{"id":5133,"date":"2019-03-11T20:15:56","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T20:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/11\/why-conservationists-oppose-the-air-forces-plans-to-expand-the-nevada-test-and-training-range\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:00:02","slug":"why-conservationists-oppose-the-air-forces-plans-to-expand-the-nevada-test-and-training-range","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/03\/11\/why-conservationists-oppose-the-air-forces-plans-to-expand-the-nevada-test-and-training-range\/","title":{"rendered":"Why conservationists oppose the Air Force\u2019s plans to expand the Nevada Test and Training Range"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CARSON CITY, Nev. \u2014 Conservationists are rallying around a pair of legislative resolutions opposing the U.S. Air Force\u2019s proposed expansion of a bombing training range they say would threaten <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/2017\/12\/22\/rare-bighorn-hunt-lets-armed-civilians-onto-bombing-range\/\" target=\"_blank\">big horn sheep<\/a> and other wildlife at a national refuge in southern Nevada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conflict pits the interests of the military\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2015\/09\/11\/air-force-to-begin-condemnation-on-nevada-bombing-range-site\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nevada Test and Training Range<\/a>, the largest of its kind in the world, against those of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, the largest U.S. refuge outside Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Established in 1940, the military range covers 4,531 square miles of federal land \u2014 nearly as big as the state of Connecticut \u2014 and already includes about half of the 2,031-square-mile refuge created in 1936.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2015\/09\/07\/air-force-wants-owners-to-give-up-nevada-bombing-range-site\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635772232775404652-area-51-property-figh-weigjpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force wants owners to give up Nevada bombing range site<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. Air Force is giving an ultimatum to owners of a remote Nevada property now surrounded by a vast bombing range including the super-secret Area 51: Take a $5.2 million &quot;last best offer&quot; by Thursday for their property, or the government will seize it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal that requires congressional approval would withdraw an additional 468 square miles (1,212 sq. kilometers) currently co-managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for military purposes 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State Sen. Melanie Scheible, D-Las Vegas, and Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen, D-Henderson, said the non-binding resolutions they&#8217;ve introduced in their respective chambers are aimed at protecting a refuge home to some of the most unique wildlife habitat in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Expanding the military testing area into the refuge would decimate irreplaceable petroglyphs, sand dunes, and wild animal populations,&#8221; Scheible said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It would threaten the survival of the desert bighorn sheep and the desert tortoise and cut off public access to areas of great cultural, spiritual and recreational value,&#8221; added Cohen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"979\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP19067672146568.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2595\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP19067672146568.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP19067672146568.jpg.jpg?resize=300,245 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP19067672146568.jpg.jpg?resize=768,627 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP19067672146568.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,835 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this 2012 file photo captured by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service motion-activated camera, a golden eagle confronts a desert bighorn sheep at Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force first filed notice in August 2016 of its intent to study the expansion of the &#8220;pre-eminent range for testing and evaluation of weapons systems, tactics development and advanced combat training.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The range and its infrastructure are quickly becoming outdated as rates of technological development of new weapons system and electronic warfare systems accelerate,&#8221; the Air Force said in an environmental impact statement last October. &#8220;Since enemy technology has become increasingly advanced and complex, more space is needed to replicate threat configurations.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, modern aircraft approach their targets at an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) \u2014 three times the altitude of older aircraft \u2014 and launch missiles from up to 12 miles (19 kilometers) away.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2016\/10\/17\/air-force-wants-more-training-space-at-wildlife-refuge-in-nevada\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/desert-national-wildlife-refuge.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force wants more training space at wildlife refuge in Nevada<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Defense Department announced plans in August that would expand the Nevada Test and Training Range by more than 300,000 acres.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dozens of people turned out in Carson City and Las Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday to testify in support of the anti-expansion resolutions currently being considered by the state Senate and Assembly committees on natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported no one spoke in favor of the expansion. Leaders of the Montana-based Wild Sheep Foundation say it could derail efforts to support about 600 bighorn sheep in the Sheep Range, which boasts some of the species&#8217; best habitat in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Nevada has given enough to the military,&#8221; said Las Vegas architect and outdoor enthusiast Eric Roberts, according to the newspaper. &#8220;Nevada&#8217;s given enough land to have a 51st state in the union. It&#8217;s time we keep some for ourselves.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"916\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4701082.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4701082.jpg.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4701082.jpg.jpg?resize=300,183 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4701082.jpg.jpg?resize=768,469 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4701082.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,625 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Special Forces soldiers and Air Force members watch as two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters land on a designated landing zone Aug. 30, 2018, after executing a combat training exercise at the Nevada Test and Training Range in Nevada. (Sgt. Connor Mendez\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress is expected to act on the matter by 2021, when the existing land withdrawal last renewed in 1999 is scheduled to expire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The USAF EIS said that in order to increase realism, some blank small arms, hand flares, smoke grenades, paint balls or other training munitions are expended during certain operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Rebekah Mattes, a public affairs specialist for Nellis Air Force Base, said none of the alternatives under consideration would increase or change any bombing target impact areas. She said the range would continue to be co-managed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Nevada Test and Training Range is a critical national asset and we take our responsibilities for environmental management and stewardship of the range seriously,\u201d she wrote in an email to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conservationists are rallying around a pair of legislative resolutions opposing the U.S. Air Force&#8217;s proposed expansion of a bombing training range they say would threaten big horn sheep and other wildlife at a national refuge in southern Nevada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,24,88,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1344],"class_list":["post-5133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"TKQGJTEFJBALPO7I2QJOEDKGBA","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/03\/11\/why-conservationists-oppose-the-air-forces-plans-to-expand-the-nevada-test-and-training-range\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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