Appendix_C_-_Conservation_Mgmt_Plan.pdf

Thule Air Base, Greenland 1 FY-15

CDRL CEV-13

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN

FINAL, FY-15

Thule Air Base Images by Jack Stephens

Thule Air Base, Greenland

OPR: Greenland Contractors Chief of Environmental Engineering DSN 629-3840 ext. 2698 Contract No. FA2523-05-C-9001 Supersedes CDRL CEV-13, FY14 edition

CDRL CEV-13 Conservation Management Plan

Thule Air Base, Greenland 3 FY-15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 LETTER OF INSTRUCTION

1.1 SECURITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTIONS

2 REGULATORY BACKGROUND

2.1 PURPOSE

2.2 SCOPE

2.3 REGULATORY OVERVIEW

3 INTRODUCTION

3.1 INSTALLATION DESCRIPTION

3.2 CLIMATE

3.3 INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

3.4 REQUIREMENTS TO PERSONNEL

3.5 COMMUNICATION WITH HOST NATION AUTHORITIES

4 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THULE AREA

4.1 PREHISTORY OVERVIEW

4.2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

4.2.1 Thule

4.2.2 The American Presence

4.3 ANCIENT HISTORICAL SITES OF CONCERN AROUND THULE AIR BASE

4.4 PRECAUTIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR ANCIENT AND HISTORIC AREAS AND DISCOVERIES21

4.4.1 Precautions

4.4.2 Possible Archeological Indicators

4.4.3 Procedures for discoveries of ancient /historic items

4.5 MEMORIAL MARKERS

5 LAND MANAGEMENT

5.1 FACILITY SITE OVERVIEW

5.2 GEOLOGICAL AREAS

5.2.1 Geologic Setting

5.2.2 Local soil conditions and existing pavements

5.2.3 Gravel Pits

5.2.4 Quarry

5.2.5 Mineral Exploration

5.3 LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT AND USE

5.3.1 Improved Grounds

5.3.2 Traffic Areas

5.3.3 Harbor

5.3.4 Tank Farm

5.3.5 Storm Shelters

5.3.6 Landfills

5.4 OPEN AREAS

5.4.1 Coastal Waters and Sewages

5.4.2 Water Streams and Lakes

5.4.3 Drinking Water

5.4.4 Wetlands and River Deltas

5.4.5 Irrigation and Drainage

Thule Air Base, Greenland 4 FY-15

5.4.6 Storm water drainage system

5.4.7 UXO areas

5.5 STANDARDS FOR MANAGING AND MAINTAINING GROUNDS

5.5.1 Pesticide Use

5.5.2 Use of Off Road Vehicles

5.5.3 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT PROCEDURES

5.5.4 LAND DISPOSAL

6 MANAGEMENT OF FISH, WILDLIFE AND PLANTS

6.1 LOCALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES

6.1.1 International Endangered Species

6.1.2 Notification of host nation installation commander

6.2 HUNTING AND FISHING

6.3 DISTURBANCE OF BIRD COLONIES

6.4 HUMAN/ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS

6.5 BOTANICAL AREAS

7 OUTDOOR RECREATION RESOURCES

7.1 GENERAL RECREATIONAL OUTDOOR RESOURCES CLASSIFICATION

7.2 Recreational Activities and Facilities

7.2.1 Training of tripping guides

7.2.2 Services Activities

7.2.3 Jogging, Bicycling, and Hiking

7.2.4 Athletic and Recreational Areas

7.2.5 Cabins

7.3 SCENIC OUTLOOKS

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

APPENDIX 2: THULE DEFENSE AREA

APPENDIX 3: THE BORDER BETWEEN THE DEFENSE AREA AND DUNDAS

APPENDIX 4: HISTORICAL TIMELINE

APPENDIX 5: GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS

APPENDIX 6: NATURAL & CULTURAL RESOURCES AREA MAP

APPENDIX 7: THULE FLORA AND FAUNA

APPENDIX 8: BOTANIC LIST FOR THULE AIR BASE

APPENDIX 9: HUNTING AGREEMENTS, ANANERSUUP KOMMUNIA

APPENDIX 10: SUMMARY OF APPLICABLE GREENLAND LAWS

APPENDIX 11: DUNDAS PRESERVATION

APPENDIX 12: REFERENCES

APPENDIX 13: ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW COMMENTS

APPENDIX 14: DISTRIBUTION LIST

Thule Air Base, Greenland 5 FY-15

1 LETTER OF INSTRUCTION

1.1 Security and Administrative Instructions

Title: The title of this document is Conservation Management Plan.

Classification: The document is unclassified.

Responsibilities: Greenland Contractors, Environmental Engineering (GC/EE) is the office of primary responsibility for developing and maintaining the plan. The instructions given in this plan are applicable to all organizations and tenant units at Thule AB. Organizations are authorized to extract and reproduce those sections of the plan that are essential in the accomplishment of necessary planning and in the preparation of supporting documents and reports.

Reviews/Changes: The plan will be reviewed and updated annually. Furthermore, the plan will be subject to change if any of the applicable laws, regulations, or requirements are altered.

Distribution: The plan will be distributed to the organizations listed on the distribution list, APPENDIX 13.

