With the UTTR there have been a couple of deficiencies that routinely pop up that we are looking at addressing, such as how to accommodate some of the newer aircraft and weapons that have been coming to Hill Air Force Base. Another thing could be the communities that surround the Utah Test and Training Range. As Utah's population continues to grow, the military is making sure there is enough of a buffer between those those communities and the range. – Matt Harakal
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Test and Training Range — already the largest supersonic restricted airspace in the continental United States — could significantly expand under a fledgling proposal being discussed by the military, Utah's top elected officials and the Bureau of Land Management.
An informational meeting is slated for next week in Juab County to brief residents on the proposal, which involves an administrative transfer of 625,000 acres of BLM land and a land swap of 85,000 acres of school trust lands.
The Utah Test and Training Range, which includes 2,624 square miles of ground owned by the Air Force and 19,000 miles of air space, would extend south into Juab County's northern Snake Valley near the Fish Springs mountain range and east of Callao. County officials say at this point, they do not believe anyone's private property would be impacted.
About 85,000 acres owned by the Utah Schools and Institutional Trust Lands Administration would be affected, necessitating a land swap between SITLA and the BLM.
Maps involving the deal have been circulated among several parties, including Sen. Orrin Hatch's office and SITLA, but the entities refused to release the maps to the media.
"There are maps, but nothing official," Hatch's spokesman Matthew Harakal said. "They are just a step to get the discussion going."
Details were also shared with Utah's top lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, but they declined to discuss details as well, deferring to congressional staffers for the release of information.
Juab County Commissioner Byron Woodland said the swap with SITLA would remove school trust land property from the expanded range in exchange for property with the BLM that could be developed for its resources.
The administrative exchange between the defense department and BLM, from how Woodland said he understands it, would not impact existing uses.
"It should not affect grazing, it should not affect mining claims on that property and it should not affect our roads," he said.
Woodland said there may be times when some of the county's Class B roads have to be temporarily closed, but it is unclear for how long.
"We are being told it is just a flyover area — that no ordnance will be dropped — but we have also been told we may want to close roads if they do drop something, so it is unclear," Woodland added.
SITLA's deputy director Kim Christy said the current proposal includes about 68,057 surface and mineral acres, plus 15,000 mineral-only acres within Dugway Proving Ground.
“The Department of Defense is leading this land expansion proposal and the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration is impacted because more than 83,000 acres of school trust lands are captured in the targeted expansion," Christy said.
"SITLA is working to protect the interests of public schools by looking to acquire federal lands in exchange for what it would be giving up to the Department of Defense," he added.
Harakal said the Department of Defense identified a long-range goal to expand the Utah Test and Training Range to better handle the newer, more sophisticated military equipment in its inventory.
The military is also looking to beef up its buffer zone and ensure the viability of the Utah Test and Training Range into the future, especially in the context of Utah's growing population, Harakal added.
"With the UTTR there have been a couple of deficiencies that routinely pop up that we are looking at addressing, such as how to accommodate some of the newer aircraft and weapons that have been coming to Hill Air Force Base," he said. "Another thing could be the communities that surround the Utah Test and Training Range. As Utah's population continues to grow, the military is making sure there is enough of a buffer between those those communities and the range. "
Woodland said commissioners first heard about the proposal about a month ago and have scheduled a meeting for next Monday at the West Desert High School in Callao.
Representatives from Sens. Hatch and Mike Lee's offices, as well as Rep. Chris Stewart's office, the military, BLM and SITLA will be there.
"There are a lot of questions and we don't know all the details," Woodland said, adding that letters detailing the meeting have been sent to potentially impacted residents.
Juab County Commission Chairman Chad Wynn said some of those residents have expressed concern about the potential impacts, and will likely show up at the meeting seeking answers.
"There is some concern from the residents out there for the number of planes that come over and the noise they make, the drones that come by," Wynn said. "The inconvenience to the people out there is a concern, and the possibility that the areas could be closed."
The Utah Test and Training Range is operated and maintained by the 388th Fighter Wing Range Squadron based out of Hill Air Force Base some 50 miles to the east. The range supports the training of numerous branches of the armed services and their allies with capabilities for air-to ground, air-to-air and ground force exercises.
Each year, more than 22,000 training sorties and more than 1,000 test sorties are flown out on the range.
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