Low-altitude training could come to skies near you soon

Commissioners ask for new review process before November 15 deadline

Gunnison County residents might have to give up a little piece of Paradise in the name of national security, if the U.S. Air Force gets the green light to send Low Altitude Tactical Navigation (LATN) training missions into the skies above Colorado and New Mexico.
With a deadline to comment just a few weeks away, the Board of County Commissioners wrestled with a way to get the Air Force to slow down and allow the public to weigh in on the proposal on such short notice.

The LATN training missions for the 27th Special Operations Wing will start at Cannon Air Force Base in central New Mexico and stretch north to the I-70 corridor and west, almost to the Utah state line.
According to information provided to the county, the training would consist of about three training flights—“sorties”—involving an unspecified number of aircraft every day, for a total of some 688 missions annually over the area. Two of the planes that would be used in the training are the C-130 and the CV-22 Osprey, which underwent testing at the regional airport.
While not all of the flights would cross into Gunnison County, the Air Force explained, “Low-level training is the sole objective to accomplish in the LATN area.”
“Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] and Air Force regulations require aircraft utilizing the LATN area to avoid airfields, towns, noise-sensitive areas and wilderness areas by prescribed vertical and/or horizontal areas,” the Air Force continued.
At the same time, the Environmental Assessment scoping that is being conducted as part of the approval process explained that there is the possibility that some of the flights could use local airports, and since the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport is a public facility, nothing could stop them.
And while the “Tactical Navigation” part of the LATN proposal hasn’t seemed to raise any concerns, the “Low-Altitude” element has a lot of people wondering about the effects on wildlife and quality of life.
According to the Air Force, the training flights will fly as low as 200 feet above the ground and 95 percent will be done after dark between Monday and Friday.
The Gunnison Basin Sage-Grouse Strategic Committee sent a letter to the Air Force saying it was concerned with the impact the missions could have on the Gunnison sage grouse, especially during the mating season. In its letter, the committee asked that the flights not pass over the “occupied habitat” between March 15 and May 15.
High Country Citizens’ Alliance (HCCA) public lands director Matt Reed sent the commissioners a letter saying he felt there should be a more intensive environmental review of the proposal before anything is approved.
“An Environmental Assessment (EA) is not sufficient for the size and scope of this project. Rather, a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be initiated by the Air Force,” Reed wrote. “The sheer scope of the Air Force proposal, covering approximately 100,000 square miles in two states, warrants an EIS.”
Quartz Creek Valley resident Frank Coleman asked the commissioners to get a quantified decibel level for the aircraft they will be using in training. The commissioners also raised questions about the possibility that such large, low-flying aircraft could trigger avalanches.
Commissioner Hap Channell wanted to know how long into the future the training would go. “Is this a proposal for an indefinite period of time? Are we talking 10, 20, 50 years into the future?” he asked.
After commissioner Channell initially suggested requesting an extension of the deadline for public comment, the board agreed that the matter should go to an EIS and directed staff to write a letter to that effect.
County attorney David Baumgarten said he would write the letter in a supportive way and request that the EA be enhanced to an EIS. In addition, his letter would ask the Air Force to address concerns about the duration of the training, noise, and avalanche potential; would reemphasize the issues surrounding the sage grouse; and would ask that the mission planners consider avoiding the local airspace when commercial air traffic is ramped up for ski season.
To submit a public comment on the Air Force proposal before Monday, November 15, call (575) 784-4131. Comments can also be faxed to (575) 681-7412 or e-mailed to 27SOWpublicaffairs@cannon.af.mil.
More information about the proposed LATN area can be found at www.cannon.af.mil.