GIS Requirements

GIS data is required when requesting site and document numbers. Site and survey boundaries can be preliminary, but should be finalized enough that the boundary can serve as a locational reference until final documentation can be submitted to OAHP. See Requesting Numbers for additional information about how to request site and document numbers.

Finalized versions of GIS should be included in project submission packages if preliminary versions were provided during the number request process.

Please note: Submitted GIS data should be newly created or modified boundaries. Do not send in old boundaries that you may have previously acquired from OAHP.

GIS should be prepared and submitted using the official OAHP GIS templates. The preferred formats for GIS data is a shapefile or geodatabase. If you choose not to use the templates provided, your project submission or number request may be delayed or denied if comparable data is not received. Additional data fields may be added to the templates to suit the need of the contractor or lead agency, but none of the existing fields should be removed or modified. 

If you are unable to provide GIS data in the preferred format, please contact hc_filesearch@state.co.us for further guidance.

In order to avoid some common mistakes and keep our database searchable, we ask that you complete all the fields provided in the template attribute table (where appropriate). Some of the fields are provided so that staff can easily assign numbers and import the data into our relational database. If you receive GIS data from our office from File Searches or Data Management Area GIS Clips, please be advised that the fields will be different. To understand the data received from OAHP, click here.

How to Fill Out the Site Attribute Table

Shape: System entered field. Must be a polygon. Polylines and points will not be accepted.

Temp_Num (Temporary Number): Enter the temporary number the recorder assigned to the site, if applicable.

County: Select the county that the resource resides in. If the resource is in more than one county, the polygon must be split at the county line. Each portion of the site in the applicable county will have a separate site number. 

SITE_ (Site Number): If the site number needs to be assigned, leave this field blank. If you are submitting an updated boundary for an existing site, enter the previously assigned site number using the following format:

• Use a period to separate the county abbreviation from the sequence number (example: 5SM.493).

•  If the site is a linear segment, use a period to separate the base number from the segment number (example: 5AA.1733.1).

• Do not enter extra spaces, underscores, or additional text.

RES_TYPE (Resource Type): If this field is not populated using the listed terms, we will either not be able to process your request, or the resource will receive the highest level of restriction in our database and may not be available to some people until fully processed:

• • • Archaeological: Prehistoric sites and isolated finds/features.

    • Historical Archaeology: Historic sites and isolated finds/features contain buried deposits, features or artifacts. 

    • Historic: Historic built environment sites. Mainly intact historic buildings. If a historic site needs additional protection, please use historical archaeology as your resource type instead.

    • Paleontological: Paleontological sites – not landforms.

    • Unknown: If it is unknown whether or not the site is historic or prehistoric. This will be given the highest level of protection because of its unknown status.

    • Restricted: Site containing burials, Tribal Cultural Property, or other sensitive features that should not be disseminated at the request of a landowner and/or tribe.

RES_Name (Resource Name): Provide the name of the resource if applicable. If a resource has multiple names, separate the names with a semi colon (example: Highway 33 | County Road 2 | Forest Service Road 12E).

Mod_Bndry (Modified Boundary): Has the boundary of an existing resource been modified? Yes or No.

Intsct_Res (Intersecting Resources): Does the resource intersect with another resource? Yes or No.

LINEAR (Linear): Is the site a linear? 1 for yes and 0 for no.

Segment: If the site is a linear, is it a segment? Yes or No.

Rcrd_Date (Recording Date): Date the site was recorded.

SOURCE (Source): Name the agency submitting the data.

ZONE (UTM Zone): Enter the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone the resource resides in (Zone 12 or 13). If the resource is in more than one zone, the polygon must be split at the UTM zone boundary. 

X (X Easting Coordinate): Enter the X coordinate of the center point of the site. We recommend utilizing the system Calculate Geometry function to generate these coordinates. UTM coordinates only, latitude and longitude will not be accepted.

