Air Force seeks comment on adding public land to Nevada Test and Training Range
The Air Force will hold five meetings in October to field public comments on the environmental impact of a proposal to add more than 300,000 acres of public land to the Nevada Test and Training Range, Nellis Air Force Base officials said Thursday.
The land withdrawal for military use would accommodate new test missions for the F-35 joint strike fighter stealth jet, Red Flag air combat exercises and “increased irregular warfare training activities,” base officials said in a news release.
“The modernization is required to meet a rapidly changing battlespace which has outpaced the existing range capabilities and capacity in turn limiting realistic and relevant testing, tactics development and training,” the release states.
The proposed action includes renewing withdrawal of the existing 2.9 million acres of the Nevada Test and Training Range north of the Las Vegas Valley, which is set to expire in November 2021, and adding 301,507 acres of nearby public land.
The Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Energy and Nevada Department of Wildlife are cooperating agencies in the proposed action to withdraw the land from use in mining and mineral and geothermal leasing.
The public meetings will be held Oct. 12 in Beatty, Oct. 13 in Tonopah; Oct. 18 in Caliente; Oct. 19 in Alamo; and Oct. 20 in North Las Vegas.
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2
Public meeting times and places
Avenue, Beatty.
• Oct.13, 5 to 9 p.m., Tonopah Convention Center, 301 Brougher
Avenue, Tonopah.
• Oct. 18, 5 to 9 p.m., Caliente Elementary School, 289 Lincoln
Street, Caliente.
• Oct. 19, 5 to 9 p.m., Pahranagat Valley High School, 151 S
Main Street, Alamo.
• Oct. 20, 5 to 9 p.m., Aliante Hotel, 7300 Aliante Parkway,
North Las Vegas.
