Archaeological pedestrian survey and the NRHP eligibility testing of 41WB414 for Killam Lake wetlands area on Chacon Creek, Webb County, Texas

In February of 2008, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted a 100 percent pedestrian survey of the Killam Lake Wetland Area located along Chacon Creek in Laredo, Webb County, Texas. Archaeological sites 41WB413 and 41WB414 were revisited as part of the archaeological investigations and eligibility testing was conducted on 41WB414. The archaeological work was completed for the City of Laredo Solid Waste Services Department, who planned to remove construction and industrial debris from the waterway, as part of a wetlands restoration project. Because the removal process has the potential to impact the Chacon Creek waterway, the project falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). As such, the undertaking is subject to archaeological investigations as stated in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The archaeological survey and eligibility testing were conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4807 with Leonard Kemp serving as the Project Archaeologist and Antonia L. Figueroa serving as the Principal Investigator. CAR excavated 60 shovel tests and three 1-x-1 m test units within the Area of Potential Effect (APE). No new sites were documented during the pedestrian survey. No evidence of cultural features or intact cultural horizons was noted upon inspection of 41WB413 and no further work on that site is recommended. CAR has proposed that the boundary of 41WB414 be extended to the west. Based on the findings from test unit excavations at 41WB414, CAR concurs with the previous assessment that 41WB414 is not eligible for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places. The planned improvements to the APE can proceed and no further archaeological work is recommended on this property. CAR recommends that the proposed wetland project proceed as planned. Artifacts collected and records generated during this project were prepared for curation according to Texas Historical Commission guidelines and are permanently curated at the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.