Palouse Wind LLC retained Plateau Archaeological Investigations (Plateau) to complete the cultural resource survey of Palouse Wind, a commercial wind energy generating facility in Whitman County. The facility consists of 63 turbines located on 7,000 acres.
Plateau archaeologists completed an architectural and archaeological survey of the proposed undertaking. The architectural survey resulted in the recordation of six previously unrecorded historic properties and an update to the historic property inventory of the Dawson Homestead. A barn is the only standing structure of the homestead; however, there are no planned ground disturbances for this location and no further archaeological investigations are recommended.
Seven previously unrecorded archaeological sites (historic-era artifact scatters [n=5], a homestead site [n=1], and railroad [n=1)) and two historic-era isolates were recorded and an update to previously recorded historic cemetery was completed as a result of the archaeological survey, which consisted of an intensive pedestrian survey and minimal subsurface investigations. Plateau recommended that if any of these resources cannot be avoided, that the potentially impacted resources be assessed for potential eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) prior to any ground disturbance. If deemed eligible for listing on the NRHP, additional consultation would occur between the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation and the project proponent.
Location: Whitman County, Washington
