Conservationists Oppose USAF Proposal for Low-level and Supersonic Airspaces

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Click for full "News Release" (2-page PDF) and formal "Scoping Comments" (16-pages)

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Conservation Groups Oppose Air Force Proposal for Low-level Supersonic Airspace Over Southern Arizona and Southwest New Mexico

Thirty-four organizations in New Mexico and Arizona submitted comments to the Air Force on Friday expressing their serious concerns with its proposal to authorize low-level fighter jet maneuvers as low as 100 feet above ground level (AGL) and supersonic flights as low as 5,000 feet AGL in southern Arizona and southwest New Mexico.

Federal public lands in Arizona and New Mexico that could be affected by the Air Force proposal include:

  • four National Forests (Gila, Apache-Sitgreaves, Tonto, Coronado),
  • 12 US Forest Service Wilderness Areas;
  • 3 US Forest Service Wilderness Study Areas;
  • 18 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wilderness Areas,
  • 9 BLM Wilderness Study Areas,
  • 22 BLM Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC),
  • 4 BLM Research Natural Areas (RNA);
  • 1 BLM Riparian National Conservation Area (Gila Box);
  • 4 National Wildlife Refuges (Buenos Aires, Leslie Canyon, San Bernardino, and Bill Williams River)
  • and 2 National Monuments (Chiricahua National Monument and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument).

Additionally, 83 miles of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the Catwalk National Recreation Trail could be impacted.

 [Click for "full News Release" (2-page PDF) and formal "Scoping Comments" (16-pages)


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