APPENDIX IV 



GUIDELINES FOR THE EVALUATION 

 AND PROTECTION OF HISTORIC WAGON TRAILS 



Unlike prehistoric resources, historic resources 

 frequently have documentary verification. This is 

 especially true of historic trails. Most of the 

 nationally and locally significant trails have their 

 routes and uses documented. Hovi^ever, this type 

 of documentation (i.e., written records and 

 sources) cannot convey a trail's present environ- 

 mental setting or the physical evidence of its 

 historic usage. An understanding of environ- 

 mental setting and physical evidence of historic 

 usage requires an on the ground inspection of 

 the area in question. 



Trails present a complex cultural resource 

 management situation because of their varying 

 degrees of preservation and diverse range of 

 environmental settings. While many trails in 

 Wyoming possess some degree of historic 

 significance (either national, regional, or local), 

 not all segments of these trails are eligible for or 

 should be included on the National Register due 

 to varying degrees of compromised integrity. It 

 is the policy of the BLM in Wyoming to preserve 

 the best known representative examples of 

 significant historic trails for the benefit of the 

 American people. When segments of a docu- 

 mented significant trail taken in whole, exist in 

 varying states of preservation or integrity, those 

 portions of the trail exhibiting the least impairment 

 of physical and environmental condition will be 

 considered eligible for the National Register. (See 

 Evaluative Questions Concerning Eligibility 

 Section for guidelines on determining environ- 

 mental and physical integrity.) 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 



Prior to any field survey in the vicinity of a trail 

 (as evidenced through a file search), the cultural 

 resource contractor will review GLO plat maps, 

 aerial photographs, and consult with the BLM 

 District or Resource Area archeologist. The con- 

 tractor will also review the comprehensive 

 management plan and appropriate BLM resource 

 management plan if the trail is part of the National 

 Trails System to determine previously identified 

 management goals. 



All trails and each segment of those trails which 

 may be affected by a project will be addressed 

 in the report as distinct entities and recorded as 



separate cultural sites. Combining discussions 

 and the grouping of trails in a report when the 

 historical significance of these trails is related to 

 totally different broad patterns of events is not 

 acceptable (e.g., intermingling discussions of the 

 Overland and Cherokee Trails). Each trail 

 discussion will be treated as a discrete entry. 



Whatever the given buffer zone, the trail 

 segment(s) will be evaluated by a historian (other 

 than those trails already determined eligible for 

 the National Register) if the area evinces historic 

 use, maintains a high degree of physical and 

 environmental integrity, and will be impacted by 

 a proposed action. 



The District Manager may, at his discretion, 

 maintain a bugger zone around ineligible 

 segments if these lie adjacent to eligible segments 

 and might be affected by a proposed action. 



The recreational value of a trail segment will 

 not be a factor in evaluating a trail segment for 

 the National Register. However, the District 

 Manager will consider the recreational value of 

 the trail in the decisionmaking process, and hence 

 may wish to maintain buffer zones, authorize 

 modern vehicle traffic, and set aside certain trail 

 segments for recreational purposes. 



Some trails (e.g., oregon, Overland) traverse two 

 or more BLM Districts. In some situations, 

 differences of opinion between District might exist 

 over the eligibility of such a trail in response to 

 a linear project which crosses District boundaries. 

 Such conflicts, when they cannot be worked out 

 by the affected District, will be resolved by the 

 State Director. 



TRAIL SEGMENT ELIGIBILITY 



Significant trail ruts, swales, and associated 

 sites which can be placed in historic context, and 

 which have not suffered a loss of physical and 

 environmental integrity, will be considered eligible 

 for the National Register of Historic Places. 



Paved roads will be considered ineligible for the 

 National Register. 



An area verified by documentary evidence to 

 have once been within a significant trail corridor, 

 but in which no physical remains are now visible. 



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