The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Ignoring sage grouse “extraordinary and unacceptable”
The Gunnison Board of County Commissioners has drafted a letter addressing low-altitude flight training proposed over the county’s airspace. The commissioners are urging closer scrutiny after an Environmental Assessment (EA) failed to address impacts they see as critical to the region, including Gunnison sage grouse protection.
In a previous letter, sent during the public scoping phase in November 2010, the commissioners requested that Cannon Air Force Base complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The proposal by the United States Air Force would fly training missions over parts of Colorado and New Mexico, including all of Gunnison County. The proposal estimates that any given area would experience three flyovers per month, and flights could be as low as 300 feet above ground level.
In their latest letter, the commissioners requested that at the very least, the EA be redrafted to address Gunnison sage grouse and a number of other matters.
“I was surprised they did not even mention [the Gunnison sage grouse], especially since it is more than likely to be a listed species,” said commissioner Phil Chamberland. “They would have to address, in my opinion, the time of year they would be flying, staying away from [sage grouse] mating areas. We all make efforts here, like running our landfills at different hours, so I feel strongly those same types of concessions should be done for those flights as well.”
“For them to basically ignore it is extraordinary and unacceptable, I would say,” agreed Commissioner Hap Channell.
“Especially since you’ve got local government taking action in response to a federal law that this federal agency is not paying attention to at all,” added county manager Matthew Birnie.
The commissioners also noted that the EA failed to address the overlap of the proposed training with existing low-altitude training out of Peterson Air Force Base, or the impact of the flights on livestock.
“We’re already in a low-altitude flight zone from Peterson Air Force Base and that’s another thing not addressed in the EA—the accumulation of impacts on us,” said Commissioner Paula Swenson.
Jim Cochran, wildlife coordinator for Gunnison County, pointed out that the EA addressed ranching in New Mexico, but there was no such consideration for ranching in Colorado. That omission, he said, made it difficult to respond intelligently to the proposal.
“My concern is that their idea of a redraft is to go to final EA, and that doesn’t allow us to respond except by appeal. I don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interest to get in appeal process or any kind of legal process,” said Cochran.
Chamberland was in favor of requesting a redraft of the EA but did not want to ask only for an EIS.
“I don’t want them to concentrate all on Gunnison County… Three times a year I’ll see C-130s come by, and I stop and watch them in awe,” said Chamberland. “The most compelling testimony I heard was from Jim as a citizen and rancher, where it spooked his horse and it ran right into a fence and had to be put down. That’s a very compelling reason to take this very seriously. There are consequences, but in the end there is a need for it as well.”
Channell did not want to see the request for the EIS come out of the letter. However, since the commissioners had requested one in the past, they compromised by asking for a redraft of the EA if an EIS was not completed. They are also asking for a trial period and periodic assessments of the flights.
The Gunnison County Sage-Grouse Strategic Committee and the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association are also submitting responses to the EA. Comments are due to the Cannon Air Force Base by Friday, November 5.
