Sacrificing the Sonoran Desert?

Apparently the US military is evaluating a portion of Arizona's Sonoran desert for additional training grounds. (Because you never can tell when another ugly war might come calling.) And when the term portion is used, we mean up to half a million acres of delicate habitat.

PEER link

ARMY LOOKING AT BIG EXPANSION OF ARIZONA TRAINING GROUNDS — Half Million Acres of Public Land May Be Put Off-Limits


Tucson — The U.S. Army is considering a large expansion of Yuma Proving Ground firing range, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The action would remove as many as 500,000 acres of U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land from public access.

The Army is considering whether to propose converting between 100,000 and 500,000 acres of BLM public lands in Yuma, La Paz and Maricopa Counties into an expanded firing range for the Yuma Proving Ground. According to Val Morill of the Army’s Range Sustainability program:

Apparently prior protections for this region may be out the window. This quote says it all:

“The Army says it needs more space to shoot bigger weapons that fire farther than ever,”