DERP-FUDS PROPERTY NO. F10OR0029- CAMP ADAIR-ADAIR AFS
PROPERTY NAME:
Camp Adair/Adair Air Force Station (AFS)
LOCATION:
Camp Adair, which comprises approximately 56,815.17 acres, is located approximately 9 miles north of Corvallis, Oregon in Polk, Benton, and Linn counties. Camp Adair is located at approximately latitude 44° 42' 21" North and longitude 123° 14' 28" West. The Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) property is located in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 and Oregon's 4th and 5th Congressional Districts.
PROPERTY HISTORY:
Camp Adair was used primarily as a training facility for four infantry divisions between 1942 and 1945. The training activities included use of small arms, explosives, mortars, artillery, antiaircraft and antitank guns, and support by tanks and Army Air Forces aircraft. Other uses of the camp from 1944 to 1945 included bombing and gunnery practice for Navy/Marine pilots, storage facilities, a prisoner of war camp, and a Naval hospital. Camp Adair’s cantonment area and hospital was located east of Highway 99, while the live fire and maneuver areas were to the west.
Camp Adair was declared surplus and assigned for disposition in April 1946. In 1946 the property was transferred to the Department of Agriculture for sale by the Federal Land Bank. A War Department letter of August 1946 stated that Camp Adair had been "dedudded so as to make it reasonably safe for any use." A Certificate of Clearance was issued in March 1947. Portions of Camp Adair were purchased by the Oregon State College for apartment buildings and for Oregon State College forestry land. Other portions of Camp Adair were sold to private owners.
In 1955, after several years of military inactivity, the Air Force acquired property in present day Adair Village and portions of the former cantonment area for use as an air defense facility (Semi- Automatic Ground Environment System). Adair Air Force Station later served as Headquarters for the 26th Air Division North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), which provided air defense for seven western states. Adair Air Force Station was selected in 1959 as a location for the Bomarc Missile base, but construction of the base was not completed. From 1955 to 1964, Air Force munitions training activity was limited to the use of Skeet Range No. 580 in the cantonment area. In 1969, Adair Air Force Station was closed. In 1970, the Adair Air Force Station lands were determined excess and reported to the General Services Administration for transfer. The Oregon National Guard uses a former Army range, Known Distance Rifle Range No. 4, for small arms training and platoon-sized tactical training. The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) also uses the National Guard firing range for law enforcement officers.
As of 2006, over 1,000 individuals and agencies shared property ownership of the Camp Adair area. These owners include federal agencies (U.S. Forest Service), Oregon State agencies [Oregon State University, Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon National Guard, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)], private industry, and private citizens. There is uncontrolled access to the property.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Project 08: Live Grenade Courts. Project 08 is a Munitions Response Site (MRS) which consists of three non-contiguous grenade courts, previously identified as Live Grenade Court East, Live Grenade Court No. 129, and Live Grenade Court West. The MRS measures approximately 75 acres, and was used by the Army between 1942 and 1945. Grenade courts were used to provide realism, familiarization, and confidence to soldiers in the use of live explosive fragmentation grenades. Munitions associated with this MRS include both high explosive and practice grenades.
Project 09: Explosive Munitions Ranges. Project 09 is a Munitions Response Site (MRS) which consists of 19 individual ranges including a string of artillery, field combat ranges, and two bombing targets which ringed and overlapped the major impact area in the northern sector of Camp Adair, measuring a total of 15,455 acres. The MRS was actively used by the Army, Navy and Marine Corps for live fire combat maneuvers, and support coordination exercises between 1942 and 1945. Munitions associated with the MRS include small arms, artillery, mortars, anti-tank rockets, bombs, pyrotechnics, smokes, incendiaries, and demolition materials.
Project 12: Field Combat Ranges. Project 12 is a Munitions Response Site (MRS) which consists of three field combat ranges (No. 89, 89A, and 89C) and measures 1,324 acres. The MRS was actively used by the Army for live fire combat maneuver exercises between 1942 and 1945. All individual and crew-served conventional weapons were authorized use which included small arms and artillery.