(December 6, 2022) It was announced today that legislation to expand the Navy’s Fallon Range Training Complex (FRTC) will be included in the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will consider in the coming weeks.

Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto says she worked closely with Senator Jacky Rosen and Representative Mark Amodei to complete this bipartisan compromise.

This compromise also includes Senator Jacky Rosen’s Lander County Land Management and Conservation Act, which will transfer land to Lander County to improve airports, allow access to water infrastructure, increase recreation and outdoor tourism opportunities, and support economic development, while also designating over 14,000 acres of new wilderness.

The Fallon compromise includes key mitigations for local and Tribal governments, including permanently protecting over half a million acres of public lands; managing and protecting Tribal and cultural resources; continued access for Tribes, sportsmen, and the public; requiring consultation by the Navy; and providing additional land to Churchill County for economic development and public purposes.

It would also resolve the Walker River Paiute Tribe’s claims for the contamination and loss of land on their reservation, providing the Tribe with $20 million and over 8,000 acres in trust land. 

As part of the compromise, the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe will acquire $20 million to develop and construct a Numu Newe cultural center to sustain the knowledge and culture of local Tribes, as well as 10,000 acres in trust land. 

“After years of negotiations, this landmark achievement will provide our Naval aviators with the training environment they need to meet our national security threats, while also providing necessary mitigations and protections for local governments, Tribes, and public lands,” said Senator Rosen.

“The responsible expansion of the Navy’s Fallon Range Training Complex that I negotiated will improve our national security, fuel economic growth in Churchill County, and preserve important cultural heritage sites for Tribal nations,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I worked closely with Senator Rosen and Congressman Amodei, the administration, Senate Armed Services Committee, Congressional leadership, and all local stakeholders to secure this agreement and will make sure it is in the final NDAA.”

“The inclusion of Nevada’s plan for the Fallon Naval Air Station expansion in the National Defense Authorization reflects the best in bipartisan collaboration between the Nevada Congressional delegation, the United States Navy, the Department of Interior, the Walker River Paiute Tribe, the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, Churchill County, conservation advocates, sportsmen and many, many other Nevadans,” said Governor Steve Sisolak. “I salute Congressman Amodei and Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen for their hard work on the frontlines and behind the scenes to deliver this great win for the Silver State.”

“The Dixie Valley water project would drain water from a remote basin in central Nevada and pump it to Fallon to fuel unsustainable growth. We are very concerned about the inclusion of this provision in the defense bill,” said Abigail Johnson, board president of the Great Basin Water Network. “We already faced down similar language in previous legislation related to the Las Vegas pipeline, and we won that battle. We’ll fight back against this water grab too, no matter what this bill says.”

The proposed expansion has received some criticism following this announcement. 

The Center for Biological Diversity is concerned the expansion will put wildlife at risk, particularly the Dixie Valley Toad. 

The Center says the bill would include a backdoor authorization for the Dixie Valley Water Grab, which has been cited by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a factor contributing to the endangered species' - the Dixie Valley Toad. 

As we've reported, the Dixie Valley Toad lives only in one remote area in Churchill County and it recently received the final endangered species protections it needs due to a geothermal energy project currently being developed directly adjacent to its sole habitat. (more below)

The Center's Director, Patrick Donnelly, says “this is a dark day for the public lands and wildlife of central Nevada, I’m outraged that Nevada’s senators are helping the military seize control of more than a million acres of irreplaceable public land.”

Senator Jacky Rosen's team clarified to us that the navy expansion in Fallon will not supersede the endangered species act that protects the Toad. 

The Department of Interior and Navy are subject to environmental law, meaning they would not be able to make any changes to the habitat of the Dixie Valley Toad that would further endanger the species. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on December 1 of this year that it had finalized the Endangered Species Act protections for the species.

“The Fallon Range Training Complex is the Navy’s premier training environment and vital to ensuring tactical aviation readiness and improved ground forces training that can meet the demands of today and the threats of tomorrow,” said Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy. “This critical legislation enhances our Nation’s security by allowing our Carrier Air Wings and Naval Special Warfare Teams to train in a more realistic environment and better prepare for strategic competition. I am grateful to Congressional leadership, especially Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), and the tribal stakeholders, local and state government leaders, and the people of Nevada who worked together to support this modernization for our Navy and our Nation.”

Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) worked with Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Congressman Mark Amodei to help include Fallon in this year's Defense Authorization act.

Rosen says the same compromise also includes legislation to transfer land to Lander County.

“There's some money for the airport, for water improvement and security for their parks and local infrastructure so they can have tourism there to enjoy, enjoy the beautiful public lands and just the beauty that is part of all of Nevada, but Northern Nevada so amazing," said Senator Rosen.

According to Rosen's team, 580,000 acres of land are set to be designated for conservation purposes. The Navy will only gain 366,226 acres.

18,000 acres of land will be provided to tribes in Nevada.