[CPEO-MEF] Air Force, Marines Are Key Players In Pronghorn Protection

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Arizona
ARIZONA CAPITOL TIMES
Air Force, Marines Are Key Players In Pronghorn Protection
Endangered Antelope Make Home On Goldwater Range
By Arthur H. Rotstein
October 28, 2003

It’s not yet sunrise but Pam Landin’s day is already swinging into high
gear on the Barry M. Goldwater Range in southern Arizona.

She has hiked 200 feet up a rocky slope to a ledge on Observation Point
Echo, overlooking a vast flat landscape where Air Force pilots routinely
practice bombing runs. With binoculars and a high-powered scope she
searches the desert below for endangered Sonoran pronghorns.

The presence of any of the deer-like animals within three kilometers of
a nearby array of targets resembling tanks can force pilots to detour to
other sites on the Air Force’s 1.1 million-acre portion of the range, or
even scrub their missions.

The Air Force and the Marines, who also use part of this range, are key
players in efforts by federal and state agencies to ensure the survival
of the fleet, elusive pronghorns.

Both military branches provide money for studies and other support, even
pitching in thousands of dollars to drill desert wells in an adjacent
wildlife refuge to irrigate plots of forage for the animals, whose
population has been decimated by drought.

Air Force Col. James Uken, the Goldwater range’s management officer,
said that for the Air Force’s part, “when you total up all the different
projects we’ve been involved in over the period of time, I’m sure the
dollar value exceeds $1 million.”

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.azcapitoltimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=10&SubSectionID=24&ArticleID=366

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