Public airs concerns raised by training of pilots

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1998 | 11:14 a.m.

Many of the 1,200 residents of Indian Springs say the Air Force can keep its airspace for the cutting-edge training of fighter pilots as long as the military protects the area's drinking water and quits buzzing schools and horses.

That was the general tone of comments Monday as Air Force officials came to this small community about 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas for the first of seven public hearings. The officials are traveling around Nevada to hear the pros and cons regarding the environmental impact of keeping 3 million acres out of public hands.

The Air Force is asking Congress to extend the withdrawal of 3 million acres of high desert between U.S. 95 on the west, U.S. 93 on the east, Tonopah in the north to Indian Springs and the northern edge of Las Vegas in the south. Congress will make the decision by Nov. 6, 2001.

The area has provided friendly skies for fighter pilots since its withdrawal in 1940 as the Las Vegas Bombing and Gunnery Range. The Air Force is asking for either indefinite withdrawal of the land or up to 25 years of withdrawal with periodic reviews.

Jim Brauer teaches American and world history to middle-school students in Indian Springs between thunderous booms from jet fighters overhead.

"We suffer from topography," Brauer said Monday night, explaining that the surrounding mountains act as an amphitheater to concentrate sound in the valley. The Air Force let stands of trees, planted to buffer the community from noise, die.

As commanders change, so do the flight patterns over the community, said Brauer, a resident for more than 20 years.

"I'm a teacher, and I know it takes practice when you're learning," Brauer said, "but those pilots are practicing on us."

Volunteer firefighter and paramedic Terry Houpt said she worries about her well water and that of her neighbors if the Air Force continues to operate in Indian Springs.

J. Michael Bingham has lived and raised horses in Indian Springs for a little more than two years, but he paid $1,100 to the veterinarian this summer to calm down his show horses after noisy flyovers. "Who do we call?" he asked.

Col. Pat Sweeney, the hearing officer at the Indian Springs Community Center, said Bingham could file a claim after the hearing.

Because Indian Springs is a remote community and residents must make a long-distance call to Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas to complain about problems with noise or fumes, officials at the hearing offered a toll-free number: 1-800-859-3804.

"We must have a secure place to train," said Col. Bill Percival, commander of the range-management office for Indian Springs. "The 3 million acres we are asking to retain are absolutely critical for that mission."

Most of the U.S. fighter pilots who tasted combat in the Gulf War trained on the Nellis Range, Percival said.

While 3 percent of the land in question gets buzzed, bombed or strafed, the other 97 percent remains as pristine habitat for native plants and animals.

If Congress chooses to return that parcel to the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, miners, ranchers and recreationists could claim it, possibly disrupting Indian cultural sites, Percival said.

In addition, without the secure training area, 7,100 people in Clark County and another 300 in Nye County, which includes Indian Springs, would lose their jobs.

The second public hearing is scheduled to begin at 6:30 tonight at Eldorado High School, located at East Washington Avenue and Linn Lane.

The public may write and submit comments on the land withdrawal until Dec. 31. Comments may be sent to Nellis Air Force Base, P.O. Box 9919, Las Vegas, NV 89191-0919.