The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments until June 30, 2009 regarding the creation of El Toro National Wildlife Refuