WASHINGTON — It may come down to a choice between national defense and cultural and environmental protection.
"These are sacred homelands and resources for Native Americans who have been on this land long before this was ever a country," said Representative and Native American Debra Haaland (D-New Mexico).
She is concerned about Navy plans to expand its training ranges at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, near Reno.
It's the Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility, and the home to the famous Top Gun school.
Since the 1940s, its 232,000 acres have provided weapons training for all tactical aviation units of the Navy and Marine Corps, including the 16 deployable F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet squadrons at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach.
The Navy calls it "essential" and says its importance "cannot be overstated."
And now due to advancements in smart bomb technology, the Navy wants to triple in size at Fallon, closing off all public access to 660,000 additional acres of ancestral tribal lands and wilderness areas.
The land in question is approximately half the size of the state of Delaware.
Upon questioning from the House Armed Services Committee, the Navy admitted the plan is not popular with surrounding Native American tribes.
"I think that's a fairly short list because I do not believe there are any local tribes that are supportive of the expansion," said Todd Melton, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Energy, Installations, and Environment
Rep. Halaand said that simply consulting with the tribes after a decision has already been reached isn't good enough. Because, she said, the land was theirs thousands of years before the Navy came along.
"And the idea that this land that's hallowed ground can be used for this type of training, it's really sacrilegious in a way to the people whose lives you will affect," she said.
The Readiness Subcommittee's chairman Rep. John Garamendi (D-California) urged the Navy to keep working to find a mutually agreeable solution.
"While the importance of these ranges is paramount, as with every military installation, the services must ensure that the ranges are also good neighbors," he said.
The Navy has concluded no significant environmental harm would come from the expansion.
Besides the Indian tribes, other opponents include hunters, miners, ranchers, conservation groups, and environmentalists.
On March 25 of 2019, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed Assembly Joint Resolution 7, a formal statement of opposition to the expansion from the executive and legislative branches of the Nevada State government.
It says the "the proposal would result in numerous negative environmental and economic consequences."