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This report presents the analysis of the cultural remains recorded during the archaeological survey of the Buttes Reservoir area; it also contains a statement of the assessed impact of the proposed Buttes Reservoir on the cultural resources and their related environment. The Buttes Reservoir represents one phase of the Bureau of Reclamation's Central Arizona Project which would impound water from the Colorado River and distribute it to central and southern Arizona. The proposed reservoir, located on the Gila River approximately 18 km east of Florence, Arizona, is expected to disturb about 20,000 acres through flooding and development. Between 1920 and 1966, a few studies had been undertaken which indicated that the proposed dam and reservoir would affect a number of important cultural resources. Consequently, the Bureau of Reclamation contracted with the Arizona State Museum to undertake an intensive survey of the cultural resources within the project boundaries. The study consisted of three major phases. Phase I consisted of the survey of the southern side of the Gila River and a portion of the railroad relocation zone. During Phase II, the northern side of the river was studied as well as 13.2 km of railroad relocation and the area slated for the canal right-of-way. Phase III resulted in the completion of this report. The cultural resources have been analyzed within a cultural-ecological framework, emphasizing environmental adaptation. The archaeological data have been organized according to parameters relevant to the study of settlement-subsistence systems. The concept of "mini-max strategy" has been used to explain site location and the relations that may have obtained between various types of sites. The logistics of field work have been included, as well as a summary of environmental considerations and a review of the culture history of southern Arizona, which also includes mention of the major deficiencies in the present historical knowledge. The discussion of the significance of the area --historical and scientific, social and monetary -- includes an evaluation of the potential of the resources to contribute valuable information to the present body of historical data. The historical and scientific significance of the area has been assessed in terms of general anthropological theory, chronology, and methodology. The relevance of the cultural resources to other disciplines has also been made explicit. Additionally, the study of significance includes a summary of unavoidable adverse effects of the projected dam on the cultural resources and makes recommendations to reduce the loss of archaeological manifestations in the area.

Flooding along the Salt, Gila, Verde, and Agua Fria Rivers in February and March of 1978 resulted in extensive damage to property in Central Arizona and in the disruption of ground transportation and commerce in the greater Phoenix area. Major flooding also occurred along these rivers in December, 1978 and February, 1980. The recognition of this flooding problem, and of requirements for the regulatory storage of Central Arizona Project (CAP) water, prompted the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to initiate the Central Arizona Water Control Study (CAWCS) in July of 1978. The objectives of the CAWCS were to identify and evaluate alternative measures for flood control and regulatory water storage in Central Arizona. Both structural (i.e., dam construction or modification, levee construction), and nonstructural (i.e., flood proofing, flood plain regulation, water exchange) alternatives were to be considered within a large study area. A Safety of Dams (SOD) issue was subsequently recognized and incorporated in the CAWCS study process. As the study progressed through a consideration of eight alternative plans, a preferred alternative (the agency-proposed action) to address these objectives was selected by Reclamation. Several critical factors were considered in comparing alternative plans, and in defining the preferred plan alternative, including: - flood control performance of a plan - regulatory water storage performance - dam safety - economics (cost/benefits) - environmental impacts - social impacts - institutional constraints Each of these factors was thoroughly evaluated in relation to the plan alternatives during the three stage study process. Stage I established the parameters of the flood control and regulatory water storage problems to be addressed, defined a number of actions (termed elements) which might contribute to the resolution of these problems, and recommended specific actions that warranted further study on the basis of their performance characteristics. Of the 34 elements reviewed during Stage I, 20 were recommended for further consideration at a Stage II level of analysis. During the Stage II analysis, competing elements (those which served similar functions but which were at different locations) were compared in order to define and retain those which best served a particular function. These 10 remaining elements were then combined into 13 intermediate plans, termed systems, each of which could provide for flood control and regulatory water storage. At the beginning of Stage III, 10 elements remained in the study. These were combined into seven candidate plans, each of which satisfied flood control, safety of dams, and regulatory water storage objectives. An eighth plan (No Action) was also defined as a basis for evaluating the effects of a proposed undertaking. As the critical factors were considered in relation to each plan, two of the eight plans (numbers 4 and 5) were eliminated due to cost and associated adverse social and environmental effects. The remaining six plans were analyzed in detail; one plan (dubbed Plan 6) was subsequently identified as the agency-proposed action. In undertaking this study, Reclamation contracted with the firm of Dames and Moore to assist in defining and evaluating the alternative plans, and to prepare a draft environmental impact statement for the agency-proposed action. Archaeological Research Services, Inc., and the Arizona State University, Department of Anthropology (Office of Cultural Resource Management) were under subcontract to Dames and Moore for the historic and prehistoric cultural resource aspects of the CAWCS respectively. The historic cultural resource study was initiated in April, 1979, and concluded in December, 1981, and involved preparing reports and supporting documentation relative to each of the study stages above. For the purposes of this study, historic cultural resources are defined as those sites or properties which were occupied after the time at which written records became available for an area. As applied to the Southwestern United States, historic sites may include those in existence at or subsequent to the period of initial Spanish contact (during the 16th century).