Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin, and the Acting Secretary of the Interior, Scott de la Vega, requesting an update on interagency efforts to establish Intergovernmental Executive Committees (IEC) at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon in Northern Nevada and the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) in Southern Nevada. The legislation authorizing these committees was drafted by Senator Cortez Masto and cosponsored by Senator Rosen, and was approved as part of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“Specifically, the (NDAA) directs the creation and co-management of Intergovernmental Executive Committees (IEC) at both military bases, in order to facilitate the exchange of views, information, and advice relating to the management of natural and cultural resources with local, state, and tribal stakeholders,” said the Senators. “In addition, this law directs the creation of an Interagency Committee between the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to facilitate coordination, manage public access needs and requirements, and minimize potential management conflicts with respect to the joint operating areas within the NTTR and Desert National Wildlife Refuge.”
“These public forums will play a pivotal role in ensuring the proper management of shared public resources and for finding innovative solutions to land management issues,” the Senators continued.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
BACKGROUND:
The Intergovernmental Executive Committees (IEC) at both the Nevada Test and Training Range and the Naval Air Station Fallon will allow local, state and tribal governments a public forum to collaborate with the military in providing advice and exchanging information on the management of natural and cultural resources within local lands used for military purposes. In addition, the Interagency Committee between the Air Force and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) will help improve the administration and resolve conflict for NTTR’s jointly-managed lands that overlap with the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
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