Cultural Resources Survey of the Lebow Drainage Improvement Project, City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas

Abstract

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resource inventory conducted by Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC (IES) for the Lebow Drainage Improvement Project in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. As the City of Fort Worth is a political subdivision of the State of Texas, the proposed project will require coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) prior to construction, per the provisions of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, as the project will require a Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), it will also be subject to the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. All work conformed to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800, and 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26, which outline the regulations for implementing Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT, respectively. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources, which include standing structures and archeological sites that could be adversely affected by the proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) or eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The cultural resources inventory was conducted by archeologists Kevin Stone and Joshua Hamilton on 04 June 2015, under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 7291. Proposed construction consists of an approximately 61.95-acre project corridor that extends along an unnamed tributary of the West Fork Trinity River. Although the project is still in the development stage, current designs call for the enhancement of Lebow Channel through regrading and reinforcement of the channel and the creation of several water retention/detention areas Although four historic-period sites (41TR279, 41TR280, 41TR281, and 41TR282) were documented during the field survey, based on the degree of disturbance and general nature of each site, they were deemed ineligible for listing on the NRHP or as a SAL. No artifacts were collected as part of this survey. All records will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL). No further work is warranted. However, if any cultural resources, other than those documented within this report, are unearthed during construction, the operators should stop construction activities, and immediately contact the project environmental representative to initiate coordination with the THC prior to resuming any construction activities.