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Historic and Cultural Resources <br />b) that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or <br />c) that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of <br />construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high <br />artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose <br />components may lack individual distinction; or <br />d) that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in <br />prehistory or history. <br />The General Services Administration supports the goals of Executive Order 13006 Locating <br />Federal Facilities in Our Nation's Central Cities and seeks to locate federal facilities within <br />central cities and historic districts, when operationally appropriate and economically prudent. <br />The GSA also recognizes the potential for lazge federal facilities to impact historic districts and <br />seeks, wherever possible, to avoid, minimize, or mitigate project impacts on historic resources. <br />Additionally, the city of Eugene's Urban Forest Management Plan includes a heritage tree <br />element that focuses on the "preservation of the vital part of Eugene's heritage that certain trees <br />provide." The plan defines a heritage tree as "any tree of exceptional value to our community <br />based on its size (relative to species), history, location, or species, or any combination of these <br />criteria." Heritage trees also "provide aesthetic and cultural value to the community." Of the <br />estimated 200,000 trees in Eugene that are 8 inches or more in diameter, approximately <br />1 percent, or 2,000, may be heritage trees (Eugene 1992a). The trees on the alternative <br />courthouse site in Eugene was evaluated for historic significance using the heritage tree criteria <br />established in the Urban Forest Management Plan. <br />Findings of the archaeological and historical resource assessment report aze summarized below. <br />Affected Environment <br />Eugene and Springfield are located within the area once occupied by the Kalapuyan culture <br />group, who occupied portions of the Willamette River Valley between the Columbia and middle <br />fork Willamette rivers. Kalapuyans maintained permanent winter settlements, where they lived <br />in rectangular multifamily houses clad with bazk, planks, or grass bundles. The floor of each <br />house was excavated to a depth of 2 to 3 feet and covered with tule grass mats. The area around <br />Eugene and Springfield served as the intersection of three tribal divisions: Chelamela, or Long <br />Tom; Tsanchifin; and Mohawk. In 1830, the Indian populations of the Columbia and Willamette <br />river valleys were decimated by a deadly epidemic, which arrived through Euroamerican contact <br />with the. tribes. <br />Final EIS 64 New Federal Courthouse <br />