Thule Air Base, Greenland 6 FY-15

2 REGULATORY BACKGROUND

2.1 Purpose

The purpose of this plan is to provide information on and guidelines for the management of the natural and cultural resources in the Arctic environment.

2.2 Scope

The Thule AB Conservation Management Plan and the Thule General Plan regulate all phases of land use and grounds development from the least to the most intensively improved areas. No new activity will be established if they violate the regulations in these plans.

2.3 Regulatory Overview

In accordance with USAF policy, Thule AB is required to comply with the following public laws and their respective regulations:

US State Laws: Not applicable

DoD: DoD 6050.7, Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Department of Defense Actions

USAF: AFI 32-7061, Environmental Impact Analysis Process AFI 32-7062, Air Force Comprehensive Planning AFI 32-7066, Environmental Baseline & Closeout for Real Estate Transac-tions Final Governing Standards for Environmental Protection by United States Forces in Greenland (FGS), prepared by HQ AFSPACECOM

Thule AB: ESOH council decisions.

Host Country: Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark (including the Government of Greenland) and the Government of the United States of America concerning use of Sondrestrom Aviation Facili-ty Kulusuk Airfield and other matters related to United States Military activi-ties in Greenland.

Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark (includ-ing the Government of Greenland) concerning the Dundas area.

Thule Air Base, Greenland 7 FY-15

3 INTRODUCTION

3.1 Installation Description

Thule AB is located at 76°31’N, 68°30’W, in the Arctic area on the northwest coast of Greenland, 930 miles south of the North Pole and 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

According to Qaasuitsup Kommunia’s homepage (February 2013), the population of the northwestern part of Greenland (Qaanaaq municipality) is 662 individuals excluding the population at Thule Air Base. The population lives in the 3 settlements: Qaanaaq (the main city and administrative center, located at: 77° 28′ 0″ N, 69° 1 3′ 50″ W, the north shore of Inglefield Fjord), Savissivik, and Siorpaluk. The total population of Greenland (January 2007) is 56,648 individuals. The majority of these people live in the southern part of Greenland. The population at Thule Air Base is 600-800 individuals.

Town Population, total

Qaanaaq 656 Moriusaq 0 Savissivik 44 Siorpaluk 53

Table 1 : Qaasuitsup Kommunia’s home page (February 2013).

Appendix 12; Reference 20

Qaanaaq Municipality and Thule Air Base

Thule AB facilities are the property of the United States Air Force and it is the most northern installation of American military forces, and one of the most northern air bases in the world. The base is located on the aerial route halfway between Washington DC (2344 miles) and Moscow (2335 miles). The base is located in a coastal valley, bordered by mountain ridges to the north and south, the ice cap to the east, and the North Star Bay to the west. Therefore, it is only possible to reach Thule AB by ship during the brief port season (late June to early September) or by air throughout the year.

The Thule Defense Area covers close to 233,000 acres or 943 km2 (verified by DLO documents). The northern border consists of Wolstenholme Fjord and Harald Moltke Glacier;

the eastern border is the Ice Cap; the southwestern border is a straight line going from the Pittufik Glacier to an area on the coast of Wolstenholme Fjord, see APPENDIX 2. The area is uninhabited, and the closest community is a small settlement, Savissivik.

Thule Air Base, Greenland 8 FY-15

3.2 Climate

The climate at Thule is highly arctic with a monthly average temperature ranging from between -26oC (-15o Fahrenheit) and 5oC (41o Fahrenheit). The mean annual temperature is –12oC (10.4o

Fahrenheit) with low temperatures recorded at -44oC (-48o Fahrenheit) and high temperature occasionally reaching 20oC (68o Fahrenheit). The Chill factor (see APPENDIX 1) is calculated on the measured temperature data on base.

Climate data

Table 2: Climate data observed at Main Thule Air Base Weather Station.

Mean annual precipitation (rain and snowfall) is normally 40.0 inches (1 meter), of which 75 percent is snow. On August 2, 2001, the weather conditions were very unusual. During a period of 4days about 5 inches of rainfall was measured. Some of the water drainage pipes were broken and the whole drinking water system was out of order for several days. The bridge over the North River was irreparably damaged during this strange weather phenomenon.

The normal summer is very short occurring only 3 months of the year with average daily temperatures above freezing. The annual thaw of the frozen ground starts in May and ends in September.

The average wind speed is 6 knots. The highest wind speed recorded at Thule is registered at 189 knots.

This is an area where high arctic storms occur. The arctic storm conditions are characterized by: very low temperatures (Chill factor minus 40 degrees or colder), high wind speeds (30-50 knots or more) and very low visibility. The official storm season is from 15September to 15May.

Arctic storms can also occur during the summertime. From April to August daylight prevails 24 hours a day, while darkness reigns from November through January.

3.3 Installation Management Structure

Thule AB is open to installation personnel and invited guests only. This privilege includes the personnel stationed or employed at the base (either with a permanent change of station (PCS) or official temporary duty (TDY) status) who are allowed guests. This privilege does not include retirees or DoD employees from other installations or military members not on PCS or official TDY status. Family members and guests must receive specific clearances prior to entering the base.

