Large and diverse sites such as Hanford, Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos, hold resources of substantial importance to local and regional ecosystems, as well as to the ecology and cultural values of Tribes and other residents.
The habitats and ecological resources are diverse, and the relative importance of ecological resources to the local ecosystem, region, and human communities varies. The DOE complex is large, diverse, and multi-state. This requires objective methods to characterize and evaluate resources spatially, within a context of local and regional importance. The objective of this research is to describe a field method of evaluating ecological resources, based on work at the Hanford Site, which can be applied to sustainability of ecological resources as another mandate of DOE. Understanding past and current resources includes evaluation of individual and population health within a more » local and regional context. Evaluation and management require understanding the past and current conditions, as well as protecting, preserving, and enhancing ecological resources. Protecting ecological resources is an integral part of protecting human health because people are part of the ecosystem and rely on ecological resources for food, fiber, clean air and water, recreational, aesthetic, and cultural values. Remediation and management of contaminated facilities, soil, sediment and biota is an essential element of the DOE-EM mission for site completion, contaminant footprint reduction, and protection of human health and the environment. Site-specific ecological issues are also discussed in each site chapter. Descriptions of the major vegetation and animal communities and of aquatic resources are also provided, with discussions of the treatened or endangered plant or animal species present. Each site chapter contains a general description of the site, including information on size, location, history, geology, hydrology, and more » climate. This report also provides summary information on the ecosystems, habitats, and threatened and endangered species that exist on each of the 10 sites. This report summarizes information on ecosystems, habitats, and federally listed threatened, endangered, and candidate species that could be stressed by contaminants or physical activity during the restoration process, or by the natural or anthropogenic transport of contaminants from presently contaminated areas into presently uncontaminated areas. This document fulfills, in part, DOE`s need to know what types of ecological resources it currently owns and manages by synthesizing information on the types and locations of ecological resources at 10 DOE sites: Hanford Site, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Rocky Flats Plant, Los Alamos National Laboratory, savannah River Site, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Fernald Environmental Management Project. During the next 30 years, DOE Headquarters and Field Offices will make land-use planning decisions and conduct environmental remediation and restoration activities in response to federal and state statutes. Department of Energy (DOE) owns and manages a wide range of ecological resources.
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