Finding of No Significant Impact
Resource Protection Study
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

Background

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (Monument) is located in the City of Coolidge, Arizona and was established on August 3, 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson to protect the Casa Grande (“Big House”) and other archeological sites within its boundaries.  When the Monument was originally established, the extent of the Hohokam culture was not fully understood.  If archeologists had known in 1918 what they know today, the original boundaries of the Monument would have likely been much larger.  In recent years, rapid commercial and residential development in the City of Coolidge has created new challenges for protecting the area’s rich archeological resources.  In an effort to preserve these cultural resources, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument proposes to protect and acquire additional lands known to have significant archeological resources that are thematically related to the Casa Grande. 

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and §106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, National Park Service staff prepared a combined Environmental Assessment/ Assessment of Effect to examine various alternatives and environmental impacts associated with the proposal to protect additional archeological resources.  Impact topics identified during scoping and analyzed in the Environmental Assessment/ Assessment of Effect include archeological resources, historic structures, ethnographic resources, prime and unique farmland, visual resources, visitor use and experience, and park operations.  The Preferred Alternative, identified in the Environmental Assessment/ Assessment of Effect, is Alternative 4 which includes the acquisition of a total of 189.43 acres and the transference of 3.75 acres.  The 30-day public review of the Environmental Assessment/ Assessment of Effect began in November 2003.

Alternatives Considered

Four alternatives were evaluated in the Environmental Assessment/ Assessment of Effect including:

·      Alternative 1 - No Action (Federal Land Transfers):  This alternative consists of acquiring 4.5 acres of Bureau of Land Management land located at the southwest corner of the Monument; acquiring 7.41 acres of Bureau of Indian Affairs land located to the northeast of the Monument; and transferring 3.75 acres of National Park Service land on the southern edge of the Monument to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

·      Alternative 2 – Federal Land Transfers and Contiguous Property:  This alternative includes the three federal land transfers considered under the No Action Alternative in addition to acquiring 80 acres of private land located to the west of the Monument. 

·      Alternative 3 – Federal Land Transfers, Contiguous Property, and Grewe Site:  This alternative includes the actions under Alternative 2 in addition to acquiring the approximately 43.52 acre Grewe Site which is currently managed by the Archeological Conservancy. 

·      Alternative 4 – Federal Land Transfers, Contiguous Property, Grewe Site, and Portions of Adamsville:  This alternative includes the actions considered under Alternative 3 in addition to acquiring the approximate 126 acre Adamsville Site which is currently managed as State Trust Land.

Each of these alternatives contains common actions including land acquisition procedures (meetings, contracts), fencing, signing, maintaining the properties, restoring the lands by promoting native vegetation, and supporting local or grassroots efforts to establish a National Heritage Area.