The installation is operated by 821 ABG, 21 SW, AFSPC, with contractor support from BAE Systems, Harris Technology Services Corp., GE Americom, and Greenland Contractors with

Thule Air Base Average Climatology Month JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Year

Average Temperature -24 -25 -26 -18 -6 2 5 4 -2 -11 -18 -23 -12 Maximum Temperature 5 6 2 6 10 20 18 17 9 5 6 4 20 Minimum Temperature -39 -44 -42 -38 -27 -8 -4 -6 -21 -31 -35 -39 -44

Precipitation in Water (inches) 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.6 1 0.6 0.4 0.3 4.5 Snowfall Average (inches) 4 3 2 2 3 1 1 1 4 6 5 3 34

Snowfall Maximum 36 17 7 8 15 5 6 5 11 15 26 24 36 Average Relative Humidity (%) 73 71 66 63 62 66 67 67 66 71 73 74 68

Prevailing Winds Direction EAST EAST EAST EAST WEST WEST WEST WEST EAST EAST EAST EAST EAST Average Wind Speed 7 6 6 5 4 5 4 5 5 7 8 7 6

Maximum Wind Speed 81 110 102 156 76 68 70 74 76 77 82 89 156** Average number of strong storms per year = 10 *Strongest wind offbase = 207 mph / 180kt, 8 March 1972 Temperatures are degrees Celsius / Wind speeds are in knots **156 knot speed was recorded on weather station rooftop.

Thule Air Base, Greenland 9 FY-15 civilian US, Canadian, Danish, and Greenlandic employees. The 12 SWS provides warning of ballistic missile launches against the United States and Canada to the North American Aerospace Defense Command and JCS Command Centers. The base also detects and tracks polar orbiting satellites in support of operational space control missions. Additionally, the base supports the United States and international military aviation operations, including Arctic exploration and scientific research.

The Greenlandic Government owns the site and in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, approx. 490,000 acres (1983 km2) were laid out as a defense area at the time of establishment. In 2003, this area was reduced to its present size of approximately 233,000 acres (943 km2).

The main base provides housing for all military personnel, as well as civilian and contractor employees. As of May 2015, the total number of on-site personnel consisted of approximately 500-700 individual, including US military personnel. The base was initially built to handle more than 10 times as many people. Therefore, many buildings were demolished and others have been vacated, as the base population decreased.

UEWR (Upgraded Early Warning Radar) previously known as BMEWS (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System) is one of three stations;

the other two are located in Clear Alaska and Fylingdales in United Kingdom. BMEWS became operational in 1961 and was updated with a LPAR (Large Phased Array Radar) in 1987. The LPAR is located about 15 km east of the base. In 2011 the previous system were initiated to be updated to UEWR.

DET-1 is a control and command station for satellites.

3.4 Requirements to personnel

GC employees and government personnel directing conservation management must have re-ceived training in natural, historic or cultural resources management prior to working with this kind of management. As it is important for personnel to be familiar with the nature surrounding Thule AB and understand the management methods to be used at Thule AB in order to select the best ways to work with the restoration and protection of the delicate and sensitive arctic En-vironment at Thule AB.

12 SWS UEWR

22 SOPS DET-1

Thule Air Base, Greenland 10 FY-15

When living and working at Thule AB it is the responsibility of each person to be familiar with and follow these requirements presented in the environmental plans including the CDRL CEV-13 as these requirements are compulsory for all. When new personnel and guests arrive at Thule AB they are invited to a newcomer briefing. During these it is mentioned that Thule Air Base has specific environmental plans.

No training plan is specific for Thule AB personnel directing conservation management. Qualified training could be from Naval Civil Engineer Corps Officers School, courses like CIN: A-4A-0087 Natural Resources Compliance course. GC/EE does not provide training for government per-sonnel.

Documentation regarding GC/EE personnel qualifications that performs the natural historic or cultural resource functions must be kept at GC HR department. At the present the GC personnel managing the CDRL CEV-13 have relevant educational backgrounds and have the expertise required for the management elements (i.e., endangered or threatened species, host nation pro-tected species, wetlands, soil stabilization world, national and local history and culture). Educa-tional backgrounds and training records are kept at the GC HR department.

As a reminder GC/EE presents a pamphlet presenting the guidelines on how each individual must act in order to maintain and protect habitats favorable to the reproduction and survival of indigenous plants, fish, and wildlife when exploring the defense area and enjoying trips. Again as a consequence GC has not posted any signs in the area and no inspections are performed to ensure people are complying.

If questions arise that GC employees or government personnel directing conservation manage-ment cannot answer the Greenlandic government may be asked through the DLO office. This way scientific and qualified assistance may be requested and obtained from reputable knowledge institutions.

3.5 Communication with host nation authorities

US Government remains current with Greenland environmental activities and regulations IAW Statement of Work, Paragraph 18.11. The cultural resources observed outside the defense area is maintained by the Greenlandic Government through the host nation Representing official at Thule AB.

All official environmental correspondence sent to organizations outside of the 21 SW is ap-proved by 821 ABG/CC and 21 CES/CENP prior to release. In addition, copies of all official in-coming environmental correspondence are forwarded to 821 ABG/CC and 21 CES/CEIE within 5 days of receipt.

The host nation Representing official at Thule AB is the Danish Liaison Officer (DLO), located at Bldg. 461. The DLO coordinates all types of communication to the host nation authorities. These communications may be accomplished via letters, e-mails or telephone calls.

