Bureau of Land Management accuses Navy of misusing land

Saturday, Jan. 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Singlaub said Adm. B.J. Smith of the Fallon-based Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center refused to cancel a Friday exercise even though Singlaub told him that such low-altitude exercises were misusing public land.

But Navy spokesman Lt. Greg Hicks said Singlaub's comments were not being ignored and that the flights are being "redesigned" as a result of Singlaub's conversation with Smith.

"We're designing it now with those concerns in mind," Hicks said. "We made a mistake we're sorry for and we're correcting it now. The exercise will go from Navy-owned property to Navy-owned property."

The flights, which were going on all week over Churchill County, are designed to train advanced pilots to find SCUD missile launchers. They aren't compatible with civilian activities like mining and ranching, Singlaub said.

For that reason, the Navy has asked to withdraw about 130,000 acres of public land and 11,000 square miles of airspace over central Nevada for military use. That request is currently under federal environmental review.

"In the meantime, they are not allowed to conduct military operations out there, but they're doing it anyway," Singlaub said. "I'm trying to appeal to the Navy to obey the law. So far that hasn't worked. I'm very frustrated right now."

The incident is the latest in a long history of animosity between the BLM and the Navy. In September, Singlaub sent Smith a letter detailing several "flagrant violations," including the Navy's illegal use of "pyrotechnic devices" on public lands.

Smith, who assumed his duties at the center last summer, has told the BLM that he wants to foster better feelings and be a "good neighbor" to area residents.