In response to requests from Senator Martin Heinrich (NM), Senator Ben Ray Lujan (NM), Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) and from Senator Mark Kelly (AZ) and Representative Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), the Air Force has extended the public comment period for an additional 30 days on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for its proposal to expand airspace for its Arizona missions. In their letters to the Air Force, the lawmakers said that "[a]n extension is crucial to ensuring our constituents are afforded the opportunity to provide meaningful comments on the proposal." The Air Force has extended the comment deadline from October 9 to November 12, 2024.

"We thank the New Mexico delegation for listening to communities in southwest New Mexico who are working hard to submit comments to the Air Force on this harmful proposal. We need more time to review and understand the 858 pages of technical analyses contained in the draft EIS and appendices in order to develop substantive input on how these proposed airspace changes will affect us," said Allyson Siwik, Executive Director of Gila Resources Information Project and a partner in the Peaceful Gila Skies coalition.

The lawmakers also raised specific concerns about proposed changes allowing combat training down to 100 feet AGL in the New Mexico Bootheel and southeast Arizona and lowering the floor for supersonic flights down to 5000 feet above ground level. Additionally, they raised concerns about proposals to allow the use of flares at a proposed 2,000 feet AGL, down from the current 5,000 feet AGL, "creating a dangerous threat of fires in hard-to-reach terrain."

Conservation organizations in New Mexico and Arizona continue to express their serious concerns with the Air Force proposal that will cause extreme noise and sonic booms above rural communities and tribal and public lands, including some of the Southwest's most fragile sky-island ecosystems, and beloved wilderness areas and national monuments, increase wildfire risk, and pollute the environment with chaff.

"It's great to have more time to comment on the Air Force draft Environmental Impact Statement. There are so many gaps and so little quality analysis that it's like we're having to do the Air Force's job for them," said Todd Schulke, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity and partner in the Peaceful Gila Skies coalition. "It's also good to have more time for rural and tribal communities that will be most affected by this egregious proposal," added Schulke.

Conservation organizations will tell the Air Force that expanding military combat training over rural communities and tribal and public lands is not acceptable. The Air Force should restrict its lower elevation and supersonic flights, and other combat training, such as dropping chaff and flares, to the Barry M. Goldwater Range where it's already happening. The Air Force must not shift the burden of risk to rural and tribal communities in southern AZ and SWNM.

More information is available at:
Peaceful Gila Skies – https://peacefulgilaskies.com/
Peaceful Chiricahua Skies - https://peacefulchiricahuaskies.com/