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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explore the possibility of more flexibility in operations, the Air Force must fully document its purpose and needs for withdrawn lands in the NTTR.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.

The testing and training available at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), in southern Nevada, is considered crucial to the survival of U.S. military personnel and to the success of their missions. As a Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB), the NTTR also is a core element of Department of Defense (DoD) Test and Evaluation (T&E) infrastructure. 2.9 million acres of land have been withdrawn from public use for the NTTR, and the authorization for this withdrawal expires in November 2021. To renew the land withdrawal, the Air Force must submit a request to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A significant portion of the NTTR overlaps some land within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge that has been designated as proposed wilderness. This document provides background on the proposed wilderness designation; the limits that it places on Air Force training; and potential approaches to mitigating these limits that decision-makers should consider as part of, and even separately from, a strategy related to the renewal of the land-withdrawal authorization. The Air Force has several options for obtaining greater operational flexibility in the NTTR areas that are proposed as wilderness. All of these options would require working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and within official USFWS processes, to meet Air Force objectives.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Proposed Wilderness within the DNWR and Its Impact on NTTR Operations

• Chapter Three

  Air Force Options to Acquire More Operational Flexibility on DNWR Lands

• Chapter Four

  Conclusion

• Appendix A

  General Description of the NTTR

• Appendix B

  Background on U.S. Wilderness

• Appendix C

  Background on the National Wildlife Refuge System and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR)

• Appendix D

  Process for Determining What NWR Lands Should Be Wilderness