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survey, Solano Archaeological Services also conducted outreach to local tribes identified on a list provided by the Native American Heritage Commission. Environmental Setting As noted in Section 3.5, Cultural Resources, the project site is within the traditional territory of the Northern Valley Yokuts. The Northern Valley Yokuts occupied the land on either side of the San Joaquin River from the Delta to south of Mendota. The Diablo range probably marked the Yokuts' western boundary, and the eastern edge would have lain along the Sierra Nevada foothills. The late prehistoric Yokuts who resided in the area may have been the largest ethnic group in pre -contact California, being organized into at least 11 small political units or tribes. Each tribe had a population of approximately 300 people, most of whom lived within one principal settlement that usually had the same name as the political unit. Within the villages, structures included sweathouses, ceremonial chambers, and oval single-family dwellings made of tule. The closest documented Yokuts village site to the project area was Yachik, which was located about four miles northeast of the project site. As Spanish control solidified over California during the early 1800s, many Yokuts were lured or captured by missionaries and taken to Mission San Jose or Santa Clara. Further impacts on the Yokuts lifeways came with an epidemic in 1833, possibly malaria, that decimated the indigenous population, killing thousands. Continued difficulties came with the influx of Euro -Americans during the Gold Rush era that further reduced the population because of disease and violent relations with the miners. Though there was no gold in the Yokuts territory, miners passing through on their way to the diggings caused upheaval. In addition, many former miners who had seen the richness of the San Joaquin Valley on their way to the gold fields later returned to settle and farm the area, further restricting Native American access to their traditional lands. In 2015, the California Legislature enacted AB 52, which focuses on consultation with Native American tribes to avoid or mitigate potential impacts on tribal cultural resources, which are defined as "sites, features, places, cultural landscapes, sacred places, and objects with cultural value to a California Native American tribe." When a tribe requests consultation with a CEQA lead agency on projects within its traditionally and culturally affiliated geographical area, the lead agency must provide the tribe with notice of a proposed project within 14 days of a project application being deemed complete or when the lead agency decides to undertake the project if it is the agency's own project. The tribe has up to 30 days to respond to the notice and request consultation; if consultation is requested, then the local agency has up to 30 days to initiate consultation. Matters which may be subjects of AB 52 consultation include the type of CEQA environmental review necessary, the significance of tribal cultural resources, and project alternatives or appropriate measures for preservation or mitigation of the tribal cultural resource that the tribe may recommend to the lead agency. The consultation process ends when either (1) the resource in question is not considered significant, (2) the parties agree to mitigate or avoid a significant effect on a tribal cultural resource, or (3) a party, acting in good faith and after reasonable effort, concludes that mutual agreement cannot be Pock Lane Public Review Draft IS/MND 3-68 May 2022