US Congress Should Block Trump Admin Plan To Seize Land For Bombing Range - Advocacy Group

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2018) The US Congress should prevent the Trump administration from carrying out a plan to seize hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the state of Nevada to expand a Navy bombing range, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a press release on Friday.

"It's outrageous that the Trump administration wants to ram another military takeover of public lands down our throats," said Patrick Donnelly, Nevada state director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Congress shouldn't let Trump seize hundreds of thousands of acres of public land so the military can drop bombs on our cherished wildlife and wild places."

The US Navy on Thursday unveiled a plan to seize nearly 619,000 acres of public land in the city of Fallon, Nevada, in order to triple the size of bombing ranges at the Fallon Naval Air Station and expand the Air Force's nearby Nevada Test and Training Range.

The Navy published a notice regarding the expected environmental impact of the plan in the Federal Register, giving the public 60 days from Friday to comment on the document.

The Center for Biological Diversity said the plan, along with other expansion proposals would amount to a military land grab of some 1.75 million acres of public land and would endanger local wildlife.

The advocacy group noted that the plan would carve off lands from the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, two territories that host important desert springs and are natural habitats for mule deer and birds of prey such as golden eagles.

The group also complained that the comment period for the plan was limited to just 60 days, which is far shorter than the 90 days that is normally allowed for the public to provide feedback on such proposals, particularly one involving such a lengthy document.