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2009 Fall Newsletter
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Spaceport America Historic Sites
Earlier this summer, Zia conducted data recovery at Spaceport America's entrance road, a beautiful stretch of land located within the Jornada del Muerto, approximately 30 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences. The project area is located midway through the Jornada, and is known as La Cruz de Alemán or El Alemán, named after Bernardo Gruber, a German trader from Sonora. The Spaceport America project area encompasses a variety of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites that document approximately 12,000 years of human activity in this portion of the Jornada del Muerto. The following paragraphs describe the historic-era sites and artifacts within this project area.
After the arrival of the Spanish in 1540 this region of New Mexico would play an important role in territorial expansion northward through historic trails and railroad lines. El Camino Real was utilized for centuries as a transportation corridor connecting Mexico or "New Spain" with its province New Mexico. The road and the Alemán paraje continued to be used during the Mexican and U.S. Territorial periods as a convenient stopping place for traders, travelers, and soldiers. |
Zia crews discovered a variety of artifacts during this project including this 1824 Mexican coin near the entrance road to the main facility. Photo by Maria Jonsson. |
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The Alemán Ranch Complex is within the project area that Zia performed a Class III Cultural Resources Survey on. The ranch is still a working cattle ranch and is now referred to as the Bar Cross Ranch. Photo by Victor Gibbs. |
| In 1867, Jack Martin built a ranch and dug an artesian well. The well provided the first reliable water source in the Jornada del Muerto. This would become part of the Alemán ranch complex, which also included a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. Nicholas Galles was later left in charge of the Alemán complex and served as postmaster at the ranch in 1876. He also participated in battles with the Apache. In 1880, Alemán played a part in a campaign by the U.S. Army to capture the famous Apache Victorio. The Alemán Ranch complex is still today a working cattle ranch and is now known as the "Bar Cross Ranch." |
Historic water pipelines, related features and artifact scatters have been investigated by Zia during the Spaceport America project. Historic artifact analysis is ongoing, but artifact assemblages include many glass bottle specimens, fragments and drinking vessels dating roughly to The Great Depression and the CCC era of the 1930s. Artifacts related to historic water control features may also date to the same time period. Many artifacts such as fence staples, horseshoes and personal items including buttons and "ironstone" fragments have also been discovered here.
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| One section of the project area consists of ten identified El Camino Real segments in the Yost Draw Study Area. The trail has been listed under the National Trails System Act as the "El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail." The Spaceport America project area includes one of the segments. Zia archaeologists have collected a small amount of historic artifacts in and around the area, including Mexican majolicas and Mexican green lead-glazed ceramic fragments that date roughly to the mid 1800s. Other artifacts recovered in the project area that might also date to El Camino Real include hand-wrought nails, a weight hook, and a Mexican coin dating to 1824. |
| The railroad was very important to the social and economic growth of the area. The railroad brought in new settlers and allowed faster, easier transportation of agricultural products, cattle, and mineral resources to existing and new markets. This area consists of artifacts related mostly to the railroad period. The Alemán Siding site was located immediately east of the railroad and "Alemán Station" became a stop on the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railroad Line in 1880. Surface deposits associated with the "Alemán Station" were widely distributed throughout the area and numbered in the thousands. Preliminary findings exhibited well over 100 years of surface deposition based on metal can specimens. Some of the artifacts might even predate the railroad. Several types of railroad "ironstone" china fragments dominated the ceramic assemblages with dates ranging from the 1850s to the 1920s. Decorated ceramic fragments, such as "Flow Blue" as well as transfer and decal printed ceramic fragments were also identified. Retouched edges of glass fragments were evident in the glass assemblages here. These artifacts might account for an Apache presence in the area well into the historic period. |
| Another important activity that took place in the Alemán area was the cattle industry. The 1880s were the heyday of large ranching operations in the Jornada del Muerto. Cattle numbers in Socorro County grew from 9,000 to 70,000 head between 1882-1884. |
The Jornada del Muerto has had many inhabitants and uses for thousands of years. The area has seen many changes through time, and Spaceport America is relatively new on the scene. Zia is still in the process of analyzing historic artifacts to further interpret how the inhabitants used the area during the historic period.
Maria Jonsson
Zia - Santa Fe Office |
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Zia Continues Solid Growth in Federal Sector
Company opens offices in two new locations with plans for additional offices
Zia continues to enjoy solid company growth through the award of recent federal contracts.
Among the awards was a major environmental support services multi-year contract at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in Arizona. Zia's responsibilities include: scientific, engineering, technical and regulatory compliance assistance; conservation related support to include cultural resources, natural resources and wildlife; and, support for YPG's environmental sciences multiple web-based systems. YPG manages testing in three environmental extremes including desert, tropic and cold. Zia began the phasing stage at YPG on July 1st, and actual full performance at the new Yuma office commenced in August.
