Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (the Condon Report, complete, three volumes)

Forest Service, for comment. Dr. Ostrom list:~d four natural causes
of such patches of forest da'1lage. lie indicated that members of the
Forest Service had observed similar damage in other regions under ecological
condi tions simi lar to those in the area in which thesl' "saucer nests"
were reported. Although UFOs had been reported in the general region,
there again was no direct connection between them and the patche~ of
timber d~13ge, the existence of which could be accounted for by quite
earthly processes.
Generally there are no physical tests which can be applied to a
claimed saucer landiliR site to prove the origin Of the impri;tts.
Occasionally, the degree of compaction of soil by UFO "landing legs"
lS presented as evidence that the force was extraordinary. However,
if the compaction (,;C'uld have been achieved hy '" human with a sledge
hammer, for exmnpl e, compaction measurements are of little significance,
si.nce they do not yield information regarding the cause of compaction.
Olemical tests of soil can sometimes be used to disprove a claim, but
are not likely to support a claim of ~trange urigin of markinRs, since
there is no obvious reason to expect chemical alteration. For example,
samples of soil from a golf course at Port Townsend, Wash. were submitted
to this project for analysis (Case 1406P, ]074T, project fj les). One
sample was taken from a burned area where an UFO, reportedly observed
earlier by several youngsters, was assumed to have touched down. Com-
pari.son samples from unaffected areas nearby were also studied. Gas
cllromatography showed the existence of hydrocarbGn residues in the sample
from the burned area, indicating that gasoline or other hydrocarbon had
been l1sed to Ihakl.' this particular "~(1ucer nest." An empty lighter-
fluid can was found in the area a few hundrcll yards away.
2. Materi.al All ('gedly Deposited by UFOs
/\.0 elusive l1lat(;'ri~ll! called "angel hair" in UFO publications, is
somctim~s reported to have been deposited by llFOs. Seventeen cases
involving "ang l:·l hair" ~~cn\ listed by Maney and Hall (19\,1) for the
131
Forest Service, for comment. Dr. Ostrom list"d four natural causes
of such patches of forest dwnage. lie indicated that members of the
Forest Service had observed similar damage in other regions under ecological
conditions similar to those in the area in which thest' "saucer nests"
h'ere reported. Although UFOs had been reported in the general region,
there again was no direct connection between them and the patche~ of
timber d~13ge, the existence of which could be accounted for by quite
earthly processes.
Generally there are no physical tests which can be applied to a
claimed saucer landinR site to prove the origin oi the impri~ts.
Occasionally, the degree of coml1action of soi 1 by UFO "landing legs"
is presented as evidence that the force was extraordinary. However,
if the compaction cfuld have been achieved by mat!:'}'i "1! called "angel hHirto in UFO publications, is
sometimes reported to have heen depOSited by UFOs. Seventeen cases
involving "angt'l hair" lien' Ij~ted by Maney and Ifall (19,,1) for the
131