Desert National Wildlife Refuge talking points

Birghorn Sheep

Nevada's largest population of Desert Bighorn Sheep, Nevada's state mammal and a threatened species
under the Endangered Species Act, is threatened by the proposed military expansion into the Desert 
National Wildlife Refuge. Photo: Jon Avery/USFWS

Topline (most important) Talking Points

  • National defense is important but so is balance of conservation. It is important that our military have places to train, but it is also important to balance national defense with conservation and wildlife where that opportunity is possible;

  • The Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) in Southern Nevada currently encompases 2.9 million acres. The Air Force has complete fly-over access to the entire Desert Wildlife Refuge and more. A proposal to take primary control of an additional 300,000 acres of the Refuge will comprise critical wildlife habitat and erase popular outdoor recreational access;

  • 88% of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (1.4 million acres) was recommended for wilderness by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1970s. Known as the best remaining undisturbed example of a diverse Mojave Desert/mountain ecosystem, the Desert National Wildlife Refuge should continue to be managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve its high quality wild landscapes, and protect the abundant amount of wildlife that thrive in this wild corner of southern Nevada. The network of graded roads and structures the military proposes would destroy the precious wilderness qualities that this area currently possesses.

  • At ~452,000 acres, the Sheep Range is the single largest remaining intact, undeveloped landscape in Nevada. The military expansion would destroy its integrity as a sanctuary for bighorn and other wildlife. The Sheep Range should be designated wilderness.

 

About the Desert National Wildlife Refuge

  • At 1.6 million acres the DNWR is the largest wildlife Refuge in the lower 48 with habitat values initially recognized since 1936.

  • The DNWR is the largest swath of land, mostly untouched by modern humans, in the lower 48. There are very few roads or signs of mining and no oil or gas development. It is also unique due to its pristine nature and proximity to a large urban area.

  • The large size of the Refuge, tremendous range of elevation (about 8,000 feet) and long history of protection, make the Desert Refuge a mosaic of nearly every ecological community that occurs in southern Nevada preserved in as wild of a condition as possible. The Desert National Wildlife Refuge boasts a wide range of elevation, topography, and rainfall resulting in a wide range of habitat, wildlife and plant biodiversity.

  • The extensive Wilderness proposals checkered throughout the refuge are the largest and most wild landscapes in Nevada.

About the Nellis Test and Training Range

  • National defense is important but so is balance of conservation. It is important that our military have places to train but it is also important to balance national defense with conservation and wildlife where that opportunity is possible.

  • The Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) in Southern Nevada is currently comprised of 2.9 million acres. The Air Force has complete fly-over access to the entire Desert Wildlife Refuge and more. A proposal to take primary control of an additional 300,000 acres of the Refuge will comprise critical wildlife habitat, erase popular outdoor recreational sites and is, also, totally inappropriate.

  • The “South Range” of the Air Force controlled Nevada Testing and Training Range, which overlaps with the Refuge, already contains 74 target complexes and approximately 1,363 targets.

  • Similar lands can be utilized for military purposes elsewhere adjacent to the NTTR. Let’s not destroy “untrammeled” public lands within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.

  • The Air Force and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service share jurisdiction of 850,000 acres in the western portion of the Refuge that is being used for the sole purposes of training. These areas are already closed to the public and largely closed to US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists. Restricting public access to an additional 300,000 acres would result in a permanent loss of outdoor recreation that hundreds of visitors to this region currently enjoy including hikers, hunters, and Boy Scout troops.

  • Concurrently with this process, the Fallon Naval Air Station is looking at taking over 600,000 additional acres of public lands.

  • The Nellis Test and Training Range received primary jurisdiction of 112,000 acres of public land in the last withdrawal. The Air Force has the ability to bomb these places at will. These exercises has made a permanent and lasting negative impact on the land.

 

Fish & Wildlife Service Proposed Wilderness

  • 88% of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, 1.4 million acres was recommended for wilderness by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1970’s. Known as the best remaining undisturbed example of a diverse Mojave Desert/mountain ecosystem, the Desert National Wildlife Refuge should continue to be managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve its high quality wild landscapes, and protect the abundant amount of wildlife that thrive in this wild corner of southern Nevada. The military expansion could allow for an entire new network of graded roads and structures to be built, an action that would destroy the precious wilderness qualities that this area currently possesses.