Additionally, Zia was awarded a GSA sub-contract by Integrity Management Consulting Inc., to provide acquisition support located in the Southwest Division Region 7, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. Our new office in Fort Worth, Texas, serves the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Specifically, Zia is operating the Modification Request Desk and is providing electronic document generation.
These contracts, along with an array of other federal and commercial awards in the past quarter, have allowed Zia to increase it's staff to a total of 105 employees. In the same time frame, Zia has increased its geographical coverage with the opening of the offices at YPG and Fort Worth, Texas and has acquired office space in Brunswick, Georgia to provide a presence in the Southeast.
Zia, headquartered in Las Cruces, now has a total of 11 offices throughout the United States with locations in Arizona, Iowa, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Texas. |
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Fort Bliss Presence
Zia Completes Army Corps Project on Fort Bliss
Zia Completes Army Corps Project on Fort Bliss
Zia completed a contract in September issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Tulsa
District, to mitigate or reduce potential risk associated with munitions and explosives of concern
associated with the Castner Range area of the Fort Bliss Military Reservation. This included the
replacement of warning signs, posts and other engineering controls on this inactive firing range
that occupies approximately 8000 acres. Zia installed 113 signs throughout the range which
serve as a reminder of the potentially fatal consequences of trespassing onto a military
installation where unexploded ordnance is known to exist. William Little, a senior engineer at
Zia, oversaw the project while David Doctor, a Zia safety specialist, Gabe Garcia, a Zia
environmental technician, and a former Zia employee, David Winnett provided support. |
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SAVE THE DATE
Zia to Conduct Gift Drive
In conjunction with its annual holiday party, Zia will conduct a gift drive for the La Casa
Inc. Domestic Violence Shelter. Employees are asked to bring a new toy to the party to
be donated to the shelter. The party is on December 4, at the Flying P Cattle
Company located at the western base of the Organ Mountains. Last year, Zia
employees donated over 150 presents to the shelter. |
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Roxanne C. Nimmer, PS, Survey Division Leader
Roxanne Nimmer is the Director of Zia's Survey Division. She joined the Zia team in 2001,
shortly after the company's inception, and has been a registered professional surveyor in New
Mexico since 1995. "When Eddie (Martinez) informed me about his intention of opening his own firm, I
decided to work with him. I knew the type of individual Eddie is and I knew he would be
successful with his business," Roxanne said. "One of the best perks of working at Zia is that I am
proud to call Eddie not only my supervisor, but also my friend."
In addition to nearing completion of a bachelor's degree in Survey Engineering from New
Mexico State University, Roxanne is pursuing the Certified Federal Surveyor certification and an
Arizona registered land surveyor license. Roxanne oversees all Zia land surveying projects
including proposals and project management. Her division's goals include expanding to a fullservice
geospatial division to include GIS services, and to break into the heavy construction
market with construction staking. |
Roxanne's Leadership in Community Service
Roxanne served as the Logistics Chairperson for this year’s annual (American Cancer Society)
Relay for Life event for Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. The event was held on August 28,
2009, at Maag Park. She has been involved with the event for the past three years and describes
it as a family oriented event and a way to fight back against cancer, a disease that never sleeps.
During the event, teams must keep a team member on the track for the duration of the relay,
which begins at 6 p.m., and ends the next morning at 8 a.m.
Roxanne became involved because she feels this particular event pays tribute to the people who
have survived the many forms of cancer.
"It also gives us unity in remembering our loved ones who have passed on. My dad (J. Robert
Rodriguez) was a 20-year plus prostrate cancer survivor prior to his passing in 2001 and my
uncle (Perry Quintana) passed away in 2003 from pancreatic cancer, which makes it very
personal for me," Roxanne said. "I also have several friends that I am happy to say are
"survivors"! If I can help bring a smile to the faces of these people who are so bravely battling
cancer, or who have conquered the battle, then it makes all of the work and lack of sleep well
worth it."
Overall, this year's annual Las Cruces event raised approximately $100,000 to fight cancer, and
saw more than 50 teams and 2000 people participate, including 200 cancer survivors. This
surpassed the 2008 event by about 15 teams and funds increased by approximately 40%. "Even
with the economy as it is, this is a wonderful and giving community," Roxanne said. | |
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| Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants LLC.
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755 S. Telshor Blvd., Suite F-201
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88011
Phone: 575-532-1526
E-mail: Info@ZiaEEC.com
Visit Us: http://ziaeec.com |
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