U.S. Department of Energy PR GRAM UPDATE January-March 2021 An Overview of LM’s Birders Flock to Two Natural Resources Observing the Secretive Midwestern LM Sites Inhabitants of LM Sites Management Plan Poet Anne Bradstreet once said, “If we had no winter, the spring to control invasive species and restore riverine ecosystems along would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of this wild and scenic-designated river (see page 10), one of the adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” truly special places in the West. As the days lengthen and the first hints of spring arrive, my thoughts As the climate changes and more sites with diverse ecosystems turn to renewal and prosperity. Not just renewal from the cold days come into the LM portfolio, the skills and knowledge of our Ecology of winter, but from all the challenges we’ve faced over the past year Program Team will become increasingly important, as we seek to in our nation, our organization, and our personal lives; and I know find ways to restore these sites as safe and healthy landscapes for we will prosper. As we begin to see declining cases of COVID-19 conservation and beneficial reuse. across the country, and with more U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) and LM Strategic Partner (LMSP) We also took time this past February to honor Black History Month, employees receiving the vaccine, there are finally green shoots which is about telling the story of the often-overlooked contributions visible in the long struggle with the pandemic. of African Americans and their central role in U.S. history. This issue highlights three African American scientists who made essential So, the normal optimism I feel each spring, as pitchers and catchers contributions to the Manhattan Project and science in general, with report for spring training, is heightened this year with the sense that breakthroughs in research on physics, chemistry, mathematics, and better days are coming beyond spring, and we will soon be returning nuclear science (see page 16). I find myself humbled by these to lives that will seem somewhat normal in the “after-times” of the stories of great Americans who dedicated themselves to science post-pandemic era. And what better way to celebrate the revitalization and knowledge. of spring than with an in-depth look in this Program Update issue at the LM Ecology Program, which takes restoration as its guiding I would like to end this quarter’s message by stating how proud mission and sets an example of sustainable management and I am of the response of this organization across the board to the conservation of LM sites that we can all take pride in. pandemic. Displaying resilience and flexibility, countless individuals have stepped up to keep their colleagues safe while also ensuring Ecological restoration of LM sites has been at the center of the LM the LM mission of protecting human health and the environment mission from the early days of the organization, as evidenced by the remains paramount. And as we enter what is hopefully the final award-winning beneficial reuse achievements at the Fernald Preserve months of a long and challenging time, I want to encourage all in Ohio and the Weldon Spring Site in Missouri that were decades of you to maintain vigilance and keep following the practices that in the making. At these sites, restored native ecosystems provide have proven effective in the long fight against the pandemic. habitat for an ever-growing list of wildlife and plant species that All that we do is done with an eye to something else. are now celebrated by birders and others (see Page 14). As always, be safe, take care of each other, and execute the mission. From “capturing” the surprisingly diverse range of wildlife (and their unique behaviors) at the Monticello, Utah, Disposal Site (see page 6), to supporting cutting-edge research on sustainable livestock grazing practices at the Shirley Basin South site in Wyoming (see page 8), Warm Regards, LM and LMSP ecologists are increasing understanding of how our sites serve as refuges for native species and important pieces of the ecological puzzle in their regions. Carmelo Melendez The Dolores River runs through rugged red-rock canyon country in Colorado and Utah, including a 4-mile section of the river that runs through DOE Uranium Leasing Program tracts in Colorado. LM and LMSP ecologists are working with a diverse set of partners Page 2 | January-March 2021 Welcome to the January-March 2021 issue of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) Program Update. This publication is designed to provide a status of activities within LM. Please direct all comments and inquiries to [email protected]. LM Goals Inside this Update : Director’s Corner ................................................................................................... 2 Goal 1 LM Goals .................................................................................................................. 3 Protect human health and the environment. An Overview of LM’s Natural Resources Management Plan ������������������������������������������ 4 Observing the Secretive Inhabitants of LM Sites .......................................................... 6 Goal 2 Regenerative Grazing Benefits LM Site from the Ground Up ����������������������������������������� 8 Preserve, protect, LM Battles Invasive Species on the River of Sorrows ................................................. 10 and share records and information. LM Partners with Bat Conservation International to Safeguard Bat Habitat ������������������ 12 Hiking, Biking, and Bats: Keeping Humans and Habitats Safe ..................................... 13 Goal 3 Birders Flock to Two Midwestern LM Sites ................................................................ 14 Safeguard former contractor workers’ LM Highlights 3 Accomplished Scientists in Honor of Black History Month ������������������ 16 retirement benefits. Superfund Turns 40 ................................................................................................ 18 LM Provides Colorado Mesa University Students with STEM Opportunities ������������������ 20 Goal 4 Sustainably manage LM’s Aviation Program Monitors Sites and Reduces Risk ........................................... 22 and optimize the use DOE, FIU Welcome New Fellows into Program Shaping Cleanup Workforce ................. 23 of land and assets. LM Evaluates Site Characteristics to More Efficiently Manage Public Funds ���������������� 24 Coming Full Circle: Sue Smiley’s 30 Years of Service to DOE �������������������������������������� 26 Goal 5 Sustain management LM Program Manager Art Kleinrath Celebrates a Long Career at DOE ������������������������� 28 excellence. Annual Joint Meeting Strengthens LM and USACE Collaboration �������������������������������� 30 Goal 6 Engage the public, governments, and interested parties. Page 6 Page 10 Page 18 Cover: Ecological services are any beneficial natural process arising from healthy ecosystems, such as pollination of plants and decomposition of organic waste. January-March 2021 | Page 3 GOAL 4 An Overview of LM’s Natural Resources Management Plan Each U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management promoting conservation reuse on LM sites. Other objectives (LM) site has unique natural resource management needs. At many defined in the NRMP include: sites, LM manages a range of natural resources, including vegetation, wildlife and their habitat, special-status species, invasive species, • Applying sustainable management practices to: protect pollinators, surface and groundwater, wetlands, and resources and restore native ecological communities, create and related to fire ecology. Managing natural resources at LM sites is enhance habitat for special-status species and pollinators, a complex task. Sites span a large geographic area with differing control damage to natural resources from invasive and resources, surrounding landowners, and current and former uses nuisance species, and improve habitat and diversity that include ranching, agriculture, mining, oil and gas development, through proactive measures. conservation, and recreation. • Partnering with other agencies, nonprofit groups, and adjacent landowners. • Using an adaptive management approach to adjust Special-status species are management decisions based on monitoring, observation, considered sufficiently rare and scientific data, and including ecological baseline that they require special characterizations at LM sites pre- and post-transition. consideration and/or protection and should be, or have been, LM works to protect and conserve natural resources at sites listed as rare, threatened or spanning diverse ecological systems throughout the United States. endangered by federal, state, In the Southwest, the landscape is characterized by mesas, or tribal governments. cliffs, canyons, and valleys, and contains arid grasslands and shrublands along with pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine forests. An LM survey in 2019 found habitat for monarch butterflies at the Because of the complexity across Bluewater and Ambrosia Lake sites in New Mexico. The monarch LM sites, the need for natural butterfly is a critical pollinator species and a candidate species resource management is decided under the Endangered Species Act. LM is currently promoting on a site-to-site basis. Different best management practices to promote habitat for the insect. types of management include environmental monitoring and/or