Sustaining the Oak Ridge Reservation for future generations
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AFORR Presentation on Motorpark Racetrack Project at Horizon Center
Proposed Raceway at Horizon Center
AFORR's comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment Addendum regarding the
Proposed Revitalization of Parcel ED-1 at the Horizon Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, DOE/EA-1113-A2 is now available here.
AFORR opposes the proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility in Bear Creek Valley
AFORR's latest letter oposing DOE plans for a new radioactive waste disposal facility at a previously uncontaminated area of the Oak Ridge Reservation is now avaiable here..
AFORR's Comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (DOE/EA-2144)
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Science and Technology
DOE designated the Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park in 1980 as one of seven such research parks nationwide. Its objective was to provide protected lands for research and education, particularly to demonstrate the compatibility of energy technology development and a quality environment. The 20,000-acre Oak Ridge Research Park provides exceptional opportunities for research because of its established large-scale facilities, a security buffer that protects research, long-term records of environmental conditions, and partnerships with universities and industry. The Reservation also p...
Read MoreEconomy & Jobs
Regional and local economies benefit from the continued DOE presence in Oak Ridge. The ORR is integral to the current DOE mission in Oak Ridge, and the jobs and positive socioeconomic impact of that presence. In addition to providing a safety and security buffer for existing DOE facilities, the ORR’s diverse landforms and size offer options to DOE for siting in Oak Ridge future facilities to serve newly identified national energy and defense requirements within the DOE mission. Without the presence of a large tract of land within the safety and security buffer provided by ORR, DOE could not...
Read MoreConservation
When the federal government took land for the development of nuclear weapons technology, its acquisitions included large buffer areas for safety and security that surround the major research and production facilities. The agricultural and forest land that was taken has been mostly undisturbed since the initial acquisition, resulting in large, contiguous forest tracts of varying age. Protected from fragmentation and disturbance over the ensuing decades, these areas evolved into ecological sanctuaries of remarkable size and diversity that contain species and ecological communities now absent or ...
Read MorePublic Health and Safety
When the federal government planned for development of nuclear weapon technology at the onset of WWII, safety of the public and security of the installations were important considerations in the location and amount of land required. Those same considerations of safety and security dictate the need for continued DOE ownership and control of large buffer areas around the current facilities. Having a relatively large buffer area around the installations seperates and protects the local residents from potential releases of toxic or rediologic materials and protects the installations from intrusio...
Read MoreEducation
The Oak Ridge Research Park serves as a training ground for future researchers and students from kindergarten to graduate school, as well as faculty and community members.
Research Park educational programs have reached more than 85,000 pre-college students and teachers during the past five years. In addition, the National Environmental Research Park, as a result of its designation as an ORNL User Facility, has attracted more than 700 students and researchers from colleges, universities, industries, and other state and federal government agencies over the past five years....
Read MoreRecreation
The ORR has tremendous, untapped potential as a regional destination for low impact outdoor recreation. At the present time, DOE severely restricts public access to the ORR, allowing access without control restrictions only at four designated greenways and Clark Center Park. Other allowed recreational opportunities include Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency-managed deer and wild turkey hunts. DOE also supports a few guided nature and bird watching walks. Clark Center Park offers picnic shelters, softball, volleyball, a boat launching ramp, fishing areas and other recreational activities.
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Read MoreHistoric Significance
AFORR encourages efforts to preserve and allow public access to the historic assets of the ORR.
Historic assets include pre-Columbian sites along the Clinch River, historic remnants of the farming communities that existed prior to the Manhattan Project, and many of the original Manhattan Project facilities constructed during the 1940's.
Prior to the Manhattan Project, the area that became the ORR was a typical rural east Tennessee farming community. There were three villages present, Wheat, Scarboro, and Robertsville. Houses ranged from large, comfortable farm houses to cabins and shacks. Th...
Read MoreEvents
Ron McConathy’s Nature Photography
ANNUAL MEETING
Advocates For the Oak Ridge Reservation
Re-scheduled Thursday, February 26, 2015, 7:00 PM
Social Room, Oak Ridge Civic Center
1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN
Ron McConathy’s...
Read MoreLecture on Small Modular Reactors
Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation (AFORR)
andAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (Oak Ridge Section)
present
Will Small Modular Reactors (SMRS) Rejuvenate Nuclear Power?
Kent Willi...
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What's Your Priority?
Which Reservation Value is most important to you?
Contact AFORR
Oak Ridge Reservation Nature Walks
photographs by Doug Colclasure
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AFORR Member Organizations
AFORR Member Organizations
AFORR Member Organizations
