The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contains both victories and disappointments on the environmental front. A number of important conservation measures affecting public lands in Washington, Colorado, Arizona and California were stripped from the final agreement. But lawmakers also rejected efforts by the Navy and Air Force for a major expansion of their control of public lands near bases in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada. The proposal for the Air Force to control over a million acres of Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge was rejected. Paul Spitler, Director of Wilderness Policy at the Wilderness Society issued the following comments on the 2021 NDAA – legislation that has won approval by a joint House-Senate committee.
“We are pleased that Congress strongly rejected efforts by the Air Force and Navy to take over vast tracts of public land, including the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. As important as military readiness is, these lands have far too high ecological, cultural, and recreational values to be turned into bombing ranges. We thank Nevada’s Congressional delegation for their leadership in defending Nevada’s public lands. Now, Congress must finish the job and ensure that eligible lands within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge are permanently protected as wilderness.”
In a loss for conservation advocates, bills that would have protected wilderness and public lands within four western states were removed the final agreement (including land in and around Browns Canyon).
