Seneca Army Depot

Seneca Army Depot
Varick and Romulus
Seneca Army Depot
Coordinates 42°45′16″N 76°51′57″W / 42.754367°N 76.865845°W / 42.754367; -76.865845
Type Munitions storage and disposal
Site information
Owner Seneca County Industrial Development Agency
Site history
In use 1941 to 1990s

The former Seneca Army Depot occupied 10,587 acres (4,284 ha) between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in Seneca County, New York. It was used as a munitions storage and disposal facility by the United States Army from 1941 until the 1990s. The Depot was listed in the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission and formally shut down in 2000. The property has since been transferred to the Seneca County Industrial Development Agency, which leases it to Seneca County Economic Development Corp.[1]

Home to the world's largest herd of white deer, the base is in the towns of Varick and Romulus. Adjacent to the storage facility is the now closed Seneca Army Airfield, whose long runway could handle large cargo aircraft.

History

During the 1940s, the Army stored radioactive materials in connection with the Manhattan Project in igloos E0801 through E0811, on the south end of the Depot. Despite no formal confirmation from the Department of Defense, it is known that during the cold war the depot held the largest stockpile of Army nuclear weapons in the country.[2] The Army RADCON team performed a survey on these igloos during the week of 13 May 1985.[3]

The depot was a major employer in the region. It was linked to the outside world by the airfield, railroad lines and highways (NY-96 and NY-96A). The 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closing the depot and it formally shut down on September 30, 2000.

In August 2002, The Glen Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) began using the airfield for autocross racing competitions,[4] but site availability after August 2011 is not yet determined.

In early 2007, the Cornell 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge Team began using the depot's private roads to test its autonomous vehicles. Some warehouses are leased to The Advantage Group, which runs a storage and shipping business. Much of the housing at the depot has been sold to private developers and is now available as part of the area's civilian housing stock. Much of the railroad track and outer yards are being used for railroad car storage. As of 2008, no customers ship by rail. The depot's former airfield is slated for use as a New York State Police training center. In early 2007, Cilion announced plans to build an ethanol plant on a portion of the former depot, but the project languished and appears to have died in the face of rising costs for corn and public concern about the wisdom of the project. An article dated July 20, 2009 in the Watertown Daily Times stated that the Fort Drum-based 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) would soon start using the depot for combat training.[5]

Demonstrations to close the facility

Beginning on July 4, 1983, and running for several years, antiwar and anti-nuclear activists mounted major protests at the facility, staging civil disobedience protests and establishing the Seneca Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice. Major events in 1983 took place in August and October. During the October event, many people including Dr. Benjamin Spock climbed the fence surrounding the depot and were detained. Most fence climbers were released after being given "ban and bar letters" telling them they would be charged with trespass if they were apprehended inside the depot again.

On three occasions — July 4, August 1, and November 3 — feminist artist Helene Aylon put pillowcases on the depot's fence that were filled with "rescued earth" from nuclear sites across the country during her 1982 "Earth Ambulance" voyage and sleep-out at the United Nations. Writer/activist Grace Paley was also among the demonstrators.

Demonstrations continued for several years, mostly originating from within the Women's Peace Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice, which operated from an old farmhouse on Route 96 in Romulus.

Current disposition of the depot land

The Seneca County Industrial Development Agency has been trying to market the land halfway between Rochester and Syracuse to manufacturers or other industry.[6]

Much of the land is dotted with large, concrete munitions storage bunkers known as 'igloos'. Discussions continue regarding land use. Development started on the depot's northeastern section, but much of it is non-taxable.[7] As of 2014 the depot is home to a maximum-security state prison, the Five Points Correctional Facility and the Seneca County Law Enforcement Center, which includes the county jail. The non-profit, Hillside Family of Agencies that is headquartered in Rochester, NY. There are a few private businesses including Finger Lakes Technologies Group, which uses some of the ammunition bunkers.[7]

Reuse plans

As of 2014, the towns of Varick and Romulus are discussing to bring the property back on the tax rolls by opening it up to residential, commercial and agricultural development with a new east-west road, cutting the property in half.[7]

One group dedicated to "preserving the unique wildlife and the military history of the depot through conservation, ecotourism and economic development" wants to turn the depot into a protected wildlife area, since DEC and state Parks Department cite lack of funds to do so.[7]

The White Deer herd

Seneca White Deer inside the depot.
Main article: Seneca White Deer

The white deer, long the symbol for the depot, began appearing after the fence was erected in 1941. A handful of White-tailed deer that carried a recessive gene for all-white coats were isolated within the depot. The depot initially allowed only brown-coated deer to be killed, so the herd of white deer grew to more than 200, although hunters are occasionally allowed inside to kill a white deer.

The white deer are naturally occurring, not albinos, and have not pink, but brown eyes.[6] The white deer live alongside another 600 brown white-tailed deer. Seneca White Deer, a non-profit group, received clearance to run limited bus tours in 2006, 2009, and 2012. These tours "turned out to be hugely successful".[6]

A three-person crew from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the remaining undeveloped 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) at the depot and the 24 miles (39 km) of fence that surrounds its entirety.[7] The fate of the deer after the Corps leaves, at the end of 2016, is not clear. Seneca County Industrial Development Agency, the county economic development organization, will be responsible for the area, including the maintenance of the fence.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Champagne, Denise (February 16, 2007). "White deer and more at old depot". Geneva, New York: Finger Lakes Times. p. 2.
  2. ↑ http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090426/SPORTS0103/904260358/Old-fortress-yields-sightseers-Seneca-Army-Depot
  3. ↑ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/seneca.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.glen-scca.org/
  5. ↑ http://www.nnyads.com/article/20090720/NEWS03/307209984/-1//NEWS03
  6. 1 2 3 4 Matthew Daneman (16 December 2014). "Fate of famous white deer in question after base closure". USA TODAY. Gannett Co. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Figura, David (6 June 2014). "Are the white deer at the former Seneca Army Depot doomed?". Syracuse Post-Standard. Syracuse Media Group. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
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