The 1986 GBFEL-TIE sample survey on White Sands Missile Range

Three locations on White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, are under consideration as alternatives for the proposed Ground Based Free Electron Laser Technology Integration Experiment (GBFEL-TIE). The study conducted jointly by Prewitt and Associates, Inc., and the Office of Contract Archeology, was designed to provide input into the GBFEL-TIE Draft Environmental Impact Statement concerning the potential impact of the proposed project on cultural resources in each of the alternatives. The input consists of a series of predictions based on data gathered from two sources: 1) a cultural resource sample survey (15%) of two alternatives conducted as part of this study, and 2) from a previous survey of the third alternative. A predictive model was developed and applied using these data that estimated the portential impact of the GBFEL-TIE facility on the cultural resources within each alternative. The predictions indicate that the NASA alternative is, by far, the least favorable location for the facility followed by the Orogrande and Stallion alternatives.