The final Legislative Environmental impact Statement for the extension of the Barry M. Goldwater Range land withdrawal and proposed Gila Bend addition was released Sept. 17, 2021.
The final LEIS proposal aims to renew land withdrawal of the BMGR, a 1.7-million-acre area in southern Arizona used for military training and environmental conservation efforts, consideration to increase the range boundary by an additional 2,366 acres in the vicinity of Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field, and make no changes to the administrative management responsibilities. The preferred alternative identified in the LEIS proposes to extend the land withdrawal for an additional 25 years.
The final proposal incorporated comments received from the public review period, which ran from January 15 to March 1, 2021.
With the completion of the final LEIS, the Air Force and Marine Corps are submitting the land withdrawal case file, including the LEIS, to the Department of the Interior. Thereafter, it will be submitted to Congress for legislative action.
The final LEIS is available to view at www.barry-m-goldwater-LEIS.com.