The Intergovernmental Executive Committee (IEC) for the Fallon Range Training Complex met
Sept. 10 to review federal and state progress on implementing the 2023 National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) expansion around Naval Air Station Fallon. The hybrid meeting was
hosted at the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources with Zoom access for
remote attendees.
Attending for Churchill, Lyon, and Pershing counties were Churchill County commissioner
Myles Getto who serves as Vice-Chair of the IEC, Lyon County commissioner Scott Keller, and
Pershing County Commissioner Connie Gottschalk.
The agenda ran through updates from the U.S. Navy and the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) on grazing decisions, cadastral (survey) work, real estate actions such as road
realignments, natural resources plans, cultural resource surveys, and ongoing tribal
engagement—key pieces in a multi-year program scheduled to run into FY31.
The Navy reported “Year 3” milestones: private-land acquisitions continue in B-17/Dixie Valley;
two offers have been made on B-16 grazing payments and permit modifications; mining-claim
payment initiation is underway for B-16, B-17 and B-20; and environmental work tied to new
fencing and range improvements at B-16 is nearly complete. A final Environmental Assessment
and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for B-16 range infrastructure is expected in
October.
An integrated schedule shows related tasks—private land deals, grazing compensation, cultural
surveys, and road/pipeline work—staggered across B-16, B-17, B-20 and Dixie Valley, with
construction windows dependent on NDAA and military construction funding and coordination
with BLM, NDOT, BOR and others.
BLM said proposed grazing decisions went out July 31 for two allotments affected by B-16:
Lahontan would drop from 1,151 AUMs to 637 AUMs, and Horse Mountain from 3,000 AUMs
to 2,884 AUMs. Full land-health assessments and fully processed permits are planned for FY29.
Cadastral work remains on schedule for B-16: surveys in Sectors 1–5 and 7–8 are complete and
filed; Simpson Road (Sector 9) will file before Sept. 30; and the Sand Canyon (Sector 10)
administrative survey awaits a finalized right-of-way. Federal-authority surveys and field
investigations are underway for B-17 and B-20, including a B-20 township survey in progress.
Two high-interest road projects moved forward:
∙State Route 361 realignment (B-17): Under an MOU with FHWA and NDOT,
alternatives to route SR-361 around the expanded withdrawal area have been developed;
CA Group/NDOT baseline studies will feed a preliminary EA.
∙Sand Canyon Road (B-16): BLM leads NEPA with BOR as co-lead to realign a segment
and close a portion to general traffic. The EA will consider road width, surfacing, stream
crossings, and alignments so NEPA can proceed prior to final design.
BLM also outlined Section 2907 land exchanges and public-purpose conveyances in Churchill
County (fire station, wastewater expansion, gravel pits/rock quarries, recreation) and the broader
“checkerboard resolution” effort to consolidate mixed ownership patterns.
The Navy’s Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) draft has completed
stakeholder review (BLM, USFWS, BOR, NDOW, DCNR, and tribal partners). The Navy will
meet with agencies and tribes to address comments, then begin the INRMP’s EA this fall, which
includes a public review period.
A Wildland Fire Management Plan draft is expected out for stakeholder review in October.
Partnering with the USGS Fire Science Team, the Navy is modeling fire risk and proposing fuel
breaks on the expanded ranges; the fire working group reconvenes Sept. 25. Implementation on
historic ranges continues, with aerial herbicide trials on B-17 and planned pre-emergent
treatments this fall.
A multi-year sage-grouse noise study with USGS and NDOW has finished Year-2 field work.
Fall trapping is underway to equip birds with GPS/radio tags for Year-3. Full funding is expected
in FY26 via the Navy and DOD’s SERDP program.
Cultural-resource inventory is extensive. At B-20, about 87,147 acres have been inventoried,
documenting 572 cultural properties—primarily pre-contact sites—most along the range edges;
another 13,000 acres will be inventoried by a second contractor. At B-17, roughly 200,000 acres
have been inventoried with Native American monitors embedded; remaining inventories will be
completed by tribal crews. Consultation on B-16 fencing effects is complete.
Tribal engagement includes a final draft Programmatic Agreement circulated for signatures, a
draft cultural survey work plan for B-17/B-20 that elevates tribal-led data collection, and planned
meetings on INRMP comments. The B-16 infrastructure EA remains on track for an October
FONSI.
During public comment, two mineral stakeholders raised concerns about compensation for
mining claims within the expansion footprint, citing fair-market considerations and
reimbursement for fees and past work. They asked the Navy to correct records, meet with
claimants, and resolve missing payments before statutory deadlines. (Comments summarized
from the IEC transcript.)
For Churchill, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing and Eureka counties and neighboring tribal nations,
the modernization process affects local communities through ranching schedules and AUMs,
where roads run (SR-361, Sand Canyon, Lone Tree), how public access changes with new
fencing, how wildfire risk is reduced, and how cultural places are identified and protected. The
IEC is the public forum to track those moving parts, weigh trade-offs, and keep local
governments, landowners, and tribes at the table.
The IEC will poll members for an early-December meeting date, with details posted to the IEC
page on the FRTC Modernization website along with slide decks and minutes.
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