Comprehensive Solutions for Archaeological Services

Our Expertise

Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants, Inc. is a professional consulting firm specializing in archaeological services. Based in Cortez, Colorado, we offer a wide range of expertise in cultural resource management, archaeological surveys, excavation, preservation planning, historic preservation, stabilization, condition assessment, paleontology, and mitigation. As a small business, we are committed to delivering the highest quality work with consistent communication and follow-through as our brand values, with a strong focus on quality and timeliness. Our team of experts has extensive experience in the field and uses state-of-the-art technology to provide comprehensive solutions to meet the needs of our clients.

Partners

A List of Select Project Descriptions is Provided Below.

Past Projects

Prehistoric Resources of the Great Sage Plain and Adjacent Borderlands in Southeast Utah and Southwest Colorado (8,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750)

2023-2025

Description: This is a multi-year research and management project to sharpen our focus on the archaeological record of the Great Sage Plain, east around the Abajo Mountains in Utah and northwest of Cortez, Colorado.

Client: State of Utah

Results: Management guidelines for Sage Plain Context

Bureau of Reclamation IDIQ

2017-Present

Description:

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project (NGWSP) is a multi-year Bureau of Reclamation Upper Colorado Region (Reclamation) infrastructure project, which will ultimately consist of about 350 miles (563 kilometers) of pipeline, several pumping plants, and at least two water treatment plants. These facilities will convey water from the San Juan River to the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the city of Gallup, New Mexico. Dozens of cultural sites were mitigated, avoided, and excavated through this project.

Client: United States Bureau of Reclamation

Woods Canyon was one of three awardees of the $51 million five year contract.

BLM UT IDIQ/RFO

2021-2024

Description: Class III intensive field surveys of approximately 63,000 acres to identify cultural resources on all routes that will be designated as open within the Henry Mountains Fremont Gorge Travel Management Area (TMA). Project results will inform the BLM of the distribution and character of cultural resources in the TMA, as well as all cultural resources within the undertaking Areas of Potential Effects. In addition, project results will contribute significant data to the archaeological record of Utah and enhance the management and protection of historic properties within the RFO HMFG TMA, now and into the future.

Client: United States Bureau of Land Management

Results:

Edge of the Cedars State Park

2019-2024

Description: Edge of the Cedars Pueblo is a significant archaeological resource that was in need of immediate and long-term stabilization treatment. The complex is an Ancestral Pueblo community center important to ancestral communities and archaeological research both in southeast Utah and regionally. It serves as a rare experiential learning center where the public can enter a roofed kiva structure and experience the scale of a 12th century McElmo-style architectural block. The State of Utah has invested funds and personnel to the development and maintenance of Complex 4 over the last forty years making it an important resource to Utah Division of Parks and Recreation.

Client: State of Utah

Results: Multiple buildings have been stabilized over the course of six years.

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Architectural Documentation and Condition Assessment of Forty-Four Architectural Units in the Southwest Quadrant of Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historic Park

2022-2023

Description: This project consisted of a detailed literature search, the development of architectural documentation and condition assessment forms, LiDAR scanning and the construction of a 3-D model of the southwest portion of Pueblo Bonito, annotation of plan view and elevation images, and a summarized final report.

Client: National Park Service

Results: Documentation of architecture and over 100 years of stabilization history.

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Land Management Plan

2022

Description: The purpose of the BEITC Land Management Plan is to provide a synthesis of Tribal perspectives on managing the landscape of the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM). The BEITC Land Management Plan emphasizes a holistic approach to all resources giving primacy to indigenous knowledge and perspectives on the stewardship of the Bear’s Ears landscape. Although prepared for BENM, this plan can also be applied beyond the boundaries of the Monument, as it is intended to provide the foundation for proactive collaborative management of ancestral lands that extend well beyond current monument and reservation boundaries.

Client: Resources Legacy Foundation

Results: This plan is the preferred management alternative for the monument at present.