Statement of Qualifications
Introduction
Approach To Projects
• Legal Compliance
· Conventional Capabilities
· Geophysical Capabilities
• Heritage Tourism
Relevant Project Experience
Key PersonnelIntroduction
TREMAINE & ASSOCIATES is a woman-owned business, established in 1994, and headquartered in West Sacramento, California. Our services include all aspects of conventional cultural resources management: feasibility studies, management plans, archaeological reconnaissance, site testing, mitigation, and monitoring. By integrating a geophysics component, we are also able to offer our clients more innovative strategies for practical and regulatory problems. Our work is well researched, objective, and intended to facilitate projects by implementing more effective approaches. TREMAINE has a permanent staff that includes archaeologists, geophysicists, graphic artists, GIS specialists, an office manager, a finance manager and numerous field and laboratory technicians.
TREMAINE has successfully completed a wide range of projects, from small-scale, local land development to highly complex and demanding programs in the sectors of communications (fiber optics), civil engineering, transportation, water resources, and military facilities. Much of our work in California has been located in the Central Valley, Sierra Mountains, and North Coast Ranges. With over 300 projects behind us, our senior officers are each solid veterans of the resource management profession. Together they possess the complementary strengths of managerial excellence, regulatory knowledge, academic scholarship, and technical proficiency needed for project development in Sacramento. Further, TREMAINE retains a pool of experienced archaeological technicians, some permanent full-time, and others seasonal or on-call, as demand merits.
Approach to Projects
There are two aspects of projects involving cultural resources management: (1) the legal aspect for compliance with both CEQA and NEPA; and (2) the heritage tourism aspect. Both will be addressed in the following sections.
Legal Compliance
TREMAINE & ASSOCIATES has worked on numerous CEQA, and Section 106 projects preparing reports for Initial Studies, Environmental Impact Reports, Environmental Impact Statements, and subsequent mitigation studies. For these projects, we have conducted archival research, consulted with Native Americans and local historical societies, evaluated resources for eligibility to the California Register and NRHP, monitored during construction in sensitive areas, dealt with unanticipated discoveries, data recovery and Native American concerns.
The Office of Historic Preservation has begun paying close attention to the vertical Area-of-Potential-Effects (APE), taking into account impacts in 3-dimensions. It is now necessary to reasonably demonstrate that no subsurface resources are located within the APE or Area of Direct-Impact (ADI). Thus, it is assumed that surface surveys will be insufficient in and of themselves. A discussion of the late quaternary geology of the region and likelihood of buried resources is now required. If the likelihood exists and vertical impacts are significant or substantial, a subsurface investigation may be necessary. This can be accomplished using non-invasive geophysics, augering, or backhoe trenching. TREMAINE is capable of conducting all such subsurface identification work.
The TREMAINE office and lab facility is a 10,600 square foot complex equipped with 13 networked computer stations, and a research library with thousands of references. We maintain a large artifact processing and analysis area, and the necessary excavation equipment capable of meeting the needs of multiple concurrent field operations. Our administrative support services include an automated project budget and payroll tracking that make project management clear and organized. TREMAINE also has a complete computer graphics, certified GIS and mapping department, with staff experienced in a wide variety of GIS software (e.g., ESRI ArcGIS, Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst) for producing comprehensive maps and detailed spatial analysis.
Our firm is well versed in handling a wide range of cultural resource types associated with a variety of geographic settings and temporal periods. Prehistoric work spans the last 10,000 years, including: habitation sites, burial grounds, sparse lithic scatters, baked clay scatters, bedrock milling stations, toolstone quarries, and seasonal encampments. Historic work spans the early 19th through early 20th century, ranging from contexts associated with mission life, mining, ranching, logging, transportation, as well as urban residential and commercial settings. We are also able to handle historic architectural work through our subconsultant, Carol Roland, Ph.D., of Roland-Nawi Associates.
Cultural resources can be obscured by vegetation, pavement, or overburden, and therefore missed during conventional pedestrian survey. We offer a solution to this problem in an effort to avoid costly delays during construction, when “unanticipated discoveries” are often made. There are also advantages in using geophysics at the evaluation and data recovery phases of site management. TREMAINE uses a suite of geophysical instruments as listed below.
- Mobile EM3
TREMAINE (with Argus Technologies) has developed the EM3, a mobile geophysical instrument for near-surface (upper 10 meters) electromagnetic investigations. Both apparent conductivity and magnetic susceptibility data are acquired for three volumes/depths simultaneously, resulting in a tremendous increase in data, consequently greater confidence regarding subsurface conditions. This information is useful for identifying buried cultural resources. However, it is also very useful within a number of decision making arenas of project development, particularly, design engineering, geotechnical, environmental, and ROW/utilities. By identifying potential problems during the planning and design phase, rather than down the road, the “unforeseen” is avoided, reducing design errors and omissions, schedule slippage, scope creep, and cost overruns. It can also be used as a fact-based audit of the project area's subsurface environment (part of a project constructability review). Our technology has enormous potential for payoffs, given that currently, over 50% of all construction claims and change orders are the result of insufficient subsurface information.
- Resistivity/Induced Polarization & Ground Penetrating Radar
TREMAINE uses additional geophysical methods in conjunction with the EM3 to characterize the subsurface environment as accurately as possible. These methods are generally employed subsequent to the EM3 survey to better delineate those potential cultural resources or unforeseen obstacles found with the EM3. These methods are also used where site and/or soil conditions are not conducive to obtaining good EM results, allowing TREMAINE to conduct surveys in a wide range of environments. The complementary nature of the resistivity data allows for more accurate models of the subsurface to be generated from the EM3 data, reducing the need for more expensive subsurface testing. Ground penetrating radar is now a commonly used technique in geotechnical, engineering and ROW/utilities investigations for providing high resolution images of the buried strata and objects. The combined use of these different methods provides a powerful “toolbox” for cultural resource, environmental, geotechnical and ROW/utilities investigations.
Heritage Tourism
Executive Order: Preserve America, signed by George W. Bush on March 3, 2003, calls for the “use of historic properties for heritage tourism and related economic development in a manner that contributes to the long-term preservation and productive use of those properties.” As defined in the Executive Order, Section 7, “heritage tourism” “means the business and practice of attracting and accommodating visitors to a place or area based especially on the unique or special aspects of the locale’s history, landscape, and culture.” Furthermore, the National Endowment for the Humanities has started a fairly new Initiative called We-the-People showcasing America's Historic Places … that is, those that embody our unique spirit, character and identity. The goals of the initiative include a greater shared knowledge about the Nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.
Archaeology has a charisma that other aspects of historic preservation sometimes lack. The process of discovery excites and interests many people who are otherwise indifferent to or even hostile to history and historic preservation. It is our strong contention that Sacramento’s history can be brought alive and contribute to a project’s overall success through interpretive displays and literature.
Relevant Project Experience
TREMAINE & ASSOCIATES brings experience in assessing prehistoric and historic resources sensitivity all over the state of California, as well as experience with testing, monitoring, and mitigation of such resources if needed. Please see our Experience page for deatails about TREMAINE'S past and current projects.
Key Personnel
Kim Tremaine, Ph.C., RPA Principal Investigator John Lopez, M.A. Operations Manager/ Native American Liason Subconsultants
Carol Roland, Ph.D. Architectural Historian Ed Hajic, Ph.D. Geomorphologist