Posted on 10/14/2009 12:54:21 PM PDT by george76
Proposed wilderness designations for parts of the Colorado mountains could threaten the Army's only high-altitude training site for helicopter pilots, an Army officer said Tuesday.
The proposed "Hidden Gems" wilderness designations would put all of the high-altitude landing zones used by the High-Altitude Army Aviation Training Site off-limits, said Col. Joel Best, senior aviation officer for the Colorado Army National Guard.
"We really can't afford to lose any of that land for the security of this nation," Best said. He spoke at a briefing for Colorado county commissioners and legislators.
The site, known by the acronym HAATS, is the only helicopter training site the U.S. where the terrain and conditions are similar to what pilots encounter in Afghanistan. It is operated by the Colorado Air National Guard and trains both active-duty and guard pilots as well as pilots from other countries.
The White River Wilderness Coalition is advocating for wilderness protection for what it calls the Hidden Gems, a collection of about 450,000 acres, or 700 square miles, in several parts of the Colorado mountains. HAATS uses some of that area.
The training site is about 30 miles west of Vail and 100 miles west of Denver.
About 500 Army pilots will train there this year, Best said. They learn how to deal with the limitations of flying in thin air, which saps helicopters of some of their engine power and affects handling.
(Excerpt) Read more at gazette.com ...
ping
The millitary leave less mess than campers.....
Heh. They often fly over a town near here. The locals, who do drugs and watch too much television, tell conspiracy stories about them. When I’ve told them that the pilots are only training for foreign combat, they scoff and go on with the conspiracy yarns.
Typical libtard nonsense. But you just know that there is a judge that will agree.
Wilderness: An area of the earth, and its web of life, that is untrammelled by man”. From the orignial Wilderness Act.
However: All of North America was hunted and fire managed by man for the last ten thousand years.
Therefore: The Wilderness Act is more than a tad tardy.
Conclusion: Invoke the Data Quality Act and shut down this latest “wilderness” designation attempt.
The enviro-nazis won’t be happy until every inch of public land is off limits for everything but hiking. We need that high altitude training and hopefully the Army tells them to pound sand and a judge backs them up.
The army has old and large training areas. They take care of them. They do not develop them.
And then some enviro-wacko thinks the army (who have kept these places in great shape through all these years) should be kicked off the training areas as they are now “environmentally sensitive.”
That’s the plan. It’s called “re-wilding”.
Army National Guard units conduct rescue missions in mountainous areas all over the western United States because they are the most qualified and prepared to do so.
You’ve got it exactly right.
Too much of CO is locked up already
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.