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The Impact of Proposed Wilderness on Air Force Operations in the NTTR Should Be Addressed During the Land Withdrawal Renewal Process

• Because of use restrictions imposed by proposed wilderness on the DNWR, there are desired range activities that cannot be conducted on some lands in the NTTR.
• Although the proposed wilderness technically is separate from the withdrawal issue, dealing with the issue now may provide the Air Force an opportunity to gain flexibility in its operations, which is important for future operations and missions of the NTTR
• Management of refuges and of proposed wilderness is complicated, and involves many players. In order to encourage support for renewal of the land withdrawal and explore the possibility of more flexibility in operations, the Air Force must fully document its purpose and needs for withdrawn lands in the NTTR.

USAF Has a Range of Approaches to Acquire Operational Flexibility on NTTR's DNWR Lands

• It could try to get USFWS to withdraw the wilderness proposal for the part of the DNWR lands falling within the NTTR.
• It could work with the USFWS to have the USFWS include more of the USAF operational considerations in the DNWR Complex Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) implementation of the "revised proposal" for the DNWR proposed wilderness areas.
• It could work with USFWS to revise the 1997 memorandum of understanding regarding the DNWR.
• It could work with the USFWS to have USFWS conduct a minimum requirements analysis (MRA) for DNWR management activities.
• It could try to get the USFWS to conduct a wilderness review process to see if NTTR's DNWR lands still are suitable for the wilderness designation.
• It may be possible to explore with USFWS the possibility of transferring primary jurisdiction to the Air Force of other areas considered crucial to maintaining testing and training capabilities.