A Class I Cultural Resources Records Review for the 3,418-acre Planet Ranch Property for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation-Lower Colorado Regional Office, La Paz and Mohave Counties, Arizona: Report

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) plans to acquire rights to a 3,418-acre parcel of Planet Ranch to create a protected riparian area in order to comply with the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP). The LCR MSCP is a 50-year federal and non-federal partnership created to balance the use of the Lower Colorado River water resources and to conserve the native species and habitats in order to comply with the Endangered Species Act. In February 2005, the 8,388.73-acre Planet Ranch was examined by Reclamation to determine the acreages and types of native vegetation that could be established at the site and to see if these lands could be used to support its habitat restoration program. The conclusion of the study was that 3,418 acres were suitable for program use.
Planet Ranch and the associated water rights to 14,000 acre feet of the Bill Williams River are currently owned by the City of Scottsdale who, until recently, utilized the area for irrigated agriculture. Freeport-MacMoran Corporation plans to purchase the 3,418-acre parcel and its associated water rights and donate it to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission who will lease the land to Reclamation. Reclamation will use the land for the implementation of the LCR MSCP and will manage the property.
On behalf of Reclamation, Archaeological Consulting Services, Inc. (ACS) performed a Class I records search for the 3,418-acre parcel. The Class I identified 3 sites within the project area and 10 sites within the larger project review area. Of these 13 sites, 3 were listed as eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, while the eligibility of the 10 remaining sites was unevaluated.