JPARC: The Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex. When these guys say "Alaska Range" they don't mean the mountains.
Not many people have had the experience of having a pair of F-15E's line them up for a bombing run (albeit a practice run). Even knowing it was a practice run and that they likely did not have live ordinance still gives a person pause when you are sure if you looked close enough you could make out the rivets on the bombing variant of the "Eagle". As I recollect they made several passes on the heavy equipment we were using on the Denali Highway in the heart of the Nelchina Caribou herd's range and also the US Military's Fox 3 Military Operation Area (MOA). That was nearly a decade ago and this week I found out about something even more invasive is being planned for one of the most important herds of caribou in the State of Alaska, an expansion of the Fox 3 MOA which will encompass the entirety of the herds calving grounds and most of the herds range..
We need to raise a stink during the EIS comment period closing on Feb. 4th. The link and more information below:
You should comment here: http://www.jparceis.com/
It's called JPARC, the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, and that is just the start of the word soup of acronyms that are used by the folks (Armed Forces) who want to use what they describe as one of the largest wild areas in the US for a massive expansion of joint military training areas, target ranges, and live fire ranges. The one that particularly troubles me is Fox 3 Military Operation Area (MOA) which they want to expand to encompass the entirety of the sensitive calving grounds for the Nelchina Caribou Herd. They want to fly F-22's and F-35's capable of terrain following "contour" flight lower than 500'(AGL) at supersonic speeds. The military is concluding their EIS "scoping phase" where the public can comment on Feb. 4th.
F-22's are basically hazardous waste with wings. The November 16th crash of the F-22 was smack in the middle of the existing Fox 3 MOA and it is now a hazardous material site. This is not however just any site, you don't just load up a pickup truck and drive 15 miles north of the Denali Highway, this is wilderness. The logistics of this place are keeping even the US Military from cleaning this mess up until after break-up (read after run-off). Okay, now I'm going to in a very "stream of consciousness" manner think of all of the major rivers that have their headwaters in Fox 3 MOA. The Tanana River (Tangle Lakes), the Susitna River (McClaren River), the Copper River (Summit Lake and Crosswind Lake) if the MOA is expanded it will also include Lake Louise and Ewan Lake along with countless smaller lakes and streams. All of these will become (or already are) potential crash sites taht are extremely difficult to get to and subsequently clean up. Not to mention the harassment and noise pollution of sonic booms in a caribou calving ground.
Instead of realizing the error of their ways and restricting impact of their activities however, the US Military has decided that it would be better to expand them to include much of the spawning grounds of the Copper River salmon fisheries and a giant chunk of the Tanana/Yukon spawning grounds while taking in the entirety of the Nelchina calving grounds. Does that sound reasonable to anyone not wearing a uniform?
I actually want to drill down on this topic over the next several days and provide some links to maps and images of the regions in question. In the mean time electronic comments can be left at the JPARC EIS website at http://www.jparceis.com/ (dot com??). That site also shows the areas that they propose to expand into. It really sickens me. Now off to write a letter to the Governor Parnell, and Senators Begich and Murkowski.....
P.S. When they say "Alaska Range" they don't mean the mountains.