10 Year Heritage Program Plan Hoosier National Forest Prepared by
Annual monitoring targets to assess site conditions and to measure success of treatment or mitigation measures
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- Priority Heritage Assets
Annual monitoring targets to assess site conditions and to measure success of treatment or mitigation measures.Significant sites are protected through project modification, or redesign, or implementation of mitigation measures designed to remove any impacts the project may have on cultural resources. Site protection is commonly done by establishing a buffer zone (10-20 meters) around a site and excluding that entire area from project work. Monitoring is essential after project implementation to ensure site protection measures were effective. Currently we have 13 projects with 273 sites requiring protection. The Hoosier has an Implementation Planning Tool for Heritage that helps keep track of all this information. This document is found in Appendix A. It lists all Forest projects that have been analyzed for environmental affects in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and identifies each site that requires protection during project implementation. Particular mitigation measures or design criteria developed in the environmental analysis are listed in columns by activity type. Date columns record site flagging visits prior to project implementation and visits made after the project is complete. Due to the confidential nature of the data, only the framework for the implementation plan is presented in Appendix A. This document is reviewed throughout the year to ensure our protection measures are effective. Assessing the efficacy of protection measures is important work for the heritage program whether driven by Section 106 or Section 110 of the NHPA. Opportunistic monitoring of sites in the vicinity of these projects occurs on a limited basis. We have attempted, unsuccessfully so far, to monitor the effects of prescribed fire in and adjacent to rockshelters to determine whether or not they need to be excluded from the burn itself. The fire did not reach the test area so no data was obtained from our buried sensors. In addition to our forest wide monitoring, our Priority Heritage Assets are monitored at least as often as every 5 years. Priority Heritage AssetsCultural resources are historic, prehistoric, archaeological, or architectural sites, structures, places or objects and traditional cultural properties. They are considered heritage assets. Priority Heritage Assets (PHA’s) are those heritage assets of distinct public value that are or should be actively maintained. The designation of some heritage assets as “priority” was introduced to reduce the deferred maintenance backlog. Condition assessments at PHAs are required every five years to be considered managed to standard. Priority Heritage Assets meet one or more of the following criteria:
Heritage assets that serve governmental operations functions, such as a district office building, are Multiple-Use Assets. Recommendations to management categories are made for all PHAs to help realize their greatest scientific, traditional, historical, and management potential. The categories are: preservation, enhancement, scientific investigation, and release from management under NHPA. Most PHA’s are actively managed. The Forest manages 13 PHA’s and two Multiple-Use Assets. A brief description of each site, its NRHP status, and management recommendations follow. 12 Cr 0059 Indian Cave. This rockshelter is located in Hemlock Cliffs, one of most spectacular natural areas on the forest. It is actually classified as a cave because there is a dark zone. Archaeological investigations occurred over several seasons by Ball State University (Waters and Cochran 1999). Extensive soil disturbance from illegal ATV riding has occurred inside the cave. Various protective measures have been used to curtail this activity. In 2010 we dropped some trees in front of the shelter and this has been effective at restricting access. The site was occupied from the Early Archaic through the Late Archaic period. It is potentially eligible for listing on the NRHP. Lewis and Lewis (2010) conducted a bioinventory of subterranean fauna on the Forest. They found seven species and ranked them using a State rank and Global rank of rarity. One specimen, a Gray-handed pseudoscorpion (Kleptochthonius griseomanus) is listed as G1 globally critically imperiled. Another specimen, Salisa’s milliped (Pseudotremia salisae) is ranked as G2 globally imperiled. Management recommendation: direct law enforcement effort to curtail illegal all-terrain vehicles (ATV’s)/off highway vehicles (OHV’s) throughout the entire Hemlock Cliffs area. A massive public education effort is needed in the county. 
