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Thursday, January 22, 2004

Guest View: Clean Up Unexploded Ordnance

By Jennifer Turgeon

    This letter is in response to the Jan. 8 editorial letter from Kirtland Air Force Base Commander, Col. Henry Andrews.
    I object at many different levels to the manner in which the commander has expressed his "concerns" for the community and the liberal use of the word "responsibility." Quite simply, he has avoided the solution that the public has asked him to look at from the very beginning— to build a fence that both provides for base security and allows continued public access to the Otero Canyon trail system. Time and again, the public has asked that KAFB make a responsible, conscientious decision to place its needed fence in an area that causes the least disruption to the community and the environment while maintaining important base security.
    Rather than address this issue directly, the commander simply makes the claim that KAFB has "factored in our responsibility to protect the public as a key part of our analysis of how to secure Kirtland's eastern border." This public safety ruse is a blatant attempt to confound the public. The obvious error in this position is the incorrect logic that protecting the public means fencing off land from public use.
    For KAFB's behavior to be truly "responsible," it needs to specifically address how it can improve the land it has already managed to damage for over 50 years by irresponsibly littering the environment with supposed unexploded ordnance. If UXO is truly an issue (there are no reported instances of injury), the responsible action would be to immediately conduct a sweep of the area and clear all UXO to protect not only the community, but the military personnel who use the area as well.
    With respect to the M60 firing range, KAFB again fails to properly address the real issue. While regulation indicates that there should be a 4,300-meter boundary around the area, the decision to use this regulation has been applied prescriptively rather than rationally. There is a mountain range between the M60 range and the trails that KAFB has recently blocked with posted signs. No studies have been conducted to determine the slope of the range and the probability of projectiles actually reaching the trail. Once again, KAFB has avoided the actual issue by making the decision to simply block access to part of the Otero Canyon Trail System rather than making a responsible attempt to determine how it can dutifully conduct its business within the realm of the Albuquerque community. In fact, it has not even conducted an Environmental Impact Study to determine the effects such a firing range will have in the area.
    Viable alternatives for these issues have been proposed in good faith by the public that uses Otero Canyon's popular trails. A proposed location for the eastern perimeter fence that runs along existing roads and natural contours of the land has been identified. This proposed alignment respects the environment while giving the base the security it needs and allowing the public continued access to trails it has enjoyed for 50 years. Joint land use policies have been presented for areas within the M60 fire range. These policies have been successful between other communities and military installations; thus there is no reason why they cannot be pursued and applied in Otero Canyon.
    Eight months have passed since the public hearing between KAFB and the Albuquerque community. More than 600 people attended to voice their support for a responsible solution to the eastern perimeter fence and more than 3,000 people have signed online and hard copy petitions in support of this action. We have village, city, county, state and congressional representation supporting a workable solution to this issue. To date, there has been no direct response to any of these comments.
    KAFB needs to eliminate the smoke and mirrors and openly discuss the alternatives to this continuing dilemma. It needs to practice "responsible" behavior by being a good neighbor to our community and genuinely discussing how effective decisions can be made.
    Jennifer Turgeon is an Albuquerque resident and a member of the Friends of Otero organization.