USBR-LBAO Awards GeomorphIS a 4-Year Contract for Cultural Surveys

The US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR; Reclamation), Lahontan Basin Area Office (LBAO) has awarded the GeomorphIS team (GeomorphIS-G2 Archaeology-ARH) a 4-year contract to conduct cultural resources surveys and reporting on the Newlands Project, a Federal irrigation project in west-central Nevada that consists of various water storage and conveyance features and also includes numerous parcels of  neighboring lands originally withdrawn or acquired for Newlands Project purposes. Livestock grazing leases have historically been issued on many of these parcels under Reclamation jurisdiction in Lyon and Churchill Counties and Reclamation’s LBAO is currently developing a Grazing Management Plan that will govern the future administration of grazing leases on these lands. Reclamation has established that the issuance of each individual grazing permit on the 40,630 acres of Reclamation lands constitutes an undertaking pursuant to Section 301(7) of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) and that Reclamation, as the underlying landowner, is responsible for ensuring compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA (16 U.S.C. § 470f) for such undertakings, as outlined in the implementing regulations at 36 CFR Part 800).