At the request of the US Department of Interior, National Park Service (NPS), E2PM conducted archaeological surveys and monitoring of ground disturbances associated with proposed utility access road improvements throughout portions of the Appalachian Trail National Scenic Trail and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
E2PM’s involvement included Phase I through III archaeological survey, evaluation of an identified Native American Site, and mitigation of project impacts upon the identified site. Technical scope elements included historic cartographic review of the project area, historic background research, environmental research, characterization of the archaeological sensitivity of the site, Phase I subsurface testing, Phase II subsurface excavation and evaluation, and Phase III subsurface excavation, mitigation, analysis, and development of a synthesis report detailing the importance of the identified site.
Following conclusion of the archaeological data recovery, E2PM provided archaeological monitoring for additional project activities nearby the mitigated site. Tasks for the monitoring included archaeological monitoring, examination of soil residuum for artifact recovery, recordation, and reporting. E2PM’s work remained sensitive to the historic nature of the site while allowing important road improvements to occur.