Piney Woods Cultural Resources Inventories

In 2002, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District (USACE) awarded EComm a 5-year IDIQ for archeological inventory services as it relates to selective timber thinning of mature pine and pine-hardwood stands on USACE managed lands surrounding four federally-owned reservoir-created lakes and other management areas in East Texas. This work is being performed to ensure that any cultural resource sites located on the selected parcels would be considered in planning and conducting the undertaking, in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). In early 2007, EComm's contract was renewed for another 5 years, through 2012.

Under the first 5-year contract (2002-2007), 21 task orders totaling more than $873,000 were issued. These task orders included inventories of 63 separate tracts of land, totaling 13,774 acres, in seven East Texas counties, including Angelina, Bowie, Jasper, Marion, Morris, San Augustine, and Upshur Counties. In addition survey was conducted at Lake OC Fisher in Concho County in west Texas. Fieldwork included 100% pedestrian survey accompanied by intensive and systematic shovel testing. EComm archeologists manually excavated more than 7,400 shovel tests and documented 157 archeological sites including prehistoric Native American sites, historic homesteads, an historic townsite, and an historic cemetery. All sites were evaluated for eligibility for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The results of inventory have been published in a series of ten comprehensive technical reports, distributed to key libraries across Texas and which are available through the USACE.

EComm is currently performing task orders under the second 5-year contract (2007-
2012). In addition to additional inventories at Lake Sam Rayburn, Lake Steinhagen,
and Lake Wright Patman, work has also been conducted at Lake Whitney in Hill, Johnson, and Bosque Counties. This work has involved not only inventory but has also included test excavations at historic homesteads, prehistoric open campsites and prehistoric rockshelters. All sites are evaluated for eligibility for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and results are being published in an additional series of technical reports.