ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEYS
Quality Services, Inc. prepared and cataloged artifacts for curation that were discovered during the 2010 construction of the Deadwood Recreation Center located at 105 Sherman Street Deadwood, SD. QSI curated half of the collection from the excavation and transfered it to the Deadwood Historic Preservation Office for future research and display. QSI cataloged the artifacts using the South Dakota Archaeological Research Center's Hierarchical Artifact Catalog System and prepared the collection in accordance to Deadwood Historic Preservation Department specifications. Pictured to the left is one of the artifacts of the collection, fragments of a Good Charlotte doll.
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QSI has been working on cultural resources compliance for Positive Train Control (PTC) safety systems for four railroads - Amtrak, Burlington Northern-Sante Fe, Union Pacific, and Kansas City Southern - in over 30 states. Section 106 review for these projects is handled under a "Program Comment" in the Federal Communications Commission's National Programmatic Agreement. The Rail Safety Improvement Act requires this system to be implemented, meaning that no build is not an option - mitigation will occur when historic properties cannot be avoided. This had led to interesting studies on multiple cultural resource sites including immigrant trails associated with the Donner Party, burial mounds, village sites, railroad structures, etc.
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Mark Carpenter, QSI's military expert, has worked on several National Guard projects, including ICRMP. The Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan (ICRMP) for the South Dakota Army National Guard provides management guidance for cultural resources throughout the state for the next five years. This has resulted in multiple inventories, archeological and historic site evaluations, and protection measures being implemented.
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Nebraska National Forest and Grasslands
Quality Services, Inc. conducted cultural resource inventory of roughly 1800 acres of land in two parcels for the Blacktail Creek Land Exchange. The project area lies within the history-rich Buffalo Gap National Grasslands in southwest South Dakota, just west of the Pine Ridge Reservation. QSI archeologists recorded six new archeological sites consisting of prehistoric isolated finds and historic artifact scatters. QSI tribal liaisons also conducted oral history interviews and ethnographic research. |
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CONSTRUCTION MONITORING
Inventory of a proposed chalet development in Deadwood recorded multiple mining, industrial and residential features, some of which will require mitigation as the project moves toward construction. In addition, QSI is monitoring construction for several casino and hotel projects, and prepared to conduct mitigative excavations in Deadwood, which are expected to recover large quantities of artifacts related to the growth and development of the City from about 1877 to 1950s.
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SD Department of Transportation
Quality Services, Inc. conducted an 8 month long construction monitoring project of within the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwest South Dakota. A total of 366 acres were surveyed and monitored, with 54 newly recorded paleontological sites containing over 600 combined fossils. QSI worked with local tribes to employ and train several tribal monitors to assist in excavation, fossil preparation, faunal analysis, and cataloging of over 400 specimens in preparation for curation at the Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, SD. The collection contained a total of 13 different prehistoric animal species, identified through faunal analysis by QSI paleontologists. |
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HISTORIC PRESERVATION
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Quality Services, Inc. conducted a downtown area survey for the City of Rapid City. The purpose of this survey was to inventory the architecture and present conditions of the commercial buildings within the survey area, identify potentially eligible historic resources within the survey area, prepare or update South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office structure forms for potentially eligible and listed properties, and to make preliminary recommendations for future use, interpretation and development. The survey area, East of 5th, has a long history of use (having had once used land for storing hay and grain in open lots) and its architecture has not always looked the way that it does today. A shift in architectural development from the historically significant use of land was noticed in the last two decades of the 19th-Century. The survey area now currently contains primarily 20th-Century commercial architecture, although some domestic, religious and institutional buildings are also present. Some buildings possess historical and visual integrity, meaning the physical characteristics of the building are intact enough to convey the building's history. QSI recommended that twelve buildings within the East of 5th area be considered eligible. Designation of these nominations allows for recognition of the unique architectural and cultural assets present within the survey area, which may allow property owners benefits and opportunities. With these results, it is hoped that the survey will provide the City of Rapid City, the Historic Preservation Commission and other interested parties with information to help guide future development in this area.
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East of 5th, Historic Downtown Rapid City
Quality Services, Inc. participated in the restoration of the Valentine McGillycuddy House on Rapid City's historic West Boulevard. QSI geophysicists used ground penetrating radar (GPR) to locate the original house foundation and elements of the original footprint. Excavations conducted by QSI archeologists produced remnants of the original structure that has aided in the reconstruction of the house. QSI personnel also worked in collaboration with Historic Rapid City to participate in public outreach and educational events to raise awareness about historic preservation and the McGillycuddy House project. |
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IDIQ (INDEFINTE DELIVERY/INDEFINITE QUANTITY) CONTRACTS
Black Hills NF Cultural Resource IDIQ (2017-2021)
Oglala Sioux Tribe - Tribal Historic Preservation Office
Oglala Sioux Tribe - Water and Sewer Company (2017-2019)