Figure : Indian Cave Inside Looking Out 12 Cr 0110 Potts Creek Rockshelter. This rockshelter was disturbed by illegal digging in the 1980s. During stabilization by the Forest Service in 1986, a Paleoindian projectile point was recovered from the looter’s back dirt pile. This is the first rockshelter in the region where a Paleoindian artifact was found. In this shelter a two foot thick refuse midden was observed that contained abundant lithic and faunal remains. Human occupation occurred during the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods. The potential for this shelter to yield an undisturbed Paleoindian cultural assemblage extends its archaeological significance far beyond the region of south central Indiana and the Ohio Valley. It was listed on the NRHP in 1986. Management recommendation: Continue periodic monitoring. 
Figure : Potts Creek Rockshelter 12 Cr 0175 Roll Petroglyph. This site was discovered and reported to the Indiana State Museum who recorded it in 1988. It is one of only three known rock art sites in Indiana. The motifs are pecked into the horizontal surface of a rock that is periodically inundated by the Ohio River. The site consists of 14 pit and groove style markings including two concentric circles, an infinity symbol, a bow and arrow, three circular marks, and two circles with forked lines through them (Cochran and Wepler 1988). A turkey track, two lines, a circle with a line, and a possible track were recorded at a later visit. As suggested by the bow and arrow, the site probably dates to the Late Woodland Period. Photogrammetry, or measured photographs, was conducted in 2001 (Cooper) as a mitigation measure to document the site to the highest level possible as water levels fluctuate and erosion continues. An artisan recreated the rock art on a large boulder that is on display at the Indiana State Museum. The Roll Petroglyph is eligible for listing to the NRHP. Management recommendation: Continue periodic monitoring. 
Figure : Roll Petroglyph Concentric Circles 
Figure : Indiana State Museum Reproduction 12 Mn 0202 Paw Paw Marsh. This is a large prehistoric open air site. It is below and adjacent to a gravel road that received a substantial amount of surface damage from tornado blow down and unauthorized cleanup activities (Krieger 2003). Over 2,000 artifacts were surface collected in the disturbed area. The site was stabilized in 2003. It dates to the Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, Mississippian, and Historic periods. It is potentially eligible to the NRHP. Management recommendation: formal site evaluation using field school students or volunteers. 
Figure : Paw Paw Marsh after Stabilization 12 Mo 0272 Waldrip Cabin. Waldrip Cabin is a partially standing timber framed log home. It was built in the nineteenth century and is reserved for interpretive uses. It is not eligible to the NRHP. Management recommendation: develop on-site interpretive sign with safety message. 
Figure : Waldrip Cabin 12 Or 0001 Cox's Woods. This Oliver Phase Mississippian stockaded village is located in Pioneer Mother’s Memorial Forest-Indiana’s largest old growth forest. It was excavated by archaeologists from Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology-Indiana University in the 1990s (Redmond and McCullough 1993 and 1995, Redmond 1994). The site was radiocarbon dated to A. D. 1380 which is at the late end of the Phase. Public tours were offered during the excavation and over a thousand people attended. There are interpretive signs at each end of the trail accessing the area. It is eligible for listing to the NRHP. Management recommendation: continue periodic monitoring. 
Figure : Example of a Stockaded Village 12 Or 0600 Buffalo Trace. This trail was created by American bison migrating between the Illinois plains and the Kentucky salt licks. It is also known as the Vincennes Trace. It was used by Native Americans, pioneers and soldiers and allowed for access and settlement of the Northwest Territory (Wilson 1919). It is a feature of “Indiana’s Historic Pathways”, a newly declared National Scenic Byway. Only one segment has been identified on the Forest and it is located along Springs Valley Multiple-Use Trail. An interpretive sign is located at the trail head. Tracts that may contain additional segments were identified and are currently under contract for survey. Management recommendation: Co-author paper at the conference “Preserving the Historic Road”. Develop additional interpretive material. 