Y (Y Northing Coordinate): Enter the Y coordinate of the center point of the site. We recommend utilizing the system Calculate Geometry function to generate these coordinates. UTM coordinates only, latitude and longitude will not be accepted.

Street_Num (Street Number): Street/house number (built environment only)

Steet_Dir (Street Direction): Street Direction (example: East, West, North, South) (built environment only)

Street_Nam (Street Name): Street Name (built environment only)

City: Name of city where the resource is located (built environment only)

Postcode: Zip code (built environment only)

Comments: Please provide any comments that may aid us with your number assignment. 

How to Fill Out the Survey Attribute Table

Shape: System entered field. Must be a polygon. Polylines and points will not be accepted.

DOC_ (Document Number): Leave this blank, OAHP will assign this number. Addendums to previous documents should receive a new document number. If you are submitting an updated project boundary, enter the previously assigned document number using periods to separate the number components (example: AA.LG.R1).

County: List all of the counties that the survey resides in.

DOC_Title (Document Title): Title on the document. 

Author: List the author’s named on the document.

Num_Sites (Sites): Number of sites recorded. This field lets the reviewer know if the request requires a positive (R) or negative (NR) document number.

Num_IFs (Number of Isolated Finds): Number of isolated finds recorded. This field lets the reviewer know if the request requires a positive (R) or negative (NR) document number.

Srvy_Type (Survey Type):  Class II, Class III,  Paleontological, or Reconnaissance.

AGENCY_ (Lead Agency): Name of the Agency that the survey was conducted for. Include a field office and/or agency project number if applicable (Ex: BLM – RGFO CR-RG-20613). If this is an addendum to a previous survey it should read "CR-RGFO CR-RG-20613 Addendum."

Rcrd_Date (Recording Date): Provide the date listed on the document.

SOURCE (Source): List who submitted the data. This can still be the lead agency (example: BLM – RGFO).

ZONE (UTM Zone): Enter the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone the project resides in (Zone 12 or 13). If the resource is in more than one zone, the polygon must be split at the UTM zone boundary. 

X (X Easting Coordinate): Enter the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone the project resides in (Zone 12 or 13). If the resource is in more than one zone, the polygon must be split at the UTM zone boundary. 

Y (Y Northing Coordinate): The Y coordinate of the center point of the survey. We recommend utilizing the system Calculate Geometry function to generate these coordinates. UTM coordinates only, latitude and longitude will not be accepted.

Comments: Please provide any comments that may aid us with your number assignment. 

*To show the more descriptive field names in the template attribute tables (shown in the parenthesis above), please turn on Aliases within your GIS system (geodatabase only). 

Feature Types 

• • • OAHP requires all sites (including isolated finds) and surveys to have a polygon feature type. Points and polylines will not be accepted.

Attribute Fields

• • • All attribute fields are required. Tables with unpopulated fields may not be accepted. 

    • To show the more descriptive field names in the template attribute tables (shown in the parenthesis above), please turn on Aliases within your GIS system. 

    • Do not remove or modify any of the fields in the templates. You can add fields for your own purposes.

Sites Boundaries that Cross County Lines

• • • If a site crosses multiple counties, the site must be split at the county lines. Unique site numbers specific to the county will be assigned to each shape.

Sites and Survey Boundaries that Cross UTM Zones

• • • Colorado resides in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zones 12 and 13. If you have a survey or sites that stretch between zones, you will need to split the site and survey data at the zone boundary.

Bundling GIS Data

• • • Do not provide separate shapefiles/feature classes for each resource in your project area.

    • If your project is in one UTM zone, provide one shapefile/feature class for all the sites (includes isolated finds) in the project area and one survey shapefile/feature class for the project area.

    • If you have sites or surveys that are in both zones,  provide one zone 13 site shapefile/feature class, one zone 12 site shapefile/feature class, one zone 13 survey shapefile/feature class, and one zone 12 survey shapefile/feature class.

    • GIS files must be zipped prior to submission. This applies to files prepared for number requests and files prepared for project submissions.