Scenes from the signing ceremony of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park five years ago. Courtesy/LAC

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

What was the secret to the Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s (MPNHP) successful creation? Participants in the virtual celebration of the national park’s fifth anniversary Tuesday afternoon agreed it was teamwork and partnership.

A group of key players in the founding of MPNHP took part in the virtual presentation, which kicked off  week-long festivities in honor of the MPNHP’s birthday.

The common theme emphasized throughout the presentation was that the park was a group effort.

In fact, Los Alamos County Council Chair Sara Scott explained that it was said early in the effort to establish the MPNHP that it would be a “partner park”.

“It’s hard to believe that it has been five years since the Manhattan Project National Historical Park was formally established,” Scott said. “The signing in Washington DC that took place five years ago was the culmination of over a decade of hard work from advocates across the country.”

“The park’s purpose is to preserve the project for the benefit of present and future generations, the nationally significant historic resources associated with the Manhattan Project and to improve the public understanding of the Manhattan Project and the legacy of the project itself,” Scott said.

Scott also read a Los Alamos County Council proclamation that honored Tuesday, Nov. 10, as the fifth anniversary of the MPNHP.

Other local key players applauded the park’s anniversary.

“Happy fifth anniversary everyone,” said Friends of the MPNHP President Rick Reiss.

He added that the Friends of the MPNHP group continues to support the national park and showed a short film the organization created to mark the anniversary.

Former Los Alamos Historical Society Executive Director Heather McClenahan touched on the work that occurred to make the national park a reality.

The work on the project started in 2004 with the legislation for the Park Service to do a feasibility study. Then began the long process of walking the halls in Washington, D.C., visiting delegations to get leaders onboard, she said, adding that it took cultural economic development organizations working with politicians to make it happen.

There were a lot of opportunities for the MPNHP to fail, she said. After failing to get legislation for the national park passed, McClenahan said senators from the three states that host the park decided to stick the park in the National Defense Authorization Act because the Manhattan Project was a military project. She remembers Senators Martin Henrich and Maria Cantwell walking the floor for hours to get it passed.

So, when the legislation did pass, McClenahan said, “I was actually driving on Interstate 25 and …  I was trying to stream CSPAN (and) when (it) passed you could probably hear the yell all the way up to Hanford and all the way out to Oakridge.”

“It was very exciting when it was all done,” she said. “It’s neat to have been a part of the historical process and be a part of that history, and honestly the day the MOU was signed …  it is kind of sentimental sounding, but I was very proud to be an American that day and proud to be part of the process.”

While the park’s past was celebrated; its future also was addressed.

MPNHP Superintendent Kris Kirby said with the pandemic one of key projects for the park is upping the game for digital park visits. She added that LANL was getting ready to launch a new and improved Secret City app for the park in January. 

There also are plans to upgrade the website and offer digital tours. An education technician was hired to create robust education program, Kirby said. Other programs include behind the fence tours and hike, bike and kayak with a ranger.

She added that an upcoming project that should have a big impact on the park is the stakeholder engagement project. It has been switched to be entirely virtual, Kirby said, adding that 12-14 virtual meetings are being planned and will incorporate all the sites in the park. In parallel to that there will be formal tribal consultations.

The MPHNP encompasses three sites: Los Alamos, Oakridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Wash.

Kirby gave a shout out to each site. Regarding Los Alamos, “…we have the MNHNP friends group in Los Alamos  that have been really key to getting our name on the map around town … really helping us support the park … the County of Los Alamos, the Pajarito Environmental Education Center, the Bradbury Museum, the Los Alamos Historical Society have been incredible partners in Los Alamos.”

Other participants Tuesday afternoon included Cindy Kelly of the Atomic Heritage Foundation, Colleen French of DOE, ECA Executive Director Seth Kirshenberg, Tracy Atkins of DOE and B-Reactor Museum Associate Maynard Plahuta.

Representatives from the different park sites also took part in the presentation included Amy Fitzgerald from Oak Ridge, David Reeploeg from Tri-Cities, Wash., Los Alamos County Assistant to the Manager Linda Matteson.

For more information about the MPNHP, visit lacnm.com/mapr or check the Los Alamos County Facebook page.