½ of Section 18, is mapped about 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) north of the API (USSG 1865). Since the API is adjacent to the western boundary of T23N, R5E, WestLand examined the GLO plat for T23N, R4E. The earliest GLO plat for T23N, R4E does not show any cultural features within 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) to 1.6 km (1 mi.) but does show Lake Washington mapped as “Dawamish Lake” and shows the “Dawamish River” and the “Black R.” mapped approximate to their contemporary courses (USSG 1862). By 1863, several homestead claims were filed along the Duwamish River near its confluence with the Black River (USSG 1863). The 1897 Tacoma quadrangle (1:125,000) map shows the tracks of the “C & P.S.R.R,” likely the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad, about 0.37 km (0.23 mi.) north of the API; “Renton” is platted about 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) northeast of the API; an unnamed stream and a marsh about 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) east and south of the API, respectively; the tracks of the “Northern Pacific” are mapped about 0.8 km (0.5 mi.) west of the API; and the “Black River,” the “Cedar River,” and the “Duwamish River” are mapped approximate to their contemporary channels. No cultural or natural features are mapped within the API (USGS 1897). Subsequent quadrangle maps show no significant cultural or natural features until the 1940 revision of a 1900 USGS Quadrangle (1:125,000), which shows isolated structures outside of the center of “Renton”; one of these isolated structures is about 0.32 km (0.2 mi.) north of the API, just south of the “C & P.S.R.R.” tracks (USGS 1900). A 1949 USGS quadrangle (1:24,000) map that was photo revised in 1956 shows the API is within the boundary of the “Earlington Golf Course.” A portion of the tracks of the C & P.S.R.R. are mapped as an “Old Railroad Grade”; the tracks of the “C M ST P & P” (Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railroad) are Page 19 shown, a portion of which runs along the old C & P.S.R.R. course, about 0.37 km (0.23 mi.) north of the API. The “Black River” is mapped as an ephemeral stream; the “Cedar River” and the “Green River” are mapped approximate to their contemporary courses; “Renton” is now a large city with tracts of housing throughout the valley floor and in the surrounding hills. The tracks of the “Northern Pacific” run along the north side of “medium-duty” State Route “1L” both about 0.28 km (0.17 mi.) south of the API and at the contemporary location of Interstate 405. Two structures are mapped within 0.16 km (0.1 mi.) of the API (i.e., one to southwest and one to northeast) (USGS 1949a). The 1949 USGS quadrangle (1:24,000) map that was photo revised in 1968 clearly shows Thomas Avenue SW, Seneca Avenue SW, and Lind Avenue SW in their contemporary positions. A branch spur of the “C M ST P & P” is mapped just outside of the western boundary of the API; a second branch spur of the “C M ST P & P” is mapped along the eastern perimeter of the API. The area of the API is shown as a growing industrial/commercial district with large structures mapped along the east side of Thomas Avenue SW and west of Lind Avenue SW. The Earlington Golf Course is no longer present in the API (USGS 1949b, Figure 3). Figure 3. Approximate API on 1949 USGS topographic map photo revised (purple) in 1968. Green Square = Approximate API Page 20 The 1949 USGS quadrangle (1:24,000) map that was photo revised in 1976 shows the Northern Pacific is now the “Burlington Northern,” and additional industrial/commercial buildings are present in the vicinity of the API. With the exception of the branch spur railroad along the eastern perimeter of the API, no cultural features are shown within the API (USGS 1949c; see Figure 3). The 1949 USGS quadrangle (1:24,000) map that was photo revised in 1995 shows the commercial building that is currently within the API. This same map also shows that the branch spurs of the Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railroad are still present. “SW Grady Way” and the local highways are all mapped in their contemporary positions as well (USGS 1949d). WestLand also reviewed aerial photographs. Historic imagery from 1936, 1940, and 1964 shows the API is a field under cultivation; an unimproved road bisects the western portion of the API. Imagery from 1968 shows that the API is void of cultural features, but commercial development and transportation infrastructure including Seneca Avenue SW and SW 10th Street are present. Aerial imagery from 1977 shows the branch spur railroads and the current commercial/industrial building within the API. Historic aerial imagery from 1990 clearly shows that the surface of the entire API has been modified, except for the branch spur railroads, which are still present in 2020. Only the northern one-quarter of the API appears to have surfaces that are not covered in asphalt (Google Earth Pro 2025). 3.5 DAHP Predictive Model WestLand also reviewed the DAHP’s statewide predictive model layer for probability estimates of precontact cultural resources. Model probabilities are calculated using information from two general sources—data derived from archaeological surveys conducted prior to model development and a consideration of the relationship between these recorded sites and various environmental factors (Kauhi 2009). The DAHP model indicates that the API lies within a Very High Risk area for encountering archaeological artifacts or deposits. Areas of Very High Risk are generally associated with proximity to a permanent water source and/or previously recorded archaeological resources Page 21 4.0 ANTICIPATED FINDS Based on a review of the background information presented above, including the distance to water resources, sites previously recorded on similar landforms in the area, and the DAHP’s predictive model, WestLand initially anticipated a high potential for encountering precontact archaeological resources in the API. Precontact sites are typically positioned near streams and waterways, and the API is near both Springbrook Creek and the historic Black River. However, after taking into consideration the more recent disturbances that have impacted the landscape, primarily extensive commercial development, as well as proximity