The California Department of Water Resources is proposing to construct the Sites Reservoir Project, a 1.8 million acre-foot off-stream storage reservoir  at the base of the North Coast Range in western Colusa County about 10 miles northwest of the town of Maxwell. Water would be conveyed to and from the reservoir via a new pipeline connected to the Sacramento River. The project includes the existing Funks Reservoir and Tehama Colusa Canal, and proposes a new, smaller reservoir to the east at the Glenn-Colusa Canal.

Horizon’s cultural resources staff have been involved in this project since the early 2000s, providing cultural resources expertise including fieldwork, preparation of the draft archaeological survey report and the draft built environment technical report, and preparation of the cultural resources section of the Draft EIR/EIS that was published in August 2017. Horizon recently coordinated with Native American tribes after Assembly Bill 52 was passed, prepared the Section 106 consultation materials for submittal to the State Historic Preservation Officer, and authored the cultural resources sections of an adjunct EIR/EIS for elements of the project to be funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.