USAF Encroaching On Desert National Wildlife Refuge

Expansion threatens desert bighorn sheep

The U.S. Air Force wants a good chunk of land from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge 30 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It wants it to expand a nearby training and testing facility. In late August, the Defense Department unveiled plans to add 301,507 acres to the Nevada Test and Training Range near Indian Springs. The facility, a military proving ground, already covers more than 2.9 million acres. Roughly 278,000 acres of the range expansion would be carved from the federal wildlife refuge.

It’s home to productive desert bighorn sheep habitat in Nevada, including five highly sought-after Nevada Hunting Units, according to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. The expansion would restrict public access to hunting, angling, hiking, camping, and other forms of outdoor recreation. The Las Vegas Review Journal has the rest of the story. Desert National Wildlife Refuge photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife