UXO STORIES

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

UXO STORIES

In response to a request for anecdotes on unexploded ordnance:

Old time hikers in the Organ Mtns of NM, discovered
that the New Mexico State Univ. students had made a well used hiking 
trail up
Achenbach Canyon into Soledad Canyon, known to the oldster as contaminated
with UXO. As Sierra Club Group Chair I FOIAed a list of the UXO in the 
Soledad Canyon.
Received a list of 54 munitions including Viet Namese. Showed it to someone
from the Defense Explosive Safety Board (whom I met while serving on 
WGA Military Munitions
Waste Working Group.) He said, "You have a laundry list, because they don't
have the foggiest idea what is there." 

To prove the need for clean up, the Sierra Club
invited the Ft. Bliss Col in charge of the range boundary riders, to 
go on a
hike with us (bring day pack, water, lunch and wear hiking boots.) Two Cols
accepted the invitation, but only because environmentalists were 
tearing down
fences and they wanted to show them. The hike was led by some of our young
billy goat hikers. They asked the Cols, "Tell us where the boundary is."
About 2/3 up the mountain, never encountering any fence, they stopped 
at a
cave with archeological finds, and looked back over the spectacular 
scenery. The
billy goats gave the Cols a pair of binoculars and showed him where to look,
it was the back side of a tiny, total ineffectual sign far down in the
distance. As they mused at the view, they observed a BIG bull pushing 
at a
fence to the north, so much for the environmentalists taking down 
fences (they
go over or under, but have no desire to tote them out.) Great day was 
had by
all, but the Cols were beat and voiced concern that they would 
encounter a
bull; the young Sierra Clubbers were fresh and gleeful.

 I followed up with question to the Commander of Bliss, "How are 
you going
to secure the boundary?" The oral reply, he wouldn't dare put it in writing
was, "we are going to paint a line across the crest of the mountains," (yea
sure.) A couple of months later I was introduced to someone from the Army
boundary security board, or some such. (Turns out the Army did not use
topographic maps, and only knew what was within its boundaries, and did not
know that the University campus was in the safety fan for their artillery
range, along with a number of subdivisions.) Next I know the entire 3rd
Armored Cavalry has moved to Colorado, museum and all. Nothing has been
done about securing the mountain boundary. So we suspect there has been some
undisclosed UXO clean up in Soledad Canyon. And the kids are still 
finding and
making new trails in the mountains (I doubt there is any UXO as the mountains
are 7-8,000 feet and I do not believe ordnance would go up and over, 
but who
knows?)

While I am on a roll here is another true story. Ft. Bliss' Casner 
Range was
encircled by subdivision and closed. Army was doing NOTHING to clean up UXO.
The City of El Paso, using CETA volunteers, took the press out and began
walking an area at arms length apart and flagging visible UXO. When 
this hit
the press, the then Congressman Coleman got Congress to ante up $l M 
for clean
up, most went to "planning." Nature helped, starting a range fire, and
everyone watched as UXO exploded like the Fourth of July. Now the clean 
up of
Casner is supposed to be under the Bliss RAB that I Chair.

Oh, you wanted stories about RABs and UXO!!! Don't have any yet, will 
let you
know when I do.

Marianne Thaeler
marianne.thaeler@sfsierra.sierraclub.org