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Military Could Control Half Of A Nevada Wildlife Refuge Under Defense Bill

A desert landscape in the foreground and mountains in the background.
Noah Glick
A look at installations within the Nevada Test and Training Range, as seen from U.S. Highway 95 in Nevada.

The U.S. Military could gain control over more than 1,300 square miles of public land in Nevada currently managed as a wildlife refuge under a bill passed by a congressional committee last week.

The Nevada Test and Training Range encompasses 2.9 million acres of military training land, but it has to share control over much of that land with the 1.6-million-acre Desert National Wildlife Refuge, the largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48.

An amendment to the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, passed last week by the Democratic-controlled House Armed Services Committee, would give the U.S. Air Force sole control over the nearly 850,000 shared acres, more than half of the entire refuge.

The amendment, written by Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, was approved with a voice vote during the committee’s markup last week.

The move is riling Nevada environmentalists, who have called the move “an egregious and colossal mistake” and “a slap in the face.” Nevada’s tribes, state leaders and congressional delegation has opposed previous efforts. Sen. Jacky Rosen said this proposal was rushed through without proper outreach to affected communities.

"We don’t feel that’s been done," Rosen said. "This amendment was slipped in at the 11th hour, and we want the chance to have all the parties have the discussion, come to the table and decide what the right path forward is."

Much of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge has been managed as a wilderness area since 1971, which the Air Force said restricts its training activities.

As The Mountain West News Bureau previously reported, the Air Force submitted a proposal to expand its boundaries in its latest request to Congress. The current land management agreement expires in November 2021.

Kevin DesRoberts, who manages the refuge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told the Bureau last December that he laments the potential loss of prime wildlife habitat.

“It’s the largest last remaining intact habitat for desert bighorn sheep. So this is it for the species. This is the stronghold,” DesRoberts said at the time. “It’s a large, charismatic species that really is a surrogate for hundreds of other species that also depend on this landscape for their survival."

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Noah Glick is a former content director and host at KUNR Public Radio.
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