Fort Nisqually to temporarily close in January and February, reopen in March

Department of Ecology to remediate soil as part of its ongoing Tacoma Smelter Plume cleanup

Fort Nisqually Living History Museum will temporarily close in January and February 2016 as the state Department of Ecology undertakes its latest soil cleanup project.

The project is part of Ecology’s ongoing work to clean up contaminants spread over 1,000 square miles of the Puget Sound basin by the former Asarco copper smelter that operated in Tacoma for a century. 

The state remediated soil at Baltimore and Optimist parks earlier in 2015 and also has cleaned up Vassault Park, Titlow Park and Jane Clark Park, along 

with numerous private yards throughout Tacoma in recent years.

A settlement from Asarco includes $94.6 million to fund the cleanup projects. Visit Ecology’s website for more information here or dirtalert.info.

The work will begin inside the Fort, continue to a nearby parking lot and then to the meadow outside the palisades. Once the work is finished, fresh sod will be placed and protected so it can take root, and visitors will benefit from new pathways inside the Fort. 

Fort staff will be available during the temporary closure at (253) 591-5339 or fortnisqually@tacomaparks.com. 

The Fort will reopen to the public in March, and its first event of 2016 will be Sewing to Sowing on April 23.