One environmental issue of great significance facing the world is cleaning up chemical and radiological wastes that remain from World War II, the Cold War nuclear productions, and past industrial activities. Protecting human health and the environment is important to Tribal, Federal, and State governments; non-governmental agencies; and the public [1 - 3]. In the United States, and elsewhere in the world, the agencies tasked with the cleanup tasks are each country’s departments of defense, energy, and environment. In the U.S., it is the Department of Energy [4 , 5] and the Department of Defense [6 , 7] that face the greatest environmental cleanup, largely because of the presence of both nuclear and chemical wastes; the long period of research, development and manufacturing; and the extensive size of the industrial and nuclear facilities. The Department of Energy (DOE) was engaged in development, production, and testing of nuclear weapons until the end of the Cold War in 1989. Only about 10% of lands on the large DOE sites were industrialized; the rest was left as a buffer for security reasons, especially during the Cold War [8]. Now, however, the largely uncontaminated 90% of the land as well has become of interest to site neighbors, the local Tribes and the public, as well as U.S. governmental agencies and other groups.

Because much of the DOE lands were left undisturbed for 70 years or more, the lands have undergone succession and reverted to native ecosystems [9]. Some of the Department of Energy sites have some of the most valuable habitats in their regions [10 - 13]. This importance was recognized early on when the U.S. Congress declared some of the land on major DOE sites as National Environmental Research Parks (NERP) [14]. The land was to be used for research generally (e.g., long-term population trends, unique or rare plant communities); to determine the effect of their weapons’ production activities (and contaminant levels and physical effects); and for protection of ecological resources (e.g., species declines, effects of humans).

The value of most ecological resources depends on the plant communities, which in themselves are dependent upon the geology, geography, and climate [15]. Within these constraints, the ecosystem that is present is largely a result of natural and anthropogenic activities, and of the historical and current conditions. That is, each area has a usual climax community of specific plants (e.g., deciduous forest, coniferous forest, shrub-steppe, grassland, desert). Natural events (e.g., floods, hurricanes, tornados); anthropogenic events (e.g., clear-cutting, development, soil removal); or a combination (fires, disease, invasive species) can set back succession to earlier stages [15 - 17]. All successional stages, however, are valuable ecologically. Although most of the large DOE sites had significant areas that were designated as NERPs in the mid-1990s, the public was less aware of the research being conducted, or the ecological value of the NERP lands.

In this paper, we examine the importance of DOE lands as habitat for birds using two sites: the Hanford Site and Oak Ridge Reservation. Birds are familiar and conspicuous wildlife that can help DOE convey messages about their protected habitats. Our goal was to present data that can serve as a model for communication within and among DOE, other agencies and organizations, Tribes, and diverse communities surrounding these sites. These sites were chosen because they have very different ecological conditions: the Hanford Site is semi-arid shrub-steppe and the Oak Ridge Reservation is wet, eastern deciduous/coniferous forest. Further, Oak Ridge Reservation has on-going research, development and national security missions, while Hanford’s primary mission is to clean up contamination from past activities. We use two methods for each: 1) a comparison of historical written records and 2) a comparison of current land use/land cover data. Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation are among the most important causes of avian decline [15 , 18]. The world, in general, is seeing an age of mass extinctions, and birds are no exception [19 - 21]. Local extinctions occur as well, for example, fires on the Hanford Site shrub-steppe caused or contributed to the disappearance of the Sage Grouse from the Hanford Site [22]. Stopping avian declines and protecting species will depend in part upon public support. We present the data in a manner suitable for discussion and decision-making by locally diverse communities (as well as Federal and Tribal governmental agencies).

Developing information to protect ecological resources, in this case birds, that can be used to make science-based decisions is critical to developing and implementing cleanup and restoration [16 , 17]. Partly these decisions have been made to harmonize remedies with future land use uses and institutional controls [23 - 24]. It quickly became quite clear that making science- and risk-based decisions required input from stakeholders at all levels, including other governmental agencies, Tribal Nations, and many others [25 - 27]. For radionuclides and chemicals that pose a threat to human health, neighboring communities are somewhat aware of potential human health risks, which often are limited to specific on-site exposure pathways that are used for regulatory risk assessment. Once exposure pathways are identified, mitigation measures are put in place to prevent exposure. For individuals, historic potential exposure is a matter of the cumulative risks, and generally, of health disparities faced by racial and ethnic communities have been identified [27 , 28]. Native Americans and minority communities living right next to chemical plants are often aware of their risks from site activities but may be less aware of the risks faced by eco-receptors, such as fragmentation of habitat [29 , 30]. Community members, however, may be unaware of the value of particular ecological resources on contaminated sites that warrant protection. Multi-directional discussions and dialogues are essential to foster protection for these resources. Protection of ecological resources on contaminated sites requires the recognition of community experiences, knowledge, norms, beliefs, and values [29 - 33].

This paper aims to both provide information about the ecological value of habitats on DOE lands for birds, and to provide graphics that can foster discussions and exchange of information among and within diverse individuals and communities whose inclusion would improve the decision-making process regarding future land use and lead to better, more cost-effective remediation decisions [16 , 34]. We use two DOE sites as case studies. The tables and graphics provide an information matrix that can be used with a variety of ecological issues to quickly provide governmental agencies and the public with information to make sound science-based decisions, as well as suggesting areas for further exploration. Local and diverse communities can then provide information and discussion about environmental restoration and cleanup, increasing multi-dimensional communication.

