Explore, enjoy and protect the planet WORDS OF the WILD Vol. XXI, No. 3 December 2018 Newsletter of the Sierra Club’s California/Nevada Wilderness Committee Military Takeover threatens dark days ahead for Nevada Wildlands Navy and Air Force to strip Wilderness Study areas and Wildlife Refuges of protection? -- by Wynne Benti, Toiyabe Chapter of the refuge, to be used as an ex- Introduction: An hour east panded safety area of Reno, where the vast green and for an expanded blue wetlands of the Stillwater and testing area. Fallon National Wildlife Refuges Also in touch the edge of the Job Peak October, the Navy and Stillwater Range Wilderness released their Study Areas, the peaceful quiet is Fallon Range and momentary. Overhead, hundreds Training Complex of white-faced Ibis are arriving (FRTC) Draft in flocks, small groups, in pairs, Environmental circling and landing in the Impact Statement surrounding fields and wetlands. (DEIS). They join thousands of other birds, The deadline ducks, geese, raptors, shore birds— for the Navy’s more than 280 species of migratory Wilderness committee volunteers Anne Henny, Richard Rollins, public comment is birds— that stop at Stillwater on Alan Carlton and Vicky Hoover join Friends of Nevada Wilderness January 15, 2019. They plan for a service day in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Feb. 2018 annual migrations between Canada to withdraw 606,685 acres and Mexico. Winged voices fill the air, but are soon drowned out by the of public lands, including thousands engines of a Navy jet from Fallon Range of acres in the Stillwater and Fallon Featured in this issue: and Training Complex. National Wildlife refuges; the Job Nevada military land grab? pp.1-3 Peak, Stillwater Range and Clan Alpine Sen. Harris’ new land bills p. 3 Navy and Air Force Legislative wilderness study areas; segments along Most endangered river? p. 4 Environmental Impact Statements the Pony Express National Historic Trail; Yaudanchi Reserve pp. 5-6 the entire Monte Cristo Mountain range, In October 2018, the Air Force LWCF update p. 6 released its Final Legislative Environ- (highpoint Mt. Annie.) The Navy will Mono Basin sage grouse p.7 mental Impact Statement (LEIS) for the permanently close scenic Highway 361 Plumas Over-Snow plan p. 7 Nevada Test and Training Range’s South between Middlegate and Gabbs, Nevada, Awards: VWA & Special Service p. 8 (bombing) Range, which calls for tak- the primary paved access to famed Condor Trail acquisition p. 8 ing over much of the contiguous Desert Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park. Outings p. 9 National Wildlife Refuge--located a half We, the public, will lose access Muir Hut historic plaque p. 10 hour north of Las Vegas. The Air Force to hundreds of thousands of acres of Nevada wilderness trip p. 11 plans to take 400,000 acres, including our public lands if these withdrawals go Ocean wilderness p. 12 most of the Sheep Range--the very heart through. -- continued on page 2 Words Of the Wild December 2018 ment of Wildlife, Friends of Nevada Nevada military takeover threat Stillwater NWR is the Navy’s Bravo-20 Wilderness, the US Fish & Wildlife -- from page 1 bombing range, one of four major Service—nothing changed fom the draft to Background: bombing areas (Bravo-16, 17, 19 and 20) the final. The Air Force essentially ignored In fall 2016, strategically timed for within the existing 202,859-acre base. If 32,000 letters submitted by the public. when everyone’s attention was on the the Navy gets what they want, as detailed Environmentalists supported Alternative presidential election, the Navy and Air in their recent Draft Environmental 1, maintaining the status quo. But the final Force simultaneously released plans to Impact Statement, 74,000 acres within NTTR LEIS seeks to increase military withdraw almost one million acres of the Stillwater Range, Jobs Peak and operations and munitions use on the base public lands to expand bases in northern Clan Alpine Wilderness Study Areas by 30 percent. and southern Nevada. The Navy took will lose all wilderness study area status, Munitions include high altitude public comments for its central Nevada while 31,000 acres of additional lands computer guided warheads and air-to- Fallon Range and Training Complex ith wilderness character will also lose w ground tactical missiles; cluster bomb (FRTC) , while the Air Force released protection. its Draft LEIS for the Nevada Test and units (CBUs) such as the CBU 52-B which Training Range (NTTR), a half hour Desert National Wildlife Refuge, shreds and dismembers; CBU-87, a free- imperiled by Air Force Nevada Test & fall cluster composed of depleted radioac- north of Las Vegas. The preferred alternative for both Training Range Final LEIS . tive uranium that penetrates seven inches base expansions is essentially the same— of armor and dispenses 200+ bomblets Southern Nevada’s Desert National to take as much public land as possible over an area of roughly 800x400-ft; and Wildlife Refuge protects irreplaceable to expand warfare