Pinyon was contracted by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to prepare a Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Level II equivalency document for the 1938 concrete dam and auxiliary spillway at the U.S. Southern Great Plains Field Station in Woodward, Oklahoma. The documentation was completed to resolve an Adverse Effect associated with required dam safety and hazard improvement work. In support of this effort, Pinyon completed field documentation and archival research to develop a comprehensive record of the historic engineering resource and its significance within the broader history of the Agricultural Research Service’s Southern Plains Range Research Station.
Pinyon’s scope included site photography, collection of field and archival data, and preparation of the written historical and descriptive documentation in accordance with Level II HAER standards and outline requirements. The report documented the physical history of the dam and spillway, design and structural characteristics, overall construction history, and sources consulted. Pinyon also coordinated the production of archival-quality large-format photography and the photographic reproduction of select existing as-built and rehabilitation drawings for inclusion in the final documentation package.
Following preparation of the draft report, Pinyon submitted the HAER documentation to Oklahoma NRCS for review, addressed agency comments, and documented comment resolution in a matrix. The final submittal was produced in a format acceptable to the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and included hard-copy and digital reports, archival-quality large-format photographs, digital photograph sets, and reproduction drawings. Through this work, Pinyon delivered the documentation necessary to resolve the project’s adverse effect while creating a permanent archival record of this historic dam and spillway resource.