Archeological Resources

  • The Desert National Wildlife Refuge current management protects the rich cultural history found in the region. Native Americans have lived in the area for over 12,000 years and evidence of their presence remains throughout the Refuge today in the form of rock shelters, camps, rock art, hunting blinds, ancient artifacts, and agave roasting pits.

  • Extensive emigrant and mining history is also evident in the area including the historic 1800s wagon trails known today as the Alamo Road and the Mormon Well Road. Alamo Road connects the Las Vegas Valley to Alamo, NV and the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge on the northern end of the Desert Refuge.

  • Over 200 cultural sites have already been lost from the portion of the Refuge overlaid with the NTTR. Further expanding the NTTR into the Desert National Wildlife Refuge could vaporize countless archaeological sites and resources – those known and those yet to be discovered.

  • The Sheep Mountain Archaeological Site, registered on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, covers 80% of the Sheep Range in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Because of its protective status and remote location, the cultural sites within this area remain intact. The Air Force proposed addition that would withdraw 50% of the Sheep Range significantly damaging and most likely destroy priceless cultural artifacts and sites.

Wildlife Habitat

  • The Desert National Wildlife Refuge protects irreplaceable habitat for one of the largest populations of desert bighorn sheep in Nevada. This iconic species is extremely intolerant of human interference and dependent on the steep rugged terrain of the higher elevations for escape habitat and lambing grounds. The military expansion of 300,000 additional acres could permanently displace bighorn sheep from seasonally crucial habitat, disrupt lambing in some areas, and dramatically affect population numbers and survival rates. The expansion could also reduce their seasonal migration routes that are dependent upon cross valley movements from one mountain range to the other.

  • Removing access for wildlife biologists to what is traditional bighorn sheep habitat will severely weaken management practices and scale down our knowledge of seasonal migration patterns, population sizes, and overall species health.

  • Loss of habitat would also affect mammal populations. Species with the smallest home ranges and least mobility (rabbits, gophers, and other small mammal species) would be permanently displaced and larger, carnivorous animals would lose a big part of their prey base.

Biological Diversity

  • There are 500 species of plants that thrive due to the diverse life zones that are found in the Desert Refuge ecosystem. There are seven life zones in the Refuge that range from the typical Mojave Desert saltbrush valley floors to the expansive ponderosa pine forests and ancient bristlecone pines that exist in the higher elevations. The expansion of military jurisdiction over the majority of the Sheep Range would unravel these delicate ecosystems.

  • Because of unpredictable moisture, many desert plants grow slowly. As a result of this slow growth process, plant communities recover slowly – if at all – from any form of disturbance. Loss of these plant communities represents a significant and irreplaceable loss of habitat for a wide variety of species including animal species small and large. The extreme conditions of the desert ecosystem here provide little wiggle room for displaced wildlife species to move. A long-term loss of cover, feeding, and nesting habitat would dramatically affect the 250+ species of native and migratory bird species, resulting in a significant loss of bird diversity and density.

  • Military expansion would significantly impact the 53 species of mammals, 30 species of reptiles, and 250+ species of birds that live in the area. Sensitive, threatened, and endangered species include the desert tortoise, the white bearpoppy, the banded Gila monster, and the delicate rock daisy would be placed in further danger.

Recreational Values

  • The southernmost boundary of the new expanse is just north of the road that provides access to Hidden Forest. This serves as a popular, easy backpacking trip with the destination being a historic cabin that was recently renovated. It is also a good hiking destination as Wiregrass Spring near the cabin has reliable, annual water.

  • Hayford and Sheep peak are popular hiking destinations in the Refuge being the tallest and second tallest mountains on the Range

  • The sand dunes on the northern section are picturesque landforms that are uncommon in Southern Nevada. These dunes are some of the last protected sand dunes in Nevada.

  • Alamo Road is one of the longest backcountry roads in Southern Nevada and connects Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge to the refuge.

  • Hunting for Bighorn Sheep is one of the area’s primary recreational values. Sportsmen’s groups and the NDOW have invested a lot of time and money on guzzlers, artificial water developments, to help wildlife survive dry seasons.