Thule Air Base, Greenland 11 FY-15

4 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THULE AREA

Long before Europeans reached the Arctic, most of the region had a scattered population. Over time, the indigenous peoples were referred to as Eskimos (Inuit), and Polar Eskimos (Inughuit).

Today, they are usually called Greenlanders.

The antiquity of man in the Old Arctic World is unknown, although the oldest archaeological discoveries in the region around the Altai Mountains and Lake Baikal (Russia) appear to be 35,000 years old. From this area people moved up north/east and slowly populated the land up to the Arctic shores. The roots to the Eskimo-Aleut culture most likely derived from Kamtjatka (Russia) where they, approximately 6-7,000 years ago, separated from the other groups.

From that time the maritime culture developed. The Eskimos and Aleuts separated approxi-mately 5,000 years ago. However, there are different opinions regarding some of these assumptions and conclusions.

It was the early Scandinavian settlers who gave the country the name Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, it is said that Erik the Red with his ships explored the icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it Greenland.

The name of the country in Greenlandic is Kalaallit Nunaat ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region.

The below overview should not be taken as an explicit conclusion on the Inuit culture in the Thule Area – it is a summary of available literature on the subject and input from the Arctic Information, Copenhagen, see APPENDIX 12, Reference 27.

Greenland and Thule history together with an overview of the American presence is inventoried in APPENDIX 4.

4.1 Prehistory overview

From the northwestern part of Alaska, archaeological excavations have estimated the early Eskimo habitations to be approximately 6-7,000 years old. It is from here that the migrations continued eastward along the arctic coasts of Canada towards Ellesmere Island and onward to the surrounding area of Thule, where the first people arrived approximately 5,000 years ago. It might have included several in-migrations. The first people settled in the northeastern part of Greenland and lived there until the tracks once again disappeared approximately 4,000 years ago. This period of time is called Independence. Perhaps simultaneously more migrations took place. It is unknown, how these made it to the West Coast. Maybe they travelled north of the country, south along the East Coast, and from there, north along the West Coast. Perhaps they travelled in a straight line from the Thule area, across the Melville Bay. No one knows yet. No matter what took place, this period of time is called Saqqaq, which lasted up until approximately 3,000 years ago. About 2,500 years ago Dorset came. They used the Saqqaq people’s habitations on the West Coast and also made their way to the East Coast. According to the Greenlandic myths, these people were known as tornit or tunersuit. It remains unknown when they disappeared from the West Coast, but they survived in East Greenland. These early migrations are put in the category of Paleoeskimo Cultures.

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Thule Air Base, Greenland 12 FY-15 centuries after the arrival of the Northerners. Slowly the West Coast was populated from Thule and southward down to the Northerners. The first written testimonies regarding these people originate from the year 1585, when the Englishman John Davis came to West Greenland.

The new culture was superior to the earlier cultures in its suppleness to take advantage of the resources of the country and the ocean. Thus they had kayaks, qajaq, for sealing, women’s boats, umiaq, for transportation and whaling, and dog sleds for winter transportation.

The colonization and the introduction to Christianity gradually changed the original culture. The shaman, angakkoq, and drum song and dance were eliminated harshly. The shaman was the person who initiated the contact between people and the spirits and gods of the supernatural world. Both men and women could undertake the task. The shaman’s role in the community was important because he or she was believed able to communicate with the spirits in order to get the spirits to cure the sick, ensure a good catch or fishing, etc. A shaman had a number of helping spirits and various equipment, including the drum, which was used during séances.

The last migration to the Thule district took place from Baffin Island in the middle of the 1860s.

Because of this migration the population of Thule was reunited with a number of fishing paraphernalia, including the kayak, which had been lost in the previous century. Simultaneously new blood was brought to the small group. The migration took place, as earlier migrations, crossing the narrow Smith Sound.

Ethnically, the Greenlanders are members of the Eskimos, or inuit, which for some is the preferred name. The term Eskimo most likely finds its origin in the Canadian Cree Indian language, according to which, ayashkimew is roughly translated into something like those who eat raw meat. Ever since the political mobilization among the Canadian Eskimos in the 1970s, inuit (singular: inuk), which means human, has been the preferred name in Canada, which was adopted in Greenland. However, in Alaska and the far east of Russia, no one hesitated to continue using the term Eskimo, e.g. in the name of the organization, Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission.

Kalaallit (singular: kalaaleq) is a collective name for the aboriginal population of Greenland, which consists of three sub-groups, kitaamiut (West Greenlanders), tunumiut (East Greenlanders), and inughuit (Polar Eskimos). Official sources don’t make an estimate as to the number of members in each sub-group, but on a rough estimate it is believed that for each Polar Eskimo there are four East Greenlanders and 50 West Greenlanders.

In Greenland, the language is called kalaallisut. West Greenlandic is the official language of the country, but both the East Greenlanders and the Polar Eskimos speak Eskimo dialects, which differ quite a bit from West Greenlandic, which also has several local dialects. Greenlandic is a polysynthetic language along with languages from Canada and North Alaska to the East Eskimo language tribe, Inupik. The language in South Alaska and on Tjukotka belongs to the West Eskimo language tribe (Yupik).

