LANDER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Transportation plans to
lower Meadowlark Lake in north-central Wyoming, dredge topsoil and
use the dirt to reclaim edges along a stretch of U.S. Highway 16
over the Big Horn Mountains.

“From an environmental standpoint, this was the best alternative
for getting that road rebuilt,” WYDOT spokesman Cody Beers
said.

The effort includes an on-site WYDOT archaeologist who will keep
an eye out for any American Indian artifacts that might surface
during the topsoil removal.

In a joint effort with the U.S. Forest Service, WYDOT started
lowering the popular recreation spot several weeks ago. Beers said
the Forest Service opened a head gate at the man-made lake, and the
lake ultimately will be lowered 25 feet.

The lake sits between Worland and Buffalo and will begin to be
refilled no later than Oct. 15, Beers said.

WYDOT will use topsoil from the lake to reclaim edges of the
highway between Worland and Buffalo, Beers said. The agency plans
to rebuild 4-1/2 miles of highway next year. The topsoil will allow
grass and plants to grow. There’s no topsoil near the road right
now and the stretch has “severe rock fall issues,” Beers said.

The department will have to be particularly careful as it
removes the topsoil.

There are known former American Indian campsites around the
lake, WYDOT archaeologist Julie Francis said.

The lake area hasn’t yet been fully surveyed, but when plans
surfaced about about the topsoil removal, Francis completed a foot
survey around the shore.

“It was very clear there are areas that we need to stay out of
as far as the project goes,” she said.

The goal is to remove just the topsoil exposed by the lowering
of the lake and leave the original land surface intact, Francis
said.

Francis said it is hard to predict what might be found because
some of the historic sites in the area haven’t been excavated and
dated.

Anything uncovered during

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/gAaLjM8Z7xY/article_1918d23b-58c0-5833-a0b1-142d312b467c.html