training capabilities the CBU-107, a guided bomb containing habitat for one of the largest populations and high-altitude air-to-ground bombing metal penetrator rods that can spread over of desert bighorn sheep in Nevada, a safety areas—hundreds of thousands of 15 acres. species that is dependent on the steep acres of public lands within the Great Additional impacts will include rugged terrain of the higher elevations Basin. These lands will be stripped of depleted uranium and unexploded ordi- for escape habitat and lambing grounds. refuge status and wilderness study area nance; subsonic and supersonic noise, (See WOW, April & Dec 2017) protections. Refuge and wilderness large caliber weapon noise, construction Despite objections raised by numer- lands previously absorbed into both noise, ground disturbance, threat emitter ous organizations during the Draft LEIS ranges have retained USFWS and operations, illuminated nighttime skies and review—Sierra Club, Nevada Depart- BLM oversight, but now the elimination of natural dark- military wants to take away ness over surrounding regions those protections completely-- now exceptionally free of light creating an uncertain future for pollution, including the east wilderness within every military scarp of Death Valley’s Grape- base across the country. vine Mountains; community Of the 1.6 million acres annoyance from sonic booms, set aside for the Desert National firing of heavy weaponry, and Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) in other noise affecting outlying 1936, an area of more than rural communities of Beatty, 800,000 acres was taken by Tonopah and Alamo; bird kills NTTR at the onset of WWII. in riparian areas from low Most of this land was agency- flying aircraft, mammal kills recommended wilderness from unexploded ordinance and managed as such. The (UXOs); and visual impacts to military now wants to remove scenic quality. all protections for these Road closures will lands; ultimately degrading include the entire Alamo Road wildlife habitat and biological north of Hidden Forest, the communities. They no longer only road between Indian want to be required to manage Springs and Alamo; Pine Can- our public lands so as to preserve yon Road, Pine Canyon Trail; the wilderness characteristics or White Rock Road and White habitat for imperiled species. Rock Canyon; Dead Horse Road and Dead Horse Trail- Navy Fallon Range expansion head; Saddle Mountain, Sheep proposal—comment by Jan. 15 Pass, Cabin Springs Road; Desert lake and Old Corn Less than ten miles north of -- continued on page 3 Words Of the Wild December 2018 2 Nevada military takeover - from Senator Harris introduces bills to protect page 2 Creek Road. California wild places Wildlife biologists will no longer -- by Steve Evans have access to the range and bighorn sheep habitat. Base expansion will Just days before Congress was Sen. Harris’ Northwest California scheduled to adjourn for 2018, California severely weaken management prac- Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Senator Kamala Harris introduced two tices and scale down our knowledge of Forests Act is a Senate companion bills to protect California wild public seasonal migration patterns, popula- measure to H.R. 6596, introduced by Rep. lands-- in southern California’s San tion sizes, and overall species health. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael/Eureka) Gabriel Mountains and in northwest in July 2018. (See WOW, Aug 2018) Fate of thse lands in up to Congress! California. It focuses on public lands in Trinity, Please write your Congressional Senator Harris’ San Gabriel Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino representatives: Mountains, Foothills, and River Protection Counties. The bill proposes 313,177 acres Act, introduced on Dec. 5, proposes of wilderness, wilderness additions, and Fate of the Desert Refuge and protection of 31,069 acres of new potential wilderness, along with nearly Fallon Range will now be in the wilderness and wilderness additions, 480 miles of wild and scenic rivers. hands of Congress. That means it plus 45.5 miles of wild and scenic rivers The bill also includes a 730,000-acre is up to us, the concerned public, to in the San Gabriel Mountains National special restoration area encompassing bring into play our great influence Monument and Angeles National Forest. the South Fork Trinity and Mad River on Congress, as citizen activists, The bill also expands the existing San watersheds and several other provisions, by fearlessly writing and calling our Gabriel Mountains National Monument by such as visitor centers in Del Norte and Representatives and Senators. For 109,143 acres to include the Big Tujunga Trinity Counties, old growth redwoods both these large expanses of wild and Pacoima watersheds and much of the restoration, restoring public lands public lands, our Representatives San Gabriel front country stretching west damaged by illegal marijuana cultivation, and Senators will make the final and north from Pasadena to Santa Clarita.