4.2 Historical overview

The first Northerner, who discovered Greenland, was Gunnbjørn. The highest mountain on the East Coast of Greenland is named after him. This apparently took place in the year 875.

The arrival of the outlaw, Erik the Red, at the place later named Østerbygden, is dated the year

982. Erik and his wife Tjodhilde built the farm Brattahlid by the present Qassiarsuk across from Narsarsuaq in Southern Greenland. The first Northerners were not Christian, but no later than in the year 999 did the son of Erik the Red, Leif the Fortunate let himself get christianized in Norway. One year later, in the year 1000, on the way back to Greenland from Norway, the ship

Thule Air Base, Greenland 13 FY-15 was blown off course and Leif discovered the actual North America, as the first European.

Since, numerous expeditions were made there.

The Northerners in Greenland began to pay taxes regularly to the Norwegian king from the year 1261. However, the communication between Greenland and Northern Europe gradually ceased.

The last written source mentions that a wedding was held in Hvalsø Church on the 15th of September 1408, and when the last ship returned to Norway in 1410, the communication to Europe stopped. From this point and onward, the Northerners’ destiny remains unknown.

Due to the marriage between the Danish Queen Margrethe I and the Norwegian King Håkon VI, their son Oluf became the heir to the Throne of both Denmark and Norway, and thereby also the Norwegian tributary countries, including the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland in 1363.

For several years no contact was made between Europe and Greenland. However, numerous Danish kings sent out people on expeditions to the waters surrounding Greenland. An actual colonization did not take place until the Norwegian minister and missionary Hans Egede came to the vicinity of Godthaab (Nuuk) in 1721. Thus the colonization of Greenland continued gradually north and southward in the following centuries. Having been ruled by Denmark-Norway for centuries, Denmark established sovereignty over the island.

Denmark built the wrong alliances during the Napoleon Wars and had to give up Norway to Sweden during the peace negotiations in Kiel in 1814. However, the tributary countries remained Danish.

Because Greenland had remained a part of Denmark in 1814, the Danish colonization could continue. The Danish state had not previously shown any interest in the Thule area, which is why Knud Rasmussen colonized the area in 1910 after having collected private means. The purpose was:

1) To save the Northern Greenland for Denmark

2) To establish a financial and practical foundation for scientific expeditions to explore the origin and migrations of the Eskimo culture

3) To ensure the Polar Eskimos’ access to those goods to which they had already grown accustomed through barter with the whalers and the polar expeditions, and to purchase the products of the country for resale in Denmark

In 1916, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States of America. In this connection the United States of America acknowledged the Danish sovereignty of the entire Greenland in a separate declaration.

In 1931, Norwegian whalers occupied three areas in eastern Greenland and declared them Norwegian. Denmark appealed the case to the International Court of Justice in Haag. The Haag verdict of April 5, 1933 determined that the entire Greenland was Danish.

On April 9, 1940, Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. The Danish ambassador to the United States chose not to follow the Danish government’s policy of collaboration with Germany;

on the contrary, he chose to represent ”the Denmark, which existed, and which would continue to exist despite the temporary suppression of its government”. The ambassador thereby took sides in favor of the allies. The Greenlandic management took the same side. Wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world.

With the Monroe Doctrine in reserve, the United States stood firm and would not accept a possible German occupation of Greenland. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied

Thule Air Base, Greenland 14 FY-15

Greenland in order to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds, detecting several German weather stations and alerting American troops who then destroyed them. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945 Following World War II, the United States developed a interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100,000,000, but Denmark refused to sell. However, in 1950, Denmark did agree to allow the United States to establish Thule Air Base, After the war, Greenland got back its colonial status, but the pressure to change the living circumstances increased, which is why a commission was established in 1948 to ensure changes in Greenland. From 1953, the colonial status ceased to exist and the country became an equal part of Denmark. In 1953 the island of Greenland was incorporated into the Danish realm as a county, also extending Danish citizenship to Greenlanders. This also resulted in a change in Danish policies toward Greenland that consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation—or de-Greenlandification.

The integration in Denmark was not without obstacles. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. In 1983, a majority of the Greenlandic population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC and Greenland officially withdrew from EEC in 1985. The EEC later became the European Union. Greenland retains some ties with the EU via Denmark. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade.

Many Greenlanders felt that the cultural values of Greenland suffered injury and in the 1970s, a movement developed which demanded Home Rule, which was entered into in may 1979.

Flag and national day (June 21st) were introduced by the Greenlandic Government in 1985.

In 2008, Greenlanders voted to transfer more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. The Danish government retains control of foreign affairs, national de-fence, the police force, and the justice system. It also retains control of monetary policy, provid-ing an initial annual subsidy, slated to diminish gradually over time as Greenland's economy is strengthened by increased income from the extraction of natural resources. This is still an ongo-ing process and today the Greenlandic government as know as the self-government.

Greenland's economy is based on the fishing industry. In a few years, the oil and quarrying in-dustry together with tourism are expected to be able to complement the fishing industry.

The Greenlandic economy supported by the Danish government. About half of public spending in Greenland is funded by block grants from Denmark. These grants will gradually be diminished and is considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Additional Greenland has proceeds from the sale of fishing licences and the annual compensation from the

EU.

