Expanded Air Force Training Area

[Anonymous]

FH emailed me about this yesterday....Like I told her I haven't heard specifically of this- but I know the military has been using areas down in that country for years for flight training- bombing runs...Years ago they cracked up that B-1 (I think it was- anyway one of the new stealths) and the Sheriff (Rusty Jardee) told me that they figured out the crew got busy chasing antelope- as that's what some of the other crews had indicated they liked to do on the low level flights....He said he always wondered what those planes were made of--because all the emergency folks that responded to the wreck had to get yearly blood tests and checkups for fear of what they may have touched or inhaled....

Our area up here for years (going back to WWII) has been used as a "bomb run" practice area...Used to even have a fake town built out west of us...They used "flour" filled bombs for practice...Cousin runs cows there now- and we did find some live 50 caliber ammo off and on out there- and quite a bit of empty brass- but the National Guards trained there too- and it could have been from them....

Then later in the 70's we were used for the B-52's practicing flying at low level altitudes...Only problem I ever saw was when I was riding to the crest of the hill on a young horse- and all of a sudden a B-52 flying about 100 feet above the ground appeared right in front of us....He did do a little jumping when he saw that- and then after it went over and the sound reached us....

We used to have B-52's and fighters taking off and landing right over the top of our cattle when the Base was here- and after a short time, they're so used to them they don't even notice them....

July 21, 2008 Phone: 406-672-8969; e-mail: [email protected]



U.S. Air Force Plans to Expand Powder River Training Complex;

Huge Impact on Cattle Producers in Mont., N. D., S.D., and Wyo.



Billings, Mont. – Cattle producers from areas of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming are invited to attend an informational meeting at 7 p.m. MDT on Monday, July 28, at 20 N. 8th St., in Miles City, Mont., concerning plans by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to expand the Powder River Training Complex (PRTC).



"You need to know how this could affect the operation of your ranch, the wildlife, the value of your land, and certainly the welfare of your livestock and/or farming operation, and it is important that you participate," urged longtime R-CALF USA Member Pat Goggins, who owns several large ranches in the PRTC area, as well as the Public Auction Yards in Billings and Billings Livestock Commission. "It's also important that homeowners, environmental stewards and sportsmen get concerned. This plan is detrimental to all aspects of life in this area as we know it."



Goggins said the plan is for the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command to use B1 and B52 bombers in the PRTC area for training missions, including high-altitude, sound-barrier breaking flights, and low-altitude runs down to within 500 feet of ground level. He said it also calls for night training missions where the use of flares could potentially start fires, as well as missions to drop training chaff to confuse radar transmissions. Flights could contain from four to 24 ships in a mission, covering from 37,800 square miles for high-altitude maneuvers, and 31,700 square miles of Military Operations Areas (MOAs) for low-altitude training, he added.



Goggins said major concerns include:



* Breaking the sound barrier, as well as low flight training, will be a disruption to livestock, wildlife and humans. In some documented cases in Nevada, under these same circumstances, the breed-up rate on cows dropped from 93 percent to under 50 percent, due to the stress caused by these training flights.



* Flares released during night training will potentially cause large-scale brush fires in the dry season. One percent of the flares released do not activate, placing live rounds onto ranches and roads, which would be activated, or disturbed, by human and livestock activity.



* Chaff dropped by these missions will be widespread on grazing land.



* Ranchers will be required – by law – to disclose whether this property is in the MOA training zone when leasing or selling their property, which could lead to the devaluation of said property.



* It would disrupt flights in and around the affected areas, estimated to be approximately 50 airports, leading to safety and economic concerns.



* There is nothing that prevents the USAF from significantly increasing the use of this training area well beyond what is understood now.



"You need to give your input and have a voice in what could be a disastrous decision by the U.S. Air Force, which will affect your livelihood," Goggins emphasized.



According to a May 29, 2008, notice published in the Federal Register by the Department of the Air Force, concerned citizens may send written comments about this proposed action – postmarked no later than Aug. 4 – to:

Ms. Linda DeVine

HQ ACC/A7PP

129 Andrews St., Room 317

Langley AFB, VA 23665-2769



"R-CALF believes the U.S. Air Force was ill-advised to proceed with this proposal, given the expansion's likelihood of negatively impacting productive agricultural and ranch land, as well as the negative impact on small communities and the rural communities supported by agriculture," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.



"R-CALF does, indeed, understand the importance of maintaining a strong military, but the potential elimination of a productive component of our nation's food-production industry, along with the involved small businesses, appears counterproductive," he asserted.



Montana counties included in the PRTC are: Big Horn, Carter, Custer, Fallon, Powder River, Rosebud, Treasure and Yellowstone, along with the Crow Reservation and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.



North Dakota counties included in the PRTC are: Adams, Billings, Bowman, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Morton, Sioux, Slope and Stark, along with the Standing Rock Reservation.



South Dakota counties included in the PRTC are: Butte, Corson, Hardin, Lawrence, Meade, Pennington, Perkins and Ziebach, along with the Standing Rock Reservation and the Cheyenne River Reservation.



Wyoming counties included in the PRTC are: Campbell, Crook, Sheridan and Weston.



Note: To view the May 29, 2008, Federal Register notice, visit the "Property Rights" link at www.r-calfusa.com.



# # #



R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.

 

[kolanuraven]

I know a fellow who was one of the ' responders' to the crash you mention OT.

Plus, in SoDak...we've been scared to death by those bombers sneaking up on us out on dig sites.

But, Goggins is the right and might big stick to swing at the problem...but I'm not sure there's really anything anyone can do about it.