services
Archaeology
State and Federal laws require that developers, planners, and engineers consider whether their projects will affect archaeological resources or Native American sacred sites. Our archaeology practice helps clients meet their permitting requirements while protecting archaeological resources. We are expert in meeting California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, and have decades of experience working with Federal agencies to secure project clearance under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. We are also familiar with the distinct requirements of Caltrans, Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Communications Commission, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Parks and Recreation Office of Grants and Local Services (OGALS).
Our archaeological services include:
Archaeological Sensitivity Assessments
Sensitivity assessments identify whether a project area might contain archaeological sites, whether Native American, historic-era, or both. We use historical, geological, and archaeological data to develop a site sensitivity profile and recommendations.
Cultural Resources Inventories
When project areas require a more in-depth study, we use field surveys, archival research, historical ecological data, and Native American consultation to identify whether archaeological sites are present in a project area and assess the likely impacts of the project.
Archaeological Testing
In archaeologically sensitive areas, test excavations may be needed to identify whether a project will affect archaeological deposits. Testing is customized to the project site and may include shovel test units, hand augering, or mechanical excavation with backhoes or compact excavators.
Avoidance and Mitigation
If archaeological sites are identified, we work with clients to identify the most effective solution for their project. This may include redesigning projects to avoid resources, archaeological monitoring plans, or mitigating impacts through gathering excavation data.
Archaeological Monitoring
If archaeological sites are identified, we work with clients to identify the most effective solution for their project. This may include redesigning projects to avoid resources, archaeological monitoring plans, or mitigating impacts through gathering excavation data.
Native American Collaboration
A/HC recognizes that Native American tribes have special expertise and knowledge of their ancestral sites. We have over 40 years of experience working with California tribes, and are committed to collaboration and to incorporating Native perspectives into our work.
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY STUDIES
State and Federal laws require that developers, planners, and engineers consider whether their projects will affect historic buildings, structures, or landscapes. If a project affects a building over 45 years old, it may need evaluation to determine whether it is eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) or the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Our architectural history studies combine field recording of a building’s features with detailed land use historical research to support significance evaluations. Our experience ranges from individual buildings to historic landscapes and complex districts, and includes residential, commercial, and industrial properties.
If significant buildings are affected by a project, mitigation may be necessary. Our mitigation experience includes recording for the Historic American Buildings Survey and Historic American Engineering Record, as well as creative mitigation solutions including salvage, interpretation, and reuse.
Historical Research
A/HC has decades of experience in Bay Area and California history, with particular expertise in land use history, historical ethnography, corporate histories, and the history of industrial processes and facilities.
Our historical research services include:
- Interpretive Panels and Brochures
- National Register Nominations
- Historical profiles of individual properties and local neighborhoods
- Corporate and Organizational History
- Oral History and Qualitative Research
Our publications include works on railroad logging, Native American Ethnohistory, and the history of hydroelectric power in California, including:
Laurence H Shoup and Suzanne Baker (1987) Railroad Logging in Northeastern Siskiyou County, 1900-1956. Siskiyou County Historical Society.
Laurence H Shoup (1985) Loggers, high leads, donkeys, and shays. Railroad logging on the Oroville district, Plumas National Forest, 1909-1938. Plumas National Forest.
Daniel Shoup and David DeVries (2009) Historic American Building Survey records for the Big Creek Hydroelectric System (Southern California Edison Company). Available here.
Laurence H. Shoup and Randall Milliken (1999) Yñigo of Rancho Posolmi: Life and Times of a Mission Indian. Ballena Press. Available here.
Randall Milliken, Laurence H Shoup, and Beverly Ortiz (2009) Ohlone/Costanoan Indians of the San Francisco Peninsula and their Neighbors, Yesterday and Today. National Park Service. Available here.
Randall Milliken (2009) Ethnohistory and Ethnogeography of the Coast Miwok and their Neighbors, 1783-1840. National Park Service. Available here.
TOXIC TORTS AND HISTORICAL FORENSICS
A/HC helps clients manage environmental liabilities through forensic historical research that identifies potential historical sources of soil and groundwater pollution. Since 1985 we have prepared histories for hundreds of brownfields sites, including foundries, tanneries, manufactured gas plants, power stations, shipyards, pipelines, and USTs. We are experts in the historical uses of a wide range of potentially toxic substances, including coal tar, lampblack, creosote, solvents, and PAHs; lead, mercury, chromium, and arsenic; and asbestos, pesticides, and PCBs. Our expertise also extends to corporate history and corporate successorship research, which clients have successfully used to identify Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs).
URBAN PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
A/HC provides cultural resources support for General Plan Amendments, Specific Plans, Programmatic EIRs, and focused EIRs. We can create cultural resources inventories for plan areas, prepare customized archaeological or historical analyses in support of EIRs, and write planning documents. We also develop resource management and conservation plans for historic and archaeological sites and landscapes.
PEER REVIEW OF CULTURAL RESOURCES STUDIES
Our decades of experience and familiarity with the full range of cultural resources documents makes us qualified to provide detailed peer reviews. Our reviews focus on whether the correct regulatory framework has been applied, evaluated whether the data provided meet the “substantial evidence” standard required in California law, and assess whether professional standards have been met.