Greenland is, similar to the Faroe Islands, a part of the Danish monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II as the reigning monarch. The Danish government appoints a High Com-missioner to represent it in Greenland. Greenlanders elect two representatives to the Danish parliament. All directly Greenlandic political decisions are made by the parliament in Greenland and are executed by the Greenlandic government. The Greenlandic parliament has 31 mem-bers. The head of government is the Prime Minister, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament.

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Thule Air Base, Greenland 15 FY-15

4.2.1 Thule

The first European to arrive in the Thule area in historical time was the explorer William Baffin in 1616. He provided many of the geographic names of the area, e.g., Wolstenholme Fjord, Saunders Island, Wolstenholme Island and Smith Sound. Almost 200 years passed before the next outsider came to this area. John Ross followed Baffin's route in 1818 and made contact with the Eskimos at Cape York. Whalers frequently visited the area throughout the 19th century Her Majesty’s Ship "North Star" spent the winter of 1849-50 in North Star Bay from where the name originates.

The American explorer Robert E. Peary used the area as base for his several attempts to reach the North Pole. With assistance of the Polar Eskimos hunter Odaq, he finally reached the Pole in 1909. In 1909, a missionary post was established and in 1910, Knud Rasmussen and the Danish explorer, Peter Freuchen, established a trading station at Thule. The trading station was used as a base for scientific expeditions and provided equipment and food to the indigenous Polar Eskimos.

The village is now abandoned, as the permanent inhabitants and the colony of Thule were moved north to the village of Qaanaaq in 1953 and 1954. Thule was in the antiquity the term used for an area located far north.

The village was finally abandoned in 1985, but the houses and buildings still remain. Now they are only used as shelters for the local Greenlandic hunters during the hunting season. Next to Dundas Village two cemeteries are located, one older than the other. The newer cemetery was still used in the early 1980s. Next to the cemetery, closest to the Umanaq village, is a large ring of single stones. The purpose of these stones is unknown, and has most likely no long historical or cultural background.

The majority of the remaining houses in the village are not the original, but were built in the 1940s. All the buildings, except the church, were left when Dundas closed. Knud Rasmussen’s house was moved to Qaanaaq in the mid-eighties and functions as the local museum now. A street map, including the buildings and places of interest of Dundas Village, is available through Activities in bldg #262.

IAW Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark (including the Home Rule of Greenland) concerning the Dundas area, see APPENDIX 12, ref. 18, Dundas was relinquished from the defense area and the Dundas peninsula was returned to Greenland Self Rule effective 20 February 2003. Herein it is agreed that no settlement of persons or erection of permanent structures in Dundas will take place for 3 years from this date. For an additional period of 3 years the U.S. authorities will be consulted concerning any initiative to alter the original size and essential character of existing buildings. Restrictions were lifted after February 2009.

View of Dundas Village

Knud Rasmussen

Thule Air Base, Greenland 16 FY-15

4.2.2 The American Presence

The formal and judicial reason for American military bases in Greenland was an agreement between Denmark and the United States regarding Greenland’s defense of April 9, 1941. This was declared invalid by the Danish Government, but later approved after the occupation in 1945.

American military installations during World War II, a total of 17, were primarily located in South and Mid Greenland. The Installations were partly major airfields (Narsarsuaq and Søndre Strømfjord) securing the Atlantic routes of transportation, and partly a number of weather stations. Naturally, these installations came to be located in areas, where the local population also had interests.

Originally, it was the intention of Denmark to let the 1941 agreement be brought to an end after the World War II. However, the United States was hesitant due to the growing antagonism between the Soviet Union and the United States and the operations of the most important installations continued. From 1947, the strategic role of Greenland was redefined from being an important steppingstone between North America and Europe to becoming a primary base area for a consistent offence against the industrial centres of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, it was decided that Greenland, regardless of its political relations with Denmark, could be occupied in case of an armed conflict.

Denmark joined NATO in 1949. The 1941 agreement concerning Greenland’s defense was replaced by the 1951 agreement. The 1951 agreement does not give the United States the right to have purely American defense areas but rather to mutual Danish-American defense areas. In practice, this means that the flag of both countries are to fly over the areas. The Danish liaison officer can be attached to an area under American management. From 1985 the Greenlandic flag also flies side by side with the others. The 1951 agreement is valid as long as the NATO Treaty exists.

Thule Air Base was established in 1951-52 under the code name “Blue Jay” at Pituffik (Pituffik in present day Greenlandic), a flat glacial valley floor. At the peak of importance and during the construction periods, a total of approximately 10,000 people worked in the Thule Defense Area, which covered approximately 490,000 acres.

Even before the 1951 agreement became a reality, the Americans had extended the small weather station at Thule by adding a runway and commencing the construction of Thule Air Base itself. From being a forward base of operation for the United States’ strategic air force, Thule Air Base has gradually changed character and become a space operations base supporting a number of high technological facilities and international arctic military and research stations on and in the vicinity of Thule. Thus, the world’s largest radar installation was built by the end of the 1950s, which is a part of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), a chain of radars stationed in Alaska and England. In 1987 this installation was replaced with a Large Phased Array Radar. The remaining American installations, including Søndre Strømfjord and four radar stations located across Mid-Greenland, are now terminated.

The base worked as an emergency runway for B-52 bombers in the 1960s. In 1968, such a bomber, carrying 4 H-Bombs, crashed. One member of the crew was killed.

