Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: February 26, 2024
After environmental violations in 1986, this former uranium processing facility for the Atomic Energy Commission took twenty long years to remediate the land turning it into this 1,050 acre preserve. The visitor center has displays on this remarkable transition. I took a photo of a large concrete container (Photo #2), one of 3,776 containers used to remove nuclear waste from the site. I wonder where they took it to. It was a near record breaking 70 degrees on this sunny day and we hiked 3.1 miles on the Shingle Oak Trail and the Sycamore Trail through wetlands, prairies, a boardwalk, and woodlands. Part of the trail was parallel to Paddy’s Run, a small stream. One short spur trail was called The Boneyard where animals (coyotes, birds, vultures etc.) found on the property are buried. Sort of a Pet Potters Field rather than a Pet Cemetery.
We then hiked half of the three-mile Hickory Trail passing small ponds, grasses, thistles, and a bird blind before entering more woods. We saw black birds, hawks, an eagle, and two white swans. A photographer was patiently waiting to take pictures of small, short hair owls that were burrowed into the ground. This was an enjoyable hike. However, if I glow in the dark tonight, I will know that they didn’t clean up the nuclear waste very well.
