Reid tries to block Air Force’s try for more space

Mark D. Preston

Friday, May 15, 1998 | 10:15 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Citing a need to preserve the "most pristine, rugged and spectacular country in the West," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he would try to block any attempts to expand Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho.

Mountain Home houses the 366th Composite Wing, a group of fighter jets, bombers and tankers. It has been under consideration for an expanded flight-training area since 1989.

The military already controls about 1,800 square miles of Northern Nevada air space that is directly related to Mountain Home. Under a proposal by Sen. Dirk Kempthorne, R-Idaho, another 125 square miles would be added.

Overall the military controls about 60 percent -- or 60,797 square miles -- of air space in Nevada, according to figures released by Reid's office.

Reid, a vocal defender of environmental issues, accused Kempthorne of placing language in this year's Department of Defense authorization bill "in the dark of night" to expand the base.

There have been four different plans submitted to expand Mountain Home's air space in the past nine years, but each has faced opposition from environmental groups, local Indian tribes and most recently by the Bureau of Land Management, which refused to endorse the latest plan in April.

"The decision to expand a bombing range and take more airspace for the federal government needs to be done in the light of day, not in the dark of night," said Reid, who was flanked by Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, at a Capitol Hill press conference.

"A public negotiating process has been underway for more than 10 years. It is disappointing now that the public has been railroaded out of the process, and we are committed to bringing them back to the table," Reid said.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., both said they support Reid's and Inouye's efforts to offer an amendment to the authorization bill striking Kempthorne's language.

Kempthorne disputed Reid's claims, saying there had been 16 public hearings in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon over the past 2 1/2 years to discuss the issue. The Idaho Republican also said his proposal has the support of President Clinton.

"The president's defense budget includes the funds for the training facility," Kempthorne said. "Is this stealth? The fact that the president put the funds in there? Everyone knew this is what we were going to do, that's what has been discussed.

"I don't understand why they're saying this."

Inouye, who serves as vice chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, said Mountain Home's expansion should not come at the expense of the "cultural rights and the religious rights of Native Americans.

"I have received literally dozens of letters from affected tribes telling me that in the midst of their religious ceremonies they have had to hit the ground, because the planes were flying so low and the sonic boom was so bad," Inouye said.

The Hawaii Democrat said it is important for today's lawmakers to think about the future when voting on environmental legislation.

"We do not have too many of these lands in the United States, and I think we owe it to ourselves and to those who will succeed us to keep this place pristine as it is at this moment," Inouye said. "I would hope that the Senate ... will take into consideration the cultural rights and religious rights of Indian country."