CULTURAL RESOURCES
ERO provides comprehensive cultural resource management services to achieve compliance under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Our clients trust ERO to navigate the increasingly complex Section 106 process, from initial project development to facilitating coordination and consultation with agencies and Tribal Nations. ERO’s cultural resource specialists, including archaeologists, historians, and architectural historians, offer comprehensive expertise in cultural resource management, including project planning, identification and evaluation, and regulatory compliance at the federal, state, and local levels. Our team has developed programmatic approaches and executed complex, multiyear projects, helping clients navigate the complex Section 106 regulatory environment. Section 106 compliance is often the most misunderstood and lengthy regulatory requirement for projects with federal permitting, and we ensure that the permitting process is initiated early so that projects are not delayed. This process begins with agency and Tribal coordination and continues throughout the life of your project. ERO’s strong relationships with permitting agencies, Tribal Nations, and State Historic Preservation Offices facilitate a smooth consultation process.
ERO’s cultural resource group of 25 specialists strengthens our ability to deliver high-quality project deliverables on time and on budget and allows our team to manage concurrent projects without compromising quality. Our cultural resource group supports a company of nearly 100 professionals, routinely collaborating with our Natural Resources and Planning groups.
ERO serves a wide range of federal, state, special district, Tribal Nations, and private clients. ERO’s broad clientele includes federal land managing agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in support of Section 404 permits, municipalities such as the City of Aurora, special districts such as Colorado Springs Utilities, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, electric associations, engineering, and landscape architecture firms. Clients trust us to guide them through the Section 106 process and other state or local requirements, from early planning, permitting, and project implementation.
Areas of Expertise
Section 106 Compliance
ERO conducts all phases of Section 106 compliance, including:
- Project development and compliance strategy
- Historic Property Identification
- Evaluative testing
- Historic Property Treatment
- Architectural Surveys
TRIBAL NATION COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION
ERO is a trusted partner for many Tribes. Federal undertakings require that agencies consult with Native American tribes to identify and consider the effects on culturally sensitive resources. ERO has assisted federal and state agencies with this requirement by identifying affiliated tribes, conducting or facilitating consultation on behalf of agencies, and facilitating consultation meetings.
Historic American Building Surveys (HABS) and Historic American Engineering Records (HAER) documentation
ERO provides Historic American Building Surveys/Historic American Engineering Records Documentation (HABS/HAER) and Historic Resource Documentation under both National Park Service and state standards. HABS/HAER documentation is typically performed as part of a treatment plan to mitigate an adverse effect on a historic property, and includes high-quality photo documentation, a narrative history compiled through primary and secondary archival research, and measured drawings. ERO has completed HABS/HAER documentation for historic bridges, engineered elements of canals and ditches, buildings, and features of designed landscapes.
PREDICTIVE MODELING
ERO conducts predictive modeling using environmental and cultural resource data to estimate the location of both surface and buried sites. Predictive modeling is especially useful during project planning to avoid unanticipated discoveries during construction and to inform NEPA analysis.
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
ERO has expertise in the application of remote sensing techniques to identify buried cultural resources, including unmarked graves and archaeological sites. Geophysical applications, including aerial surveys, ground penetrating radar, resistivity, and magnetometer, are especially useful tools to avoid unanticipated discoveries and evaluate archaeological sites in an efficient manner.
permit areas
- Permitted with all federal and state agencies in our core service area of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming
- Tribal Nation permits: Jicarilla Apache Nation, Navajo Nation, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
- Permitted agencies include U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs Southwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation Upper Colorado and Missouri Basin Regions, and the Bureau of Land Management for Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
- On-call contracts with the Federal Highway Administration-Central Federal Lands, National Park Service, Colorado Department of Transportation, U.S. Forest Service
Cultural Resources Leads
Sean Larmore – Principal
Kathy Croll – Principal
