Protected federal lands help national security (Desert Sun)
Desert SunAugust 8th, 2017 6:04 pm...Secretary Zinke’s decision about the fate of five national monuments in southern California could impact the ongoing viability of military facilities critical to training and supporting our troops.
A recent report by the Sonoran Institute showed 80 percent of military operations in this region occur on or over federal lands. These include reserved airspace for military that must be restricted from certain types of development on land below, and military facilities that are buffered from incompatible development by federal lands adjacent to their boundaries.
According to the Sonoran Institute’s analysis, about 1.6 million acres of the Mojave Trails National Monument lie beneath Military Special Use Airspace flight training corridors. Additionally, over 17,000 acres of the National Monument provide a mile-wide cushion between Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center and encroachment...