Community Benefits

Conservation designations such as National Conservation Areas and Wilderness do more than preserve the historical and cultural values and artifacts of the landscape, and they do more than preserve the natural habitat and connectivity that wildlife depend upon for survival. Conservation designations also offer immediate and lasting benefits to the economy and quality of life of local communities.

Conservation designations ensure that public lands like these remain public lands, that they will not be sold (or “disposed,” in government terms) for private development. Aside from the clear benefits of prioritizing habitat and naturalness over concrete, this also assures that these areas will remain available for local residents and visitors to enjoy.

Because conservation designations offer habitat protections and continued public access, they are often sought out by people wanting nature-dependent recreational opportunities, such as bird watching, wildlife watching, backcountry hiking and camping, quality hunting opportunities, nature photography, and more. Recreationalists spend money on recreational hobbies—gear purchases in local shops, motel stays, restaurant meals, and patronizing other local businesses.

For the Great Bend of the Gila, conservation designations also serve a national security purpose. The Barry M. Goldwater Gunnery Range (BMGR), a national asset for military pilot training, is adjacent to the Great Bend of the Gila. It is also the same habitat type supporting the same wildlife species. Elsewhere where this has been true, development of non-Department of Defense (DoD) land has led to “haven of last resort” issues as the military land becomes the last remaining natural habitat—and therefore the only home for species that depend on that habitat. This has resulted in increased Threatened and Endangered Species management responsibilities for DoD. That is called a military installation “encroachment risk.”

We have an opportunity to avoid that future problem by conserving similar habitat types on nearby federal public lands. The Great Bend of the Gila proposal would benefit military readiness and national security by significantly decreasing that encroachment risk for BMGR in two ways: first, by protecting important habitat and connectivity corridors to reduce the pressure that BMGR fulfil those needs; and second, by protecting against development that could negatively affect military operations through creation of avoidance areas, as well as limiting new collision hazards or structures that interfere with military sensors.

Banner image: Dawn Kish