Desert National Wildlife Refuge Under Attack by USAF, East of Area 51

Check this org out on Facebook, support their fight against this land-grab:
www.facebook.com...

a reply to: FosterVS

The fifth and final "scoping meeting" was held in Las Vegas, October 20th.
www.reviewjournal.com...

There are ramifications here that perhaps people don't realize:
"The proposed action also would renew — perhaps indefinitely — the military’s hold on all the land previously withdrawn from public use for the test range under a congressional decree set to expire in 2021."

This is the email the USAF just sent out. I'm interleaving the links with the text, so this may look a bit odd.

Subject: Nevada Test and Training Range Land Withdrawal Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement Public Review Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2017 05:28:33 +0000
To whom it may concern, The Air Force has published a Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Nevada Test and Training Range Land Withdrawal. The publication of the NOA began a 90-day public comment period which will end on 8 March, 2018. The Draft Legislative EIS and supporting documents are available on the project website at

www.nttrleis.com...

The Draft Legislative EIS is also available at various libraries and repositories - a list of locations is also provided on the project website. The Air Force plans to hold five public hearings from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the dates and at the locations listed below. During the meetings, the Air Force will provide information on the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed action and solicit public comments on the Draft LEIS. *Wednesday, January 17, 2018: Caliente Elementary School, 289 Lincoln Street, Caliente, NV 89008
*Thursday, January 18, 2018: Pahranagat Valley High School, 151 S. Main Street, Alamo, NV 89001
*Tuesday, January 23, 2018: Aliante Hotel, 7300 Aliante Parkway, North Las Vegas, NV 89084 *Wednesday, January 24, 2018: Beatty Community Center, 100 A Avenue South, Beatty, NV 89003 *Thursday, January 25, 2018: Tonopah Convention Center, 301 Brougher Avenue, Tonopah, NV 89049

The agenda for each public hearing is as follows:
*5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. - Open House and written comment submission
*6:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. - Air Force Presentation
*7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Public Hearing/Oral Comments

The project website

www.nttrleis.com...

can be used to submit comments on the Draft Legislative EIS or comments may also be submitted by mail to the 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, 4430 Grissom Ave., Ste. 107, Nellis AFB, NV 89191. Please direct any requests for information or other inquiries to the 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, 4430 Grissom Ave., Ste. 107, Nellis AFB, NV 89191, by e-mail at
[email protected]

, or by phone at (702) 652-2750. Thank you, Michael Ackerman

www.basinandrangewatch.org...

www.desertreport.org...

www.ngis.org...

I am working on a list of sites/sights located in that area that will no longer be accessible after the land grab.

Here is a link to a polygon plugin I made for Google Earth, which defines the area they are grabbing:
NTTR Land Grab

a reply to: FosterVS

They picked the grab so it doesn't block the good road to Tikaboo. There is a short cut but the road is rougher.

There is precedent for allowing civilians to drive on military reserves with the rule that you can't stop on the road. That is the case at Stonewall Peak. Actually they stole that peak, but you can get nearly the same view from a nearby peak.

When I first drove to Stonewall, i could see the border on my car GPS. I logged the gate way point and drove all the way back to Tonopah to discuss this with the BLM. They told me I could cross the border to reach the free territory but not stop on the road. Note this is just crossing the NTTR, not the Groom Lake restricted border.

These dunes are in the new restricted area.
dunes

www.lazygranch.com...

I did my first visit to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in anticipation of the USAF stealing it. The link has a few comments and photos, though not a finished product.

originally posted by: gariac
www.lazygranch.com...

I did my first visit to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in anticipation of the USAF stealing it. The link has a few comments and photos, though not a finished product.

Just finished the same trail. Looks like we took pictures of the exact same things.
I did get some pics of part of "Gotham City" with my 400mm lens, which I will post when I return home.
Like you advised me, that road is mainly rocks. So make sure if you plan on driving it you have good tires (and at least 1 good spare), and I would suggest deflating them some.

a reply to: FosterVS

If I had to add anything to what I put on that page, visitors don't seem to go beyond the stretch of Alamo Rd. that parallels 95. I don't particularly see why they would camp along that stretch. Maybe the sunset is nice. But it doesn't seem remote enough to make the trip worth it. Then again some are in motor homes and aren't equipped to really go off road.

If you deflate, make sure you have a pump to inflate again. I keep a hand pump in the truck. An alternative would be to have a few of those electric pumps. (Those electric pumps are not the most reliable devices.) I'm using 10 ply tires. The rangers (FWS) do the same.

If you were to camp out there, I'd get some tracks off of ADSBexchange and try to camp under the early morning Janet flight path. Probably better would be to camp at an area that overlooks the dry lake since Nellis does fly there. But it would be much less hassle to park on the east side of the dry lake. You basically take the road to Tikaboo but don't make the hairpin curve. You should stay away from the dry lake itself unless you have a second vehicle.

I didn't camp out there, home base was Vegas for about 4 days. There are a few spots along the trail to camp, I can't imagine hauling or driving an RV on that road. I didn't make it all the way to the dry lake, I retreated just before it, I had enough of that road for one day.

I should have pointed out about deflating, I have a new Costco pump that plugs in my lighter, and an old one as a spare. Normally the Goodyear Wrangler Authority E load rated tires I have on my truck are at 70 psi for hauling my RV. I deflated them to 35, I could have probably gone even lower. These tires ride like a tank on pavement, 70 psi on that road would have been torture.

Your last paragraph I assume means coming down from the north via Alamo.

a reply to: FosterVS

I was thinking you meant deflate like when you drive on sand. That is something you might want to do at the dry lake. I just get the creepy feeling when you feel the vehicle sink. If you don't air down before you hit the sand, just keep moving!

I ran mine at 38psi. I leave the display in the console on the tire pressure page. Only once did that ever turn out to be useful. It was a case of a triangle stone in between the tread.

a reply to: gariac

So they don't send a monkey with water anymore if you get lost in the sand dunes?

originally posted by: Cauliflower
a reply to: gariac

So they don't send a monkey with water anymore if you get lost in the sand dunes?

I assume there is an inside joke here.

This is Nevada. You are allowed to do stupid stuff. That said, doesn't expect the calvary. You are on your own.

When they were searching for the Ballarat Bandit, I recall someone from Nye County saying "We can't find people that want to be found."

"FINAL NEVADA TEST AND TRAINING RANGE REPORT EXPECTED IN OCTOBER"
www.lccentral.com...