This study was conducted by Cultural Systems Research, Incorporated (CSRI) for Applied Conservation Technology, Incorporated (ACT). This study has been conducted to determine which Native American groups traditionally used the area through which the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) proposes to construct the California portion of the Intermountain -Adelanto Bipole Transmission Line, a component of the Intermountain Power Project (IPP); to determine what value these groups place on cultural resources which might be disturbed by the construction of the transmission line and associated structures; and to convey their recommendations for the mitigation of these impacts. The results of the study are intended to enable the IPA to comply with requirements of various state and federal agencies with respect to this component of the IPP. The study area for this project was an area measuring 100 feet (30 m) on either side of the center line of the right -of -way for the proposed transmission line that was proposed to run from the California- Nevada border to the vicinity of Victorville, California. The Native American groups who traditionally used the area through which the proposed IPP right -of -way would pass include the Southern Paiute, the Mojave, the Vanyume /Serrano, and the Kawaiisu. Members of various other groups have travelled through the area, and used it from time to time.

This project examined the potential impacts that construction of the Western Transmission System of the Allen-Warner Valley Energy System would have on the ethnographic and historic resources of the Mojave Desert area. The Western Transmission System of the Allen-Warner Valley Energy System project consisted of two 500-kilovolt transmission lines extending from Southern California Edison Company’s Eldorado Substation in southern Nevada westward across the Mojave Desert to Lugo Substation in Victorville, California. The ethnographic component of this study included the identification of culturally affiliated Native American groups and extensive field investigations which focused on ethnohistory and ethnogeography of the study area. The ethnographic study also documented Native American recommendations for mitigation by Southern California Edison Company of potential adverse impacts that the project had on Native American values and resources.