Archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador 1996
Edited by K. Nelmes
Impact Assessment for an Adventure Tourist Lodge, Upper Humber River
Brent Murphy and Matthew Carter
Introductory Statement
The proponent, an adventure lodge outfitter, plans on constructing a tourist cabin, guide camp, and two bridges along already existing trails near the community of Reidville. To assess the archaeological potential of the areas affected by this construction a general survey was conducted on December 4th and 5th 1996. To determine the potential of the areas being affected an aggressive test-pitting strategy was employed. No cultural material was found during this survey.
Proposed Development Project
The proponent proposes to construct a fishing and snowmobile touring cabin to cater to sports fishermen and adventure tourists from around the world. The proponent has located a parcel of land near the Upper Humber River which they believe to be an ideal location to serve the tourist market. The outfitter proposes to construct one small executive-style cabin to serve as a base camp for salmon anglers, while in season, and snowmobile tours during the winter season. The parcel of land the proponent wishes to obtain is located approximately 12 km northeast of the town of Reidville near the first lot of rapids close to Harimans Steady. The proponent plans to keep the cabin site as natural as possible, only clearing as many trees as necessary to build the camps and a walking path to the river. The cabin will be located on Crown land. The site will not interfere with any other land use, as rights of way will not be constricted. Application of the site for the proposed cabin will be made to the appropriate authority pending the acceptance of this project. The roads and trail that lead to the cabin are already in place, consisting of old lumbering roads used by the local population for the last couple of generations.
Study Area
The study area is situated adjacent to the Upper Humber River 12 km northeast of Reidville (Figure 1). The site itself is located on the raised part of the riverbank about 3 metres above the Humber River near the first lot of rapids close to Harimans Steady. The shore in front of the proposed site is bedrock that is covered by a thin layer of soil (15-20 cm), with bedrock exposed at the edge.
Vegetation of the proposed site was mostly alders, with some soft and hardwood. The stratigraphy of the site consists of humus for the first 10 cm and then sterile red clay that was dug to the depth of 1.3 m at one location.
Figure 1. Map of the Study Area (from Reader 1993).
Methodology
The methodology used was both surface survey and test-pitting. The general area around the proposed construction was first surveyed, then an aggressive test-pitting strategy was used to determine the archaeological potential of the areas that were to be disturbed. Test pits were dug every 1.5 m in the area where the base camp, guide camp, and septic run-offs are to be constructed. The areas to be impacted by the bridges were test-pitted in a similar fashion. Each of the test pits were dug to an approximate depth of 80 cm. Some of the pits however could not be dug this deep because of water inundation. Stratigraphy of the areas that were tested consisted of 10 cm of humus with the other 70 cm being a sterile red clay.
Results
The result of this survey is that there will not be an impact on any historic resources if the proponent constructs the tourist cabins and bridges. No cultural material was found either during the walking survey or the test-pitting.
A survey that was conducted by David Reader in the general Deer Lake area in 1993 (Reader 1993) had similar results. This survey was aimed at investigating areas where prehistoric lithic material had previously been reported. The areas that Reader surveyed on the Upper Humber River were as follows: near Big Falls, just east of the town of Cormack; Cache Rapids, 1.25 km north of Reidville; and on a cleared field located on the east shore of the Humber opposite the town of Nicholsville. Reader reports that test pits dug in the area near Nicholsville consisted of homogeneous deposits of red clay/sand with no discernible stratigraphy which is similar to the stratigraphy of the area that we tested in this survey. He attributes this homogeneous deposit of red clay/sand as an indicator of regular flooding of the area in the past (Reader 1993:5).
Two sites were recorded as a result of Reader’s survey, both located on the shore of Deer Lake. As mentioned above Reader’s test on the Upper Humber did not reveal any evidence of previous occupation.
Evaluation and Discussion
As stated above the results of this survey were that no material culture was uncovered by either surface survey or test-pitting. Even though two sites are located in the area, the Deer Lake Beach site (DhBi-6) and the South Brook Park site (DgBj-3), no evidence of any prehistoric or historic occupation was uncovered in this survey. The cultural affiliation of the Deer Lake Beach site is Maritime Archaic and that of the South Brook Park site is Recent Indian (Reader 1994).
Recommendations
The results of this survey are that no historical resources will be affected by the proposed construction. No cultural material was found during this survey. It is the recommendation of the authors of this report that this project go ahead.
References
Reader, David
1993 – “Deer Lake/Upper Humber River Archaeological Survey 1993: A Preliminary Report.” Report prepared for the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
1994 – “Up the Creek: The Deer Lake Beach Site and Recent Indian Settlement and Subsistence in the Humber Valley Region, Newfoundland.” Vis a Vis: Explorations in Anthropology 5:15-27.