Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Alamosa, Colorado: Critics want closer look at Air Force training flights

Air Force officials came here Monday for feedback on a draft analysis of low-altitude training flights and were told the 224-page document didn't go far enough.

Public comment from the crowd of nearly 35 people stressed the need to conduct a more thorough study of the proposal, including a closer look at the environmental and economic impacts of the flights from New Mexico's Cannon Air Force Base over parts of Southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

In September, the base released a draft environmental assessment with a preferred option that would send 688 flights per year over an area that includes parts of three San Luis Valley counties and all of Chaffee County.

It also includes 12 Western Slope counties and much of northern New Mexico.

Col. Larry Munz emphasized the 60,700 square-mile training, which takes in all of the San Juan Mountains, was needed to keep crews challenged in planning their flights.

"They need to be challenged and they can't be complacent," he said.

Gaining that planning experience could not be accomplished if Cannon's crews had to stick to fixed routes, a process Munz called "sterile training."

The proposed flights of CV-22 and C-130 aircraft would fly 10 percent of their mission at an elevation of 300 feet to 500 feet above ground while 40 percent would be flown between 500 feet and 999 feet.

The draft study said the noise impacts, which could include sounds as loud as 98 decibels, would not be significant.

But it also noted that people with autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, or schizophrenia could be strongly affected by sudden noises.

Michael Trujillo Sr., a military veteran and Conejos County resident, said he worried the flights would impact other veterans living up Conejos Canyon, which sits in the training ground.

He and at least four other speakers called for the Air Force to conduct an environmental impact statement, a longer and more thorough analysis used to comply with federal environmental law.

Impacts to wildlife, including predators, the Gunnison sage grouse, and deer and elk were mentioned as animals that were given short shrift.

Moreover, those impacts could carry over to affect hunting, while damage to the area's solitude could scare off back-country recreation, said Alamosa resident Dave Montgomery.

"This is an economic blow," he said, adding that the analysis should address it.

Christine Canaly, director of the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council said the study failed in its examination of alternatives to the proposed training area, a practice that's required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

"I've seen better (environmental assessments) than this get thrown out in court," she said.

Others, while not addressing the study itself, felt the flights were necessary.

Dr. John McMillan of Alamosa compared them to a local mosquito district, which can be noisy and annoying but protects residents from disease.

"Islamic terrorists are also a disease that could kill us," he said

Although McMillan's assertion was disputed by three other speakers who questioned the linking of the threat to the proposed training ground, he was joined in supporting the flights by Dan McCann.

"For a few flights a day, I could care less," the veteran and Alamosa resident said. "These people put it on the line."

Air Force officials will host a 6 p.m. meeting Wednesday at Central High School in Pueblo and another in Colorado Springs Thursday.

While those communities, like Alamosa, sit outside the proposed training area, Lt. Stephanie Strine said the Air Force wanted to return to cities where meetings were held last year on the issue because residents there were still concerned.

http://www.chieftain.com

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