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March 13, 1997 John PeIka ' EDAW Inc. 753 Davis Street OIL San Francisco, CA 94111 Dear Mr. Pelka: This letter will report on the results of a survey conducted by Pacific Legacy, Inc. at the proposed location of the Koster Road Quarry Excavation in Vernalis. The sand and gravel quarry applicant is DSS Engineering Contractors. Areas studied included the approximately 143 acre quarry site and several access alternatives. Common to all alternatives is the quarry area. Alternative 1 proposes to use the existing Koster Road, Alternative 2 would involve construction of a paved access road at the northern end of the parcel connecting to Blewett Road and Alternative 3 would be proposed access from the southern end of the quarry area connecting to the proposed Vernalis Interchange. Alternative 4 is the no project alternative. i The approximately 143 acre project area lies within Township 4 South, 6 East on the ` Solyo Quadrangle, California, 7.5' U.S.G.S.. It is situated between the E.G. Brown California Aqueduct to the west, the Delta Mendota Canal to the east and Blewett Road to the north and an unnamed paved road to the south. The parcel is bounded by maintained dirt farm roads on the western and northern sides, an unnamed paved road on-the southern side and Koster Road on the eastern side. The investigations were completed under contract number 97-P227 between Pacific Legacy and EDAW, Inc.. The purpose of this study was to identify areas within the parcel which may be considered archaeologically sensitive for planning purposes. This report provides documentation in support of the CEQA environmental document which will examine potential environmental impacts on archaeological sites within the Area of Potential Effect(APE). This report was prepared by Hannah Ballard, B.A. and John Holson, M.A. of Pacific Legacy. Background Research The parcel is located in the ethnographic territory of the Northern Valley Yokuts which covered the area between the crest of the Diablo Range in the west to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in the east and between the Mokelumne and Calaveras Rivers in the north to the upper San Joaquin River in the south (Wallace 1978). The parcel appears to C:\ARCHAEOL\KO9M\SRVYREPR.WPD DRAFT Koster Road Quarry Archaeolo&al Survey March 13,1997 i