  • In addition to its premier task of conserving wildlife, the Refuge System also manages six wildlife-dependent recreational uses: Hunting, Fishing, Wildlife Observation, Photography, Environmental Education and Interpretation

Impacts of preferred alternative

  • The US Air Force’s preferred proposal eliminates 850,000 acres of proposed Wilderness, that’s 60% of what has been proposed as Wilderness.

  • If the US Air Force obtains their preferred alternative, they would essentially take about 1.2 million acres from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge which includes the Desert/NTTR overlap and the expanded lands.

  • In total the Air Force would like to construct 115 miles of fence which would “adversely impact the undeveloped quality of remaining areas proposed for wilderness” inevitably “… fragmenting wildlife habitat, creating barriers for wildlife movement, causing injury to large mammals that run into or get caught in the fence…” as told in the words of the LEIS.

  • The Air Force proposal includes a lot of development and infrastructure in one of the most pristine areas in Nevada. This includes at least 15, 0.5 acres pads for threat emitters, multiple roads, 60 miles of fence, and two runways, each 6,000 feet long and 90 feet wide, solely in the Sheep Range expansion!

  • Due to threat emitter sites, road construction, and ground warfare simulation, the US Air Force expects to disturb many acres of land. Their LEIS states, “ground disturbance has the potential to result in an expansion of invasive annual grass that could result in increased wildfire risk. Reduced access for the purposes of safety and security into this area could increase or delay response times, which could result in larger fires.” After seeing the damage caused by the Carpenter 1 fire of 2013, can we really afford another large scale wildfire?

  • The Air Force is seeking to increase ground warfare simulation as well as insertion and extraction practices. These activities include digging trenches, travelling cross-county using all-terrain vehicles and using training ammunition, hand flares and smoke grenades.

  • The Air Force does state that they will attempt to restore temporarily disturbed lands in the construction process. They also admit that “restoring the natural pre-disturbance visual character of a desert environment is extremely difficult, can take decades, and often unsuccessful.” This doesn’t sound like a full commitment to stewarding the land.

  • The Desert Refuge’s skies are dark in contrast to the bright lights of Las Vegas, which is only 20 miles away. Nevada’s dark skies are celebrated but the Air Force accepts that they will “…introduce new lighting sources that could permanently affect the natural night skies through the creation of light pollution and sky glow.”

 

Wildlife/Habitat impact

  • The proposed increase in fencing and road construction will fragment habitat creating isolated populations that can lead to inbreeding and a decline in overall health of wildlife populations such as the bighorn sheep, Nevada’s state animal.

  • Proposed expansion will hinder the Nevada Department of Wildlife to monitor, maintain and improve water developments (guzzlers) in the expanded range.

  • There are six big game guzzlers and five improved springs in the proposed NTTR expansion. The expansion would limit the Nevada Department of Wildlife and US Fish & Wildlife Service staff from monitoring and maintaining these vital water sources for wildlife.

Recreational Impact

  • The 72 mile long Alamo road would be closed to public use through the northern part of the Refuge. All hiking, photography, birding and other recreational activities would be closed just north of the Hidden Forest Road to Paharanagat Valley.

  • Southern Nevada’s population will continue to increase while placing pressures on open space and public lands. Closing off the northern part of the Refuge will place even more pressures on Red Rock Canyon NCA and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Areas that often close to additional visitors on busy holidays.

 

Economic impact

  • The expansion proposal also negatively impacts southern Nevada’s recreational economy due to closures of access. Their analysis shows that 2.2 million dollars will be taken from the recreational use economy.

  • Payment In Lieu of Taxes loss to Nye county due to expansion of the NTTR will result in a $9,000 loss. $128,000 economic loss may occur due to reduction of an existing grazing allotment.

US Air Force Purpose/Needs

  • The proposal does not ask for any changes to airspace. Currently the Air Force maintains 12,000 square nautical miles, about double the size of the state of Massachusetts. The proposal solely focuses on the ability to use the land of the Desert Refuge.

  • Although this proposal does not include the development of new “active bombing” sites and states that the LEIS does not preclude the creation on new “active bombing” sites if future DoD requirements change. Leaving the option open to create new bombing sites as they deem necessary.