to road construction and urban infrastructure, WestLand subsequently reduced this expectation for surface finds to low but suggests that there is still a moderate potential of encountering precontact cultural resources below the surface. Cultural materials identified at precontact archaeological sites in proximity to the API include chipped stone tools and associated debris and varying quantities of FMR shell midden. Precontact site 45KI59 was identified below the surface in the Earlington Golf Course, and the API used to be part of the same golf course (USGS 1949a). Human remains have also been found 0.44 km (0.27 mi.) from the API. Although there is a very low potential of encountering precontact sites on the surface of the API, there is a low to moderate potential of encountering precontact sites below the surface of the API. Should they be present, precontact artifacts within the API may include isolated stone or bone tools related to hunting or processing activities; lithic debris associated with the manufacture and maintenance of these tools; and processing features, such as hearths, identified by the presence of FMR, charcoal, and/or possibly faunal and floral remains. Ethnographic and historic Native American cultural materials could include similar kinds of archaeological materials. There is clear evidence of historic land use throughout the project vicinity during the nineteenth century (USSG 1865). Historic-period topographic maps coupled with historic aerial photography indicate that the API was in cultivation until the late 1960s. Shortly thereafter, spurs of the old Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad (which runs east–west north of the API) were constructed to reach the industrial district that began to take shape; one of these spur lines bisects the northeastern quadrant of the API, and another runs adjacent to the western perimeter of the API (USGS 1949b); by 1977, the large warehouse centered in the API is present and 80% of the API is covered in impermeable surfaces (Google Earth Pro 2025; USGS 1949a, 1949b, 1949c). Historic-period debris associated with past agricultural, industrial, and commercial use of the API, such as metal or glass artifacts; structural remnants; or debris related to agricultural pursuits, railroad construction and use, and development of roads, such as old machinery or machine parts, railroad ties, rails or spikes, and refuse from small work camps (e.g., wares, cans, tins) may still be present in the northern portion of the API. There is a moderate to high potential of encountering late twentieth century archaeological artifacts (pre-1975) in the northern portion of the API. Page 22 5.0 DISCOVERY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES Washington state law protects archaeological resources (RCW 27.53, 27.44, and WAC 25–48) and human remains (RCW 68.50) from disturbance or theft. If artifacts or cultural deposits are discovered inadvertently during ground-disturbing activities in the API, construction should be immediately stopped, and the steps outlined in the monitoring protocol section should be taken. Artifacts and cultural deposits might include, but are not limited to, evidence for precontact activities such as chipped stone tools, chipped stone tool debris, ground stone tools, bone and shell objects, fire-cracked or discolored rocks, concentrations of charcoal and discolored soil, or shell middens. There may also be evidence of Historic period land use or dumping such as structural debris, mechanical items, or concentration of cans, bottles, or other debris (see Figures 4–9 for examples of artifacts and cultural deposits). If there is any question as to whether the finds are cultural, a professional archaeologist may be consulted to verify that the finds are archaeological. The construction supervisor will establish a 10-m (33-ft.) buffer area around the discovery to protect the find while it is investigated. The construction supervisor will notify the client and lead agency. Ground-disturbing work may proceed in other parts of the API, provided it will not affect the cultural discovery. The lead agency will carry out any necessary consultation with the Washington DAHP, affected Tribes, and other interested parties. Figure 4. Shell midden and layered stratigraphy of shell and blackened soil Page 23 Figure 5. Examples of stone tools and flaked stone Figure 6. Examples of hearth features and unusual accumulations of rocks, possibly with burnt or charcoal-stained soils Page 24 Figure 7. Examples of historic artifacts Figure 8. Examples of historic bottles Page 25 Figure 9. Example of a historic building foundation Page 26 6.0 DISCOVERY OF HUMAN REMAINS If ground-disturbing activities encounter human skeletal remains during the course of construction, then all activity will cease that may cause further disturbance to those remains. The area of the find will be secured and protected from further disturbance until the State provides notice to proceed. The finding of human skeletal remains will be reported to the King County Medical Examiner (206-731-3232), the King County Sheriff’s Office (206-296-4155), and the Renton Police Department (425-430-7500) in the most expeditious manner possible. The remains will not be touched, moved, or further disturbed. The coroner will assume jurisdiction over the human skeletal remains and make a determination of whether those remains are forensic or non-forensic. If the medical examiner determines the remains are non-forensic, then they will report that finding to the DAHP, who will then take jurisdiction over the remains. The DAHP will notify any appropriate cemeteries and all affected Tribes of the find. The State Physical Anthropologist, Guy Tasa (360-790-1633), will make a determination of whether the remains are Indian or non-Indian and report that finding to any appropriate cemeteries and the affected Tribes. The DAHP will then handle all consultation with the affected parties as to the future preservation, excavation, and disposition of the remains. Page 27 7.0 REFERENCES Ames, Ken 2003 The Northwest Coast. Evolutionary Anthropology 12:19–33. Ames, K. M., and H. D. G. Maschner 1999 Peoples of the Northwest Coast: Their Archaeology and Prehistory. Thames and Hudson, New York. 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