Bandelier Administrative History

During the development of the Los Alamos facility in the early 1940s, the military ran into stiff resistance from Custodian Art Thomas and the staff at Bandelier. When the secret facility at the old Los Alamos Ranch School began operations, Thomas visited the installation to offer his cooperation. He found barbed-wire gates in his way and the guards rudely rebuffed him. Surprised, he informed his superiors and left the camp alone. But Thomas knew that the access routes to the installation passed through the Otowi section of Bandelier. Moreover, he heard rumors that indicated the "army," local slang for the people in charge of the secret project, planned to build an extensive facility at Los Alamos. While Thomas had no desire to obstruct the war effort, he had obligations of his own and was determined to protect the monument.

But the U. S. Army, whose officers administered the installation, took an aggressive approach to its needs in the area. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made plans to develop the road through the detached Otowi section of Bandelier. By February 5, 1943, the contractor drilled one hundred holes twenty to thirty feet deep in order to dynamite cliffs adjacent to the Otowi section and widen the road.

When he found out what was going on, Thomas became incensed. The army intended to "shoot the whole cliff off in one blast," he reported. If it did, he could "not see how it can help creating a terrific scar and do great damage to the trees and vegetation below the hill." In Thomas's view, military plans would damage the Otowi section irreparably.

The implications of military behavior on the plateau posed a threat to the monument. Thomas pushed his superiors for some kind of agreement with the army. The status quo put the Park Service at a disadvantage, Thomas believed, and he "dislike[d] the idea of letting [the military] proceed and then coming around later wanting a permit for what they have already done." [18] He wanted a conference with the military officials to sort out decorum in the region.

Thomas had little success talking with the military. He began to visit the Otowi section every other day to keep an eye on its activities. His vigilance got Ray Bell, construction superintendent for the Sundt Construction Company, to pay closer attention to the desires of the Park Service. Rather than indiscriminately cutting through the monument, Bell ordered his trucks to use only one path through Otowi and promised to ensure that his men kept their warning fires under control. Thomas was not convinced and informed his superiors: "it goes without saying that the contractor is going to get things done as cheaply as he can and the fewer restrictions he has the more cheaply he'll get by . . . note that cooperation was promised, but it will probably take a good deal of watching to gain compliance." [19]

Thomas continued to watch "The Hill" suspiciously and his vigilance paid dividends. In October 1944, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers began clearing a power line right-of-way through the northern tip of the Otowi section without Park Service permission. On one of his trips, Thomas discovered a fifty-foot wide clearing and two unauthorized buildings on monument land, as well as a surveying party setting up stakes to mark the location of line poles. Thomas immediately "shut the work down," threw the surveying party out of the monument, and ordered them to tell Colonel Whitney Ashbridge, the commander of the post, that the army had to consult the Park Service before beginning such projects. Thomas then contacted his superiors and waited for the showdown. In the meantime, he arranged for the Director of Region Three, M. R. Tillotson, and the Superintendent of the Southwestern National Monuments, Charles A. Richey, to inspect the area on October 19.

The ability of the military to disregard the presence of the Park Service astonished Tillotson and Richey. Major Frank W. Salfingere of Project "Y" told the men that all the clearing work had been done in one day. Tillotson also noted that the army did not plan to inform the Park Service even after completion. The Park Service men realized that military plans meant permanent use of monument lands—another issue that Salfingere did not bring up.

Park Service officials found themselves in a difficult position. The development at the old Los Alamos ranch was the greatest threat to the integrity of the monument that had ever occurred. Yet, the Park Service faced a secret war-time project about which it knew little. Park Service officials had no desire to impede the war effort in any way. Carrying out the mission of the agency and assisting the war effort seemingly became antithetical.

All Park Service officials wanted was an acknowledgement of their right to administer the monument by the rules of their agency. But used to the preeminence it enjoyed during wartime, the military pressed ahead relentlessly, ignoring protestations about its disregard for Park Service rules and regulations. Salfingere apologized for the unauthorized construction and told Tillotson that he would see what he could uncover. Later, Salfingere met with Park Service officials and claimed he could not find out who authorized the construction of the right-of- way. Tillotson was disgusted and later referred to this as "a continuation of the old army game of 'passing the buck'". After considerable pressure, Salfingere finally relented and agreed "that it might be possible" to keep the power line out of the monument.

Rather than battle the feisty Park Service people, the military took a new approach. The army real estate suboffice began a move to have the Army Corp of Engineers take over portions of the Otowi section for the project. [20] The area it wanted included the access road, Bayo Canyon, and Pueblo Canyon, the location of the Otowi ruins. According to rumors, the military planned to detonate explosives throughout the area.

Regional Director Tillotson refused to back down. He saw such development as gratuitous and noted in a confidential memo to NPS Director Newton B. Drury that experimental detonation near Otowi might irreparably damage the ruins. Tillotson strenuously opposed the project, although he realistically noted that because of the importance of the project, "we realize that our opposition might not carry much weight." [21]

Such stiff resistance from the Park Service forced the army to back down. The Corps of Engineers found a location outside monument boundaries for the power line. Salfingere promised Art Thomas that when the two sides agreed on road issues, the Corps of Engineers would apply for special use permits through the War Department to the Secretary of the Interior. The Corps of Engineers also abandoned its plans to acquire portions of the Otowi section.

Agency vigilance protected the Otowi section from indiscriminate destruction at the hands of the military. By asserting their position, Thomas and Regional Office officials forced Project "Y" to take into account the world that existed on the Pajarito Plateau before the arrival of the atomic age. While those in charge of the Los Alamos installation never became sensitive to cultural values, Park Service resistance meant that the military knew that there were other concerns on the Pajarito than its own.

Despite friction over the Otowi section, Park Service cooperation with the project was the rule rather than the exception. Whenever possible, the agency accommodated the needs of the project, particularly when officers at the installation followed the proper channels. The Park Service only asked for standard inter-departmental courtesy and respect for its own obligations.