Sounds About Right

Isn't it NTC that has the turtle bordello? I also remember being warned about certain types of rattlesnakes at Ft. Huachuca, not because of the danger, but because of the fact THEY were endangered.

...then there were the plants at Barbers Point in Hawaii...

Butterflies fly, therefore the Air Force must research the creature to learn. Remember, anything that flies is a potential enemy, and countermeasures must be established.

Anything that flies, such as missiles, comes under the Air Force purview.

long beach naval station had "blue herons" in the trees around the admin building.

no one could bother the birds (supposedly they were "protected")even though they would defacate grossly on anything parked in the premium parking spots right in front of the main entrance.

when they closed the place and built a container terminal on the spot the birds flew several miles west to the trees in san pedro no problem.

c

And you're not complaining about the anthropologists and other -ologist types they've got on staff there for all of the Indian cave paintings?

There was a ton of not-rockets/missiles stuff going on at Vandy when I was covering it as a reporter at the Lompoc Record. Kept me busy enough that I didn't have time to spend visiting the Federal Pen -- also part of my beat.

I will say this about you AF guys, I appreciate the fact that you didn't point your rifles at me as I was leaving -- like they did at the Pen.

The reason why is clearly stated:

Euphilotes battoides allyni is the El Segundo Blue butterfly (ESBB), which is federally listed...In the absence of a baseline survey, the FWS requires that all projects avoid any disturbance of potential habitat areas.

Without that survey, no new construction on base. Which means no contracts for local building firms, who are often big donors to their congressmen. Hell hath no fury like a congressman who discovers that the money he has fought hard to win for his district can't be spent because of some bureaucratic glitch! He or she is sure to lash out at the military at the Congressional Subcommittee level, at least. Which is why the environmental survey must be a priority - if they don't have a contract by early June, construction might be held up for a FULL YEAR!

Most civvies and even many military folks don't realize that many military bases have vast areas that essentially function as wildlife sancturaries. VAFB isn't the first base to be hoist by a flying petard: I recall a couple of decades ago, at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the bald eagles chose to hang around the tanks a lot, so folks were worried that if they moved the tanks, they would get in trouble if the eagles disappeared. I don't remember how that was resolved. Sometimes the military will deal with the problem by chopping off part of the base as an official wildlife sanctuary; that's pretty much what the AF has in mind here.

Common sense barely prevails up there at Vandengerg. We entered discussions on a small launch system and one of the big issues was disturbing the local animals. Given that the area is an animal haven precisely because there are large things have been launched there and people need to back off a ways, you would think that the eco nuts would count their blessings.