Military watchdog group blasts BLM's handling of Navy plan

Grace Potorti, executive director of the Reno-based Rural Alliance for Military Accountability, said the public suffers from the BLM's decision to process the Navy's request as a right-of-way issue rather than as a proposal to remove more public land for Navy use.

"If the BLM continues to allow the electronic warfare sites outside of Dixie Valley through a right-of-way process instead of ways that have public input and oversight, the public is cut out of the decision," she said.

"The warfare sites come with planes, and they are a forerunner of more military airspace grabs in Nevada."

In February, at the urging of groups as diverse as the Sierra Club and People For the West, which have been at odds on other public land issues such as mining and grazing, the BLM rejected the Navy's plans to withdraw more public land for the warfare sites.

At the time, BLM officials said they were forced to draw a line after years of allowing the Fallon Naval Air Station to take over more public land in Nevada.

But under the latest plan, the BLM would designate 4,000 acres of public land in five locations as preferred locations for the warfare sites.

Another 4.6 million acres would be potentially available to the sites, but 640,000 acres would be closed due to environmental concerns.

"Four sites in 4,000 acres or four sites in 5 million acres is not a very big impact upon the land," Fallon base spokeswoman Anne McMillin said, adding that federal law mandates environmental documentation.

The warfare stations simulate enemy surface-to-air missile bases, and are used by Navy pilots during training exercises.

The radar sites would come with support structures, including roads and power lines.

BLM State Director Bob Abbey has asked Navy officials to provide a comprehensive plan that addresses the management of all Navy facilities affecting public lands in central Nevada.

"Nevadans should raise their voices and stir up on this," Potorti said. "The public should be included in this decision. It's not over yet."

The earlier Navy plan drew unified opposition from the Sierra Club and People For the West.

The earlier plan also was opposed by officials in four rural counties and state officials.

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