Don't Let Congress Hand Over Protected Land to the Air Force!
Dear John,
In a surprising and alarming development, the current House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes language that would hand over control of more than 800,000 acres of Nevada's Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the US Air Force.
The Desert Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge in the contiguous United States and is home to animals, ancient plants, petroglyphs, and sites of immense cultural and historical value to local tribes. Since 1974, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has managed 1.4 million acres of the Desert Refuge as de facto wilderness.
On July 1, the House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment from Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) to transfer primary control of more than 800,000 acres of the refuge to the Air Force, without any input from stakeholders such as the Nevada congressional delegation, tribes, or conservationists. This change would allow the Air Force to conduct war games, training projects, and other harmful ground-disturbing activities on land where bighorn sheep, mountain lions, over 320 bird species, and over 500 plant species currently live. It is imperative that the USFWS's authority to manage these invaluable lands and wildlife be preserved.
Members of the Nevada congressional delegation have come out strongly against this provision, and introduced an amendment that would strike it from the NDAA. The bill and proposed amendments are scheduled for votes in the House next week, on July 20-21.