[CPEO-MEF] Helicopter surveys UXO at Ft. McCoy (WI)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Helicopter Speeds Ordnance Search

By Rob Schuette
Fort McCoy Triad
Spring 2007 Army Environmental Update

Fort McCoy, Wisc., took a flying survey of the installation's Badger 
drop zone area to find unexploded ordnance and determine Soldier safety 
in late 2006.

The survey covered about 800 acres in the Badger Drop Zone and Range 53, 
a former mortar impact range used during the 1950s.

According to historical records, the area was used as an installation 
impact area from around 1905 to 1972, said Mark McCarty, environmental 
protection specialist with Fort McCoy's Biological and Cultural 
Resources Team.

"We are taking a proactive approach toward the long-term management and 
stewardship of this area," McCarty said. "This survey will provide us 
with critical ordnance-related information, which will aid us in the 
long-term sustainability of the Badger Drop Zone both as a training 
facility and maneuver area. We look at the Badger Drop Zone area as 
being vitally important to support current and future training 
operations and to help us meet our long-term training needs."

The installation had cleaned the surface of the drop zone earlier, but 
freeze-thaw cycles - common at Fort McCoy in winter and spring - can 
bring new UXO to the surface, said Gene Nall, chief of the Fort McCoy 
Range and Training Division.

...

For the entire article, see
http://aec.army.mil/usaec/publicaffairs/update/spr07/spr0710.html

--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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