Figure : Buffalo Trace near Springs Valley Trail 12 Or 0603 Mathew Thomas and 12 Or 0608 Elias Roberts Farmsteads. The Lick Creek African American Settlement is an antebellum free Black community that was the subject of extensive literature research, excavation, and interpretation (Krieger 1999 and 2000, Laswell and Cochran 2003, Laswell and Krieger 2002, Robbins 1994, Wepler 2008, and Wepler et al 2001 and 2004,). The settlement began in 1811 and includes numerous farmsteads, the remains of a meeting house, an African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a cemetery. The Thomas and Roberts farms are two of the four farmsteads that have been excavated in this community study to date. The settlement peaked in 1860 with a population of 260 people owning a total of 1,920 acres. The possibility exists that there is a connection between this community and the Underground Railroad. This research partnership with Indiana State Museum has provided numerous stewardship opportunities for public archaeology, tours, volunteerism, and museum exhibits. These outreach efforts have greatly increased public awareness and appreciation of archaeological sites. These sites are eligible for listing to the NRHP. Management recommendation: Complete on-site interpretive signs at trailheads, tenant farm, and at cemetery. 
Figure : Land Owned by African Americans in 1850 12 Pe 0098 and 12 Pe 0100 Rockhouse Hollow Rockshelters. These rockshelters are located adjacent to each other. The larger rockshelter, 12 Pe 0100 was excavated in 1961 by James Kellar (1979). It was occupied continuously from the Early Archaic, through the Woodland, Mississippian, and Historic periods. The extensive artifact collection (56 cubic feet) was recently reanalyzed by Noel Justice (2008). An item of interest comes from the human remains analysis. Burial 2 showed evidence of trauma, multiple fractures, and a dislocated hip that formed a new joint. This trauma was possibly caused by a fall from a great height and the individual lived long enough for the bones to heal. This combination of a hip dislocation, healed fracture and new hip joint formation is unique in the paleopathological literature. It is listed on the NRHP. Management recommendation: Continue to eradicate invasive species spreading adjacent to and inside the rockshelter. Continue periodic monitoring. 
Figure : Unexcavated area protected by 1993 roof collapse 12 Pe 0763 Lookout Shelter. This rockshelter was also damaged by a looting incident prior to its formal recordation. It is a very scenic site that has both a wet and dry room. The damage was stabilized and artifacts indicate it was occupied in the Middle Woodland Period. It is potentially eligible for listing to the NRHP. Management recommendation: continue periodic monitoring. 
Figure : Lookout Shelter 12 Pe 0784 Rickenbaugh House. This two-story sandstone block building was built in 1874 by Jacob Rickenbaugh, a tanner. It was used as a residence and post office until 1951. With the assistance of Indiana Department of Natural Resources-Division of Historic Preservation grants, stabilization and rehabilitation was conducted in the 1990s and 2000s. It was also documented to Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) standards. Indoor interpretive panels and an outdoor kiosk are in place. The second floor remains unfinished. The Rickenbaugh House is located within the Celina Lake Recreation Area is currently used as a community center, meeting hall, and venue for various interpretive activities so is classified as a Multiple-Use asset. It is listed on the NRHP. Management recommendation: complete cleaning of the second floor area that was not rehabilitated and interpret construction methods, promote use by the Forest Service and our partners and continue maintenance and periodic monitoring. 
Figure : Rickenbaugh House after Rehabilitation 12 Pe 1023 Rockshelter Behind Celina House. This site was excavated by Ball State University (Nagel 2001) and is located along an interpretive hiking trail. It was occupied during the Archaic and Woodland periods. It is eligible for listing to NRHP. Management recommendation: continue periodic monitoring. 
Figure : Rockshelter Behind Celina House 12 Pe 1376 German Ridge CCC Campground. This complex of square hewn log buildings, lake, and campground is the first National Forest recreation area in the state. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1942. A new toilet was recently placed at the beach and its design was chosen to blend in with the existing log buildings. It continues to function as a recreation area so is a Multiple-Use asset. It is eligible for listing to the NRHP. Management recommendation: nominate to the NRHP, develop interpretive material for the campground, and continue periodic monitoring. 
Figure : German Ridge CCC Recreation Area
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