This military presence has resulted in intensive construction activities throughout the defense area creating roads, gravel pits, bunkers, cables, poles and structures. The following lists some support sites established over the years:

Thule Air Base, Greenland 17 FY-15

AAA: Four anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) batteries equipped with 90 mm long-range AAA and short distance 70mm quick-firing radar-controlled ”Skysweeper” canons. For surveillance of the air around the base, an Aircraft Control and Warning Station were established on the base area, which was later moved to North Mountain, and later to P-Mountain. For this purpose, two radar stations were built on the Ice Cap, north and east of the base respectively.

Nike launch sites: To replace the AAA batteries, four Army Nike Defense System Batteries were constructed at Thule, two on North Mountain, A and B, and two on South Mountain, C and D in 1957 and 1958. They provided ground to air protection of BMEWS and the Main Base.

The operation of these batteries stopped in 1965. In 1959 – 1965, 48 nuclear missile warheads were deployed there. A and B launch were demolished from 1988 to 1990 and C launch in 1996. D launch is still largely intact.

Camp Red Rock: Records indicate the camp originated in the early 1950s. Camp Red Rock was the first attempt to gain access to the ice cap. Even though the area was flat in relation to the ice cap, it proved too difficult to support. The site was located in a plateau at Nunartarssuaq at the bottom of Wolstenholme Fjord between the glaciers Harald Moltke and Knud Rasmussen.

Access was gained by crossing the fjord in the springtime while the fjord still was covered with ice and via a road cut 17.5 miles to the camp. A ramp “NUTO” (Nunatarssuaq Take-Off) gave access to the Ice Cap. NUTO was closed in 1956 and the rest of the crew was transferred to Camp Tuto. Little information is available about Camp Red Rock. Clean up at the site was initiated in the mid-1980s.

Camp Tuto: In 1954, Camp Tuto (Thule Take Off) was established at the edge of the Ice Cap 12 miles from Thule, 500 m (1640 ft) above sea level. The mission was to provide administrative

Thule Defense Area in 1952: The little settlement Umanaq/Thule is situated on the peninsula, right North of North Stay Bay, Source: CREREL Technical Report 214, 1969

Thule Air Base, Greenland 18 FY-15 and logistical support for the Department of the Army research and development and other activities in Greenland. By Camp Tuto the Ice Cap raised regularly in such a manner that a several kilometers long, 10 meters wide ramp could be built out of gravel and rocks across the breaking zone and on to the ice. Hereby, the possibility for transport directly from the Thule base via the ramp by Camp Tuto up on the ice was created. Other than the geo-technical measuring at Camp Tuto, extensive geomagnetic and ionosphere-physical measuring, as well as observations of the northern lights was carried out. A 150 m horizontal tunnel was built into the glacier, where practical experience was sought to construct ice-tunnels. Camp Tuto had its own runway. The camp was closed as an all-year camp in 1965, and was finally closed in 1966- 67.

Camp Century: In the light of the experiences from Camp Tuto, a project to build an installation underneath the ice, approximately 200 km in on the Ice Cap, at a height of 2000 meters, was initiated in 1958. Camp Century was put into use in 1959, and in 1960 a nuclear power station was installed to run ”the city underneath the ice”. During the time when the nuclear power station was run, low radioactive water waste was deposited in the ice. The purpose of Camp Century was to test the American Army’s Polar concept regarding arctic constructions and installations, as well as testing all-year facilities for a never-realized project, which involved connecting Narsarsuaq in the south to Camp Tuto in the north with the purpose of installing a number of rocket batteries underneath the ice. Camp Century was cancelled in 1963 and officially closed in 1966.

Cape Atholl: On Cape Atholl, Camp Atholl was build as one of four US Coast Guard LORAN stations (Long Range Aid to Navigation) constructed in 1954 under the code name “DOPE 1”.

The other sites were Cape Christian, Baffin Island and Satut Island near Jacobshavn. Camp Atholl was a remote weather station, located 33 road miles from Thule, which is the furthest that anyone can drive from Thule by vehicle. Camp Atholl was closed on July 1, 1975. The site was cleared in the late 1980s and today two buildings remain to serve as survival huts for the local hunters.

P-Mountain (Pingorssuit Mountain): This site consisted of 42 interconnected buildings and two radars located 18 miles from Thule at an elevation of 2,800 feet. In 1952, a survey was undertaken for an Aircraft Control and Warning installation on P-Mountain. In 1958 a construction project called “Project Dew Drop” involved antenna and power buildings that also included tasks related to operations performed by the 4 DEW Line (Distant Early Warning) stations situated close to the Polar Circle (1 at Sisimiut in West Greenland, 2 on the Icecap and 1 at Kulusuk in East Greenland). Around 1969, P-Mountain served as a communication relay point to the United States for BMEWS. It was the world’s northernmost surveillance unit. P- Mountain was closed in 1983. At P-Mountain the demolition that had taken place from previous years was cleaned up in 2003.

At all these facilities and sites several other activities were performed, either on separate sites that lasted for a shorter or longer period, or as special projects.

