COMMENTARY: Air Force plan bad for wildlife refuge

I joined the military a few weeks before 9/11. Eventually, I deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom as a sniper with the U.S. Army First Infantry Division. In between sniper missions and house raids, I found beauty in the Iraqi landscape, as strange as it sounds. The sunsets after a dust storm and the endless starscape stretching across the night sky sometimes left our entire platoon speechless. These places even reminded me of public lands I explored as a kid in the United States.

Like many soldiers who have been in combat, I struggled with my transition home after returning from Iraq. The only thing that seemed to help with my trauma was immersing myself into the wilderness. And I know I’m not alone in this. For many veterans, time outdoors in public lands plays a massive role in our mental and physical recovery from the stress of living in a war zone.

Without our national parks, wilderness areas and wildlife refuges, I would not be alive today. That is why I’m disappointed that the military institutions I served under are attempting to cut off public access to some of the most treasured wild areas of America.

That is exactly what the Department of Defense intends to do with the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, just north of Las Vegas. It is the largest wildlife refuge outside Alaska, and it is home to amazing animals such as the desert bighorn sheep. Now, the U.S. Air Force is attempting to expand Nellis Air Force Base and wall off this natural wonder to the public. This action would also deny local native tribes access to their cultural lands.

Most recently, the House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment by a Utah congressman that would hand more than 800,000 acres of the refuge to the Air Force. This is a massive decision that was made on behalf of Nevadans without the consultation of a single resident of Nevada. That is unacceptable.

I have major concerns about this expansion for many reasons. First, the Air Force already controls 2.9 million acres for the Nevada Test and Training Range, a sprawling expanse of public land that has been withdrawn for military use. These lands provide ample opportunity for aerial gunnery, flight testing and other military readiness activities. With so much public land already available to the Air Force, there is no need for the dramatic expansion into the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.

I’m also concerned that the military will have access to the land with very little oversight. Potential uses for the land include, but are not limited to bombing, erecting new structures, new roads and using major military vehicles on environmentally regulated land. This would disturb much of the wildlife and plant life in the area. Our sagebrush prairies, mountain vistas and white-water rivers are part of our national identity — we must protect them.

Veterans, like myself, have been impacted by the trauma of war. Access to public lands is one of the few things that kept me sane after returning to civilian life. It’s disappointing that the military would now take that solace away from me. Not only are many veterans opposed to this action, many Nevadans at large are as well. The Nevada Legislature unanimously approved a resolution opposing the expansion.

The Nevada congressional delegation has been standing up against the military expansion into our public lands. But this fight is not over yet, and I hope they will continue to do the hard work of protecting the Desert National Wildlife Refuge when the National Defense Authorization Act comes to the House floor.

Many Americans believe military readiness is important, but so is protecting access to our public lands — especially for the vets like me who served our country. We must defend the Desert National Wildlife Refuge for the benefit of America’s veterans and everyone who enjoys our public lands.

— Garett Reppenhagen is executive director of Veterans for Peace.