Archaeological Eligibility Testing at NA31,287 at the Navajo Generating Station, Coconino County, Arizona

In 2019, the Salt River Project (SRP) plans to decommission the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) and associated Ash Disposal Area (ADA), located east of Page, Coconino County, Arizona (Figure 1). Prior to the decommissioning, SRP sponsored cultural resources surveys (Marshall 2018a; Spurr 2017) to record archaeological sites within the NGS and ADA. These efforts supplement previous archaeological investigations (Mueller and Fiero 1971; Pilles 1969). As a result of the recent surveys, Spurr (2017) recorded NA31,287, a low density artifact scatter representing a possible Paiute campsite. The site was recommended National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligible under Criterion D (information potential). The site’s eligibility status was subsequently considered indeterminate by reviewers because of uncertainty about the presence of intact subsurface remains. The current eligibility testing project was conducted under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Navajo Nation Cultural Resources Protection Act (CRPA, CMY-19-8), Navajo Nation Jishchaa’ Policy, and the Navajo Nation Disposition Policy. This document presents the results of archaeological eligibility testing by Northland Research, Inc. (Northland) at NA31,287 within the ADA. The work was conducted on 31 July 2018 by John Marshall (Project Director) and Nick Billstrand (Archaeologist). Testing was conducted according to the work plan (Marshall 2018b) to determine if intact subsurface cultural remains are present, evaluate their integrity, and thus clarify the NRHP eligibility status of NA31,287. Fieldwork entailed site mapping, in-field artifact analysis, hand excavation of a 1-m by 1-m control unit within a possible rock feature recorded at the site, and excavation of three shovel trenches within the site to determine if subsurface features are associated with the low density surface scatter. No significant subsurface cultural remains were discovered. Based on the results of the eligibility testing, NA31,287 does not contain significant subsurface cultural deposits. It is recommended that the site be considered not eligible for the NRHP. No additional investigation of the site is recommended.