Our overall approach involved an in-depth evaluation of ecological resources on the Oak Ridge Reservation and the Hanford Site from our own work and published documents [35 - 39]. DOE is conducting environmental management on both sides, remediating radiologic and chemical contamination left from the production of nuclear weapons (1940s through 1980s). Figure 1 shows the distribution of the sites involved in DOE’s Environmental Management or “cleanup” and the location of Oak Ridge and Hanford. Data in this paper were obtained as part of site-wide risk evaluations by the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) of both sites for areas and facilities still requiring remediation. Details on data and analyses are available elsewhere [35 - 38]. However, herein we describe the main avian species of conservation concern at the Hanford Site and Oak Ridge Reservation from our research as part of the site-wide risk evaluations. We describe briefly the critical habitat for avian groups at risk and present data on land use and land change at both sites to illustrate the importance of each of these habitats to the protection of rare and vulnerable birds. Remediation activities at both sites are ongoing and could enhance or degrade habitats. Avian species lists were obtained from the relevant site Environmental Reports [39 , 40] and other tables [41 , 42].

Our assessment of critical habitat for birds included using: 1) historical records and literature to determine land cover changes and 2) National Land Cover Database (NLCD) [43]. The NLCD [43] was used to compare the amount (and percent) of several types of land use types with a buffer area of 10 km around the current ORR site boundaries and with an area 30 km around the current ORR boundaries. There are fifteen or more land cover types that are depicted in the NLCD [43] databases for different regions of the U.S. We combined some categories to form a clearer picture of habitats. Thus, we combined all the anthropogenically developed land cover types into one developed category; all the forest types (deciduous, coniferous) into one forest type; and the herbaceous wetlands and barren lands together because they are relatively uncommon on both sites. We compared the habitat types on the sites with the habitats in immediate vicinity (within 10 km) and in the 30 km area around each site.

In short, we use data we obtained from our on-site evaluations and federal documents to compile the data, and to put it in a form that can be easily communicated to a wide range of audiences, with different levels of expertise. For more effective and inclusive decision-making, governmental agencies, regulators, resource trustees, and the public need to have the same information that encompasses the key points needed for protection of natural resources. Our tables and graphics provide a template for communicating complex information quickly and effectively.

The Hanford Site and Oak Ridge Reservation will be described separately to provide a perspective on the relationship between birds and habitats on site compared with the surrounding region.

The Hanford Site [48] and Oak Ridge Reservation [49] have land use plans that take into account cleanup and residual contamination that may allow commercial/industrial, residential, recreational, and conservation designations for different parts of the sites. Land use plans may change over time, and discussion with Tribes and the public may influence the designation of more conservation areas on the locally unique landscapes. Protecting the environment includes the ecosystems and wildlife of conservation importance and recreational value, and birds as the most conspicuous wildlife can illustrate the importance

^aAll the ORR species are Neotropical Migrants except the Wood Stork; ^bTennessee designation is “Need of Management”; ^cPartners in Flight designation of “Regional Importance”.

of protecting unique natural ecosystems. For example, the land use designation for East Tennessee Technology Park (for industrial use) within Oak Ridge Reservation changed in 2021 to include a large tract designated for conservation [50].

Both the Hanford Site and Oak Ridge Reservation have important avian assemblages, largely because they have large, unbroken tracts of native vegetation with relatively few invasive species. The onsite habitats are relatively protected from further development (except where needed to complete remediation) and fragmentation. Invasive species have multiple effects, inhibiting native plant growth and promoting fires. Cheat Grass (Bromus tectorum) is a notorious annual that dries up, ignites easily, and burns rapidly. Fire, both natural and anthropogenic, is probably the largest threat to Hanford’s shrub-steppe, where several devastating fires have been documented in recent decades, requiring extensive re-seeding to re-establish the habitat [51]. It is important that both DOE sites maintain more of the native ecosystems than the surrounding regions, and native ecosystems on both sites support birds that are of conservation concern. Emphasizing bird populations on and offsite can be valuable to illustrate the importance of large patches of native vegetation in the multi-directional discussion and transfer of information among DOE and its stakeholders. The bird data can demonstrate the importance of the large tracts of important avian habitat with minimal fragmentation. Recognizing the importance of large, unbroken tracks as conservation measures for declining bird populations will lead to more areas being designated as conservation areas, as well as leading to improved management.

We are grateful to the many people who have discussed ecological features with us over the years, including C. W. Powers, B. D. Goldstein, A. Bunn, and M. R. Greenberg. N. Giffen of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, R. Jim of the Yakama Tribe, and R. Buck of the Wanapum for being particularly helpful with historical information about Oak Ridge Reservation and the Hanford Site. We particularly thank site personnel who have provided us with documents and other information about each site, and all the researchers at both the Hanford Site and the Oak Ridge Reservation who have documented the importance of different habitats and monitored birds and other species groups. This research was funded by the DOE (DE-FC01-06EW07053 through the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP), Vanderbilt University and Rutgers University, Rutgers Pineland Research Station, and Rutgers University. The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. DOE, Vanderbilt University, and other participating universities.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding publication of this paper.