Thule Air Base, Greenland 19 FY-15

4.3 Ancient Historical Sites of concern around Thule Air Base Several places of ancient interest have been found in the area around Thule Air Base (see APPENDIX 6). The places mentioned below are considered vulnerable due to their close location to and in the Thule Air Base defense area. Umanaq (Uummannaq in present day Greenlandic language) Village and Comers Midden are located outside the Thule Air Base defense area.

Common for all the below-mentioned localities is that they are protected by Greenland Self Rule regulations governing ancient and historic sites “Landstingslov om fredning af jordfaste fortidsminder og bygninger” and “Landstingsforordning om museumsvæsen” (see APPENDIX 12, Reference 11).

Uvdle (Ulli in present day Greenlandic language) The first site, Uvdle, is located along the coast, west of BMEWS. Two ruins were found at this site. Besides the above-mentioned areas, several other sites of ancient interest, accessible by car, boat and foot, were identified in the area near Thule Air Base. The same laws are applicable for all sites, ruins, or artifacts of Greenland historic and ancient interest.

Comers Midden The second place of pre-historical interest is the Comers Midden, near Mount Dundas, where Danish archaeological investigations have dated the Eskimo presence back at least 900 years.

Comer's Midden was a 1916 archaeological excavation site near Thule, north of Mt. Dundas. It is the find after which the Thule culture was named. The site was first excavated in 1916 by whaling Captain George Comer, ice master of the Crocker Land Expedition's relief team, and members of Knud Rasmussen's Second Danish Thule Expedition who were in the area charting the North Greenland coast. With his ship ice-bound, Comer made use of his time through an

Ancient Historical Sites of concern: 1. Uvdle 2. Comers Midden 3. Sod huts in Umanaq Source:

Greenland National Museum and Archives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qaanaaq� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thule_culture� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Comer� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocker_Land_Expedition� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knud_Rasmussen�

Thule Air Base, Greenland 20 FY-15 archaeological excavation just south of Arctic Station of Thule unearthing, amongst other things, a kitchen-midden made by paleo-Eskimos. The site is named in honor of Comer and the midden that he found. About 60 ruins and middens were found in total.

Anthropologist Therkel Mathiassen accompanied Rasmussen's 5th Thule Expedition (1921— 1924) that included a return to the Thule site. In Mathiassen's monumental works of the 1920s and 1930s, he described Comer's Midden as "the only substantial find of pure Thule culture in Greenland".

Again in the 1930s and 1940s: The site was excavated, this time by Erik Holtved in 1935 to 1937, and again in 1946 to 1947.

Old winter dwellings at Comers Midde, near Dundas Village (photo from 2014).

The dwellings at Comers Midde are older than the Sod Huts North of Mnt. Dundas.

The site shows signs of having been inhabited from the 14th to the 20th century although Holtved reports that the 17th and 18th centuries are poorly represented.

The site contains about 26 house ruins / dwellings and several middens distributed over an area of about 120 m in width and stretching over 400 m inland with the midden Comer excavated located at its south end. The majority of the houses were more or less rounded, typically around 3m to 5m across and most likely residential. One house was rectangular 4.5m by 6m, with narrow platforms along two of the walls, was probably a "qassi" or "mens' house" and was probably used as a workshop and for social gatherings.

Subsequent to the initial finds, additional artifacts pertain to the Dorset culture, as well as items of Norse origin. The vast majority of harpoon heads found are of the open socket type typical of Thule.

These dwellings were placed on a sheltered area, where the topography protected them from high winds and other bad weather conditions. Eskimos gathered suitable stones for construction of the dwellings sides, used driftwood and whale bones to construct a roof structure and covered this with skins, skins from their prey animals sewn together to obtain a tent like structure. Even though winters were rough and hash, there structures gave shelter and warm to the eskimoes as the dwellings were small and became snow covered, the snow itself became part of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midden� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-Eskimo� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therkel_Mathiassen� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Holtved� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset_culture� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norsemen�

Thule Air Base, Greenland 21 FY-15 insulation of the dwellings (think of the igloo, same principle). Each dwellings were used by many people, at the same time, hence the body warm helped warm up the dwellings interior.

These dwellings are observed at different locations along the Melville bay, other known locations are Cape Seddon and closer to Thule, at Cape Hopper (north of the abandoned village Moriusaq).

The Sod Huts at Umanaq Village The third place, The Polar Eskimo (Inughuit) village, Umanaq, is located on the peninsula below Mount Umanaq, Dundas, or Thule.

The sod huts at Umanaq (English:

heart) represent the housing of the Eskimos that the Danish/Greenlandic Arctic explorer Knud Rasmussen introduced after his colonization of the district in 1909-10.

Though Knud Rasmussen was not the first to visit, he was the first to take interest in the Greenlanders problems and he actively improved their standard of living. The huts were one-room “family” houses where all indoor activities took place. They were constructed relative to the size of the family - making sure it was always crowded to help everybody stay warm.

The entry to the hut was through a narrow entrance, where the inhabitants and guests undressed before they entered. Approximately half of the floor in the hut was elevated and used as a combined sitting and sleeping space. The walls were made of local tuft and wood imported from Denmark. The huts were mainly used in the winter. During the summer, the Eskimos went hunting and lived in tents. Due to the establishment of the base defense system in 1953, the Polar Eskimos, approximately 130 persons, were relocated to a new village, Qaanaaq, approximately 130 km north of Thule Air Base.