Far Western works in partnership with private industry, government agencies, tribal organizations, and non-profits, and is today recognized as one of the leading cultural resources consulting firms in the United States. Our comprehensive research reports have proved to be lasting contributions to regional prehistory and history.
Alturas Intertie Project — A large-scale data recovery conducted at 71 sites along the Alturas Transmission Line, the project traverses 137 miles in California, including portions of Modoc, Lassen, and Sierra Counties, and 27 miles within Washoe County, Nevada.
Black Canyon—Pahranagat Rock Art — An ethnographic study and archaeological overview for the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, the project included a survey of a known petroglyph site, Black Canyon, and a detailed rock art study, informing long-term management for the site.
Cuyama Valley — Salvage archaeological work was conducted at seven sites near San Luis Obispo, but the resulting extensive collections were never formally catalogued or documented. Some 40 years later, a Caltrans grant allowed Far Western to analyze and document the collections.
Gold Butte Inventory — One of the largest federally funded cultural resources undertakings in the State of Nevada, Far Western produced a complete human land-use study for the 364,116-acre Gold Butte Study Area located in eastern Clark County, Nevada.
Gypsum Cave Project — The paleontological and archaeological record of the cave was first investigated in the late 1920s by Mark Raymond Harrington. Nevada Power installed a transmission line a few hundred meters east of Gypsum Cave, and contracted Far Western to revisit the site.
Lincoln County Archaeological Initiative — Two of Far Western’s studies for the Initiative increased understanding of the unique Fremont cultural expression in Lincoln County. Far Western developed a study of hydration rates for geochemically distinct obsidian sources found in Lincoln County.
Poppy Hills — Far Western Geoarchaeologist Philip Kaijankoski and Principal Investigator Jeffrey Rosenthal identified two buried soils in the eastern area of the site during backhoe trenching, extending the range of occupation back to 8000 BP—making this one of the oldest sites ever found in the region.
Ruby Pipeline — Far Western served as cultural resources prime for effects mitigation and ancillary inventory across the state of Nevada for the 347.4-mile pipeline corridor project. The identified resource base for this portion of the project consisted of 1,066 archaeological sites or resources.
Sonora Bypass — The decade-long efforts on the Sonora Bypass project included cultural resources inventory plus late discovery evaluation, and data recovery, and coordination of archaeological and Native American monitoring. In addition, a Me-Wuk ethnobotanical field guide was produced.
Truckee River Legacy Trail — This project stretched over nine years and included evaluation for eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places followed by development of an MOA, and mitigation that included data recovery and production of interpretive panels and a brochure.
UC Davis Project to Honor Native Americans — Design of 10 exterior installations, a contemplative garden, and the Plan for the UC Davis Project to Honor Native Americans was completed in only 26 months. Construction of the Contemplative Garden was completed in 2009.
US Bureau of Reclamation Humboldt Project — Far Western documented 346 newly identified cultural resources and 349 isolates, and prepared site record updates for 48 previously documented sites as part of the US Bureau of Reclamation Humboldt Conveyance project.
Wahtoke Creek — The Wahtoke Creek Project included major archaeological investigations and innovative public interpretation, education, and tribal outreach that included an English/Choinumni dictionary produced in consultation with the local Native American community.