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A service for energy industry professionals · Friday, March 29, 2024 · 699,690,609 Articles · 3+ Million Readers

LM Director Melendez and Staff Visit Historical Atomic Age Sites

This past October, Director Carmelo Melendez, with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management, joined DOE and U.S. National Park Service (NPS) staff in New Mexico to visit the Manhattan Project National Historical Park and other nuclear history sites in the state. The park is managed through a collaborative partnership between NPS and DOE to preserve, interpret, and facilitate access to key historical resources associated with the Manhattan Project. It incorporates three of the most significant Manhattan Project sites: Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The whirlwind trip covered a lot of ground. A stop at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque provided insights into operating a facility dedicated to telling the story of the Atomic Age. The group’s visit to the “Trinity” test site, where Manhattan Project scientists tested the world's first nuclear weapon, gave them an understanding of how the Department of Defense (DOD) handles large numbers of tourists within a restricted area. Located on the active White Sands Missile Range, DOD opens the site to the public twice a year, on the first Saturday in April and October. At Los Alamos National Laboratory, the group toured Manhattan Project National Historical Park sites. A highlight of the day’s tour was getting to watch NPS staff in action, as they worked on preserving the park’s historic Pond Cabin. In town, the group participated in a guided tour of the Los Alamos County Historical Society Museum campus. Finally, the group headed to Bandelier National Monument, where National Park staff explained how the monument’s historic Frijoles Canyon Lodge was used by the Manhattan Project for housing and as a respite from the pressures of the laboratory.

Participants said the trip helped strengthen the DOE and NPS partnership in co-managing the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

“It was useful to learn about the broader Manhattan Project connections in the Los Alamos area,” Director Melendez noted at the end of the trip. “In particular, seeing the Park sites firsthand provided us with a better understanding of the logistics associated with future public visitation. We appreciate the ongoing work by our DOE, NPS, and community partners in moving the Park forward and in preserving the resources and stories of the Manhattan Project.”

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