Welcome to the Fort Townsend Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) web site we have established to keep you informed about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers efforts to conduct the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) Site Investigation (SI).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is evaluating FUDS that had historically been used for military activities and training. One of these sites, Fort Townsend, is located in Jefferson County, near Port Townsend, WA.

Fort Townsend, consisting of 615 acres, was acquired by the War Department in 1859 by Executive Order to provide protection for settlers on the Olympic Peninsula.  In 1895 a fire destroyed most of the barracks on the northeast portion of the site and the fort was ordered decommissioned.  From the turn of the century until World War II, the fort was in caretaker status.  An airfield, used for pilot training, was built on the southwest portion of the fort in the 1920s.  In July 1942 the Navy acquired the northeast portion of for X-ray examination of enemy naval mines, torpedoes and other munitions.  In 1947 the airfield was conveyed to the county and the Jefferson County International Airport was established.  In 1959, the Port of Port Townsend took over airport operations.  The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission purchased the northeast portion from the government for Old Fort Townsend State Park.

The Corps will do the evaluation by conducting a MMRP SI. The SI will be conducted by a Corps contractor, Shaw Environmental. The work to be performed will include access to and a visual inspection of property that was part of the former Fort Flagler. The inspection may also include soil and/or water sampling.

 The SI will be used to determine what future work the Corps may do to clean-up possible munitions related components and chemical constituents used during training. The Corps of Engineers inspects and evaluates sites contaminated with hazardous waste, radioactive waste, and/or munitions according to federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations.

In order to begin the SI the Corps will be contacting the property owner of the former Fort Flagler site requesting the owner to provide a signed Department of the Army Right of Entry (ROE) for Investigation and Sampling.

If you have ideas that would make this web site more useful to you, please let us know.  You are invited to

E-mail your comments or questions to the Seattle District, Ft. Flager Project Manager: michael.d.nelson@usace.army.mil.