The U.S. Forest Service and National Forest Foundation are thinning out overgrown brush and trees this week from a cinder field near Flagstaff where Apollo astronauts trained. The idea is to preserve the historic site and turn back the clock to the days of the space race.
In 1967, NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey used dynamite to blow craters in the 44-acre cinder field that perfectly mimicked craters at Apollo 11’s lunar landing site.
The Cinder Lakes crater field was used to train astronauts and test equipment and the site is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kevin Schindler of Lowell Observatory says it’s critical to preserve it.
"Going to the moon was one of the defining moments of the 20th century and our progress as a species, sending humans to another planet. And Flagstaff plays such an important role in that," Schindler says.
Heavy equipment isn’t allowed on the site so crews are hand-thinning ponderosa, juniper and brittlebush that have encroached on the craters, leaving in place old trees that existed in the 1960s.
"When people get to the site, it’s really important to me that it look as much as possible like it did when it was being used by astronauts for training," Coconino National Forest archeologist Jeanne Stevens.
Firewood from the thinning project will be donated to the Wood for Life program for Navajo and Hopi tribal members. Sasha Stortz of the National Forest Foundation says thinning usually happens for ecological restoration: “This is a unique project because it’s a heritage site restoration, so we were really excited to also be able to link this into Wood for Life.”
Plans are in the works for a self-guided interpretive trail, and a field guide to the site is being developed by USGS Astrogeology.
