Old rocket range stirs new ordnance fears at Fort Flagler State Park

Published 4:56 am Thursday, August 2, 2007

MARROWSTONE ISLAND – A section of Fort Flagler State Park may contain unexploded munitions from when the tip of Marrowstone Island was an active military base, a newly released U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report shows.

The area of concern is an old rocket range used to train soldiers in using rifle grenade and anti-tank rocket launchers.

Any unexploded ordnance would be more than a half-century old: Fort Flagler was decommissioned in 1953 and has been in the state park system since 1954.

The Corps of Engineers completed a site inspection of Fort Flagler in February.

“There is evidence of [munitions and explosives of concern] at this range and a moderate risk to park users,” the report states.

The area is approximately 30 acres mainly in a steep wooded area on the northeast portion of the park, but there is a public campsite near the former rocket range.