North Shore Solar Facility Project Archaeological and Paleontological Services

FCS conducted an intensive field survey and prepared Cultural and Paleontological Resources Reports for Sunpin’s ColGreen North Shore Solar Farm Project, a 480-acre, 75-megawatt photovoltaic energy generation facility located approximately 4.5 miles east-southeast of Mecca, 2 miles east of the community of Northshore, and 0.4 miles north of SR 111, in unincorporated Riverside County, California. The project area was investigated, and both prehistoric and historic archaeological sites were identified during FCS's field surveys. FCS's recommendation mitigation measures included avoidance of the archaeological sites and surface collection and monitoring when in the vicinity of the sites. Following approval of the reports, FCS prepared cultural and paleontological mitigation and monitoring plans for the project.

FCS was subsequently contracted by Sunpin Holdings, Inc. to perform archaeological surface collection and archaeological and paleontological monitoring. Paleontological monitoring was conducted from April 24, 2017 until January 19, 2018. The mitigation program included monitoring of construction activities, fossil salvage, preparation of fossil specimens, identification of prepared specimens, curation of prepared specimens, and storage of curated specimens. The paleontological mitigation program resulted in the recovery of fossil remains from excavated bulk sediment samples derived from lacustrine sedimentary deposits of prehistoric Lake Cahuilla. The fossil assemblage recovered from the prehistoric Lake Cahuilla deposits consists of shells of freshwater mollusks (clams and snails), fish bones and teeth, a bird toe bone, and a rabbit heel bone. Surface collection and monitoring has also produced a number of collections of pottery fragments and stone features relating to late prehistoric occupation of the southern Coachella.