Over 80 national participants gather in Los Alamos, NM to discuss MPNHP
"The Los Alamos story was really a regional story, and the new National Historical Park will help tell that story, and, I believe, will have positive consequences for the region as well. -Kristin Henderson, Los Alamos County Council Chair
Los Alamos, New Mexico (PRWEB) July 20, 2015
The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities attended and participated in the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) Peer Exchange taking place in Los Alamos on July 16-17, 2015. The event addressed the implementation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park (MPNHP) and included delegations from the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Park Service (NPS), and the two other MPNHP site locations, Hanford, WA and Oak Ridge, TN. Participants serving in parallel positions across the three energy communities discussed collaborative questions and solutions related to the establishment of the National Historical Park.
President Obama authorized the creation of the MPNHP on December 19, 2014. The MPNHP will include the historic Manhattan Project’s significant properties within a three-site National Park located at Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos, and will be jointly managed by the DOE and NPS. The National Park will contain 13 properties in Los Alamos including: Fuller Lodge, the former home of Robert J. Oppenheimer, and ‘Bathtub Row’.
Regional Coalition of LANL Communities Secretary/Treasurer and Los Alamos County Chair, Kristin Henderson currently serves as the Treasurer of the ECA. Henderson opened the conference with an introduction at the Bradbury Science Museum. Former Coalition Chair Mayor Alice Lucero of the City of Española and new Chair, Commissioner Barney Trujillo of Rio Arriba County participated in planning discussions. Mayor Lucero explained the importance of the roles that the communities represented by the Coalition played in the establishment of Los Alamos and their contributions to the Manhattan Project.
"The new National Historical Park has an important, and nuanced, story to tell that was pivotal in the history of our country, and of the world," Kristin Henderson stated. "Through the ECA, the various communities across the country that host Department of Energy sites have been able to work together toward common goals. The three original sites from the Manhattan Project - Los Alamos, Hanford and Oak Ridge - are eager to work together to make this one Park in three locations a success. This type of meeting helps us work toward that goal. Of course, the Los Alamos story was really a regional story, and the new National Historical Park will help tell that story, and, I believe, will have positive consequences for the region as well."
The implementation of the National Park aims to result in increased tourism and economic development for each of the three Manhattan Project sites and for the regional communities that surround them. The Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation (LACDC) hopes to increase travel to the area by promoting the new Historical Park in conjunction with Bandelier National Monument and the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Communities of the Regional Coalition hope to also benefit from increased tourism travel to Northern New Mexico.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Lindi Douglass
806-584-1076
lindi(@)jlhmedia(.)com
ABOUT THE REGIONAL COALITION: The Regional Coalition is comprised of nine cities, towns, counties and pueblos surrounding the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Founded in 2011, the Regional Coalition works in partnership to ensure national decisions incorporate local needs and concerns. The organization's focus is environmental remediation, regional economic development and site employment, and adequate funding for LANL. The 2015 Board of Directors includes Chair, Commissioner Barney Trujillo, Rio Arriba County; Vice-Chair, Mayor Javier Gonzales, City of Santa Fe; Secretary/Treasurer, Councilor Kristin Henderson, Los Alamos County; Mayor Alice Lucero, City of Española, Commissioner Henry Roybal, Santa Fe County; Andrew Gonzales, Town of Taos; Commissioner Mark Gallegos, Taos County; Governor Earl Salazar, Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh; and Governor Raymond Loretto, Pueblo of Jemez; http://regionalcoalition.org.