Bridge Over Mississippi River

Due to the proximity of known burial mounds within 200 feet of the structure, TKDA’s permitting team directly coordinated with three Tribal Nations (Leech Lake, Red Lake, and White Earth). A unique aspect of this project is because the structure’s location is not actually within the limits of tribal lands, the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) Section 404 permit did not trigger tribal consultation. However, the USACE and local permitting agencies requested that BNSF perform tribal consultation as part of the permitting processes to determine an action plan should a burial mound be found during construction. The permitting team directly coordinated with the three Tribal Nations and the State Tribal Historic Preservation Office to develop an Archaeological Monitoring Plan and Inadvertent Discovery Plan, which was accepted by all parties for the project. Upon project completion, the Leech Lake Tribal Nation representative praised the permitting team for their approach to coordination and driving the process to help make educated and low-risk decisions.

CLIENT: BNSF
LOCATION: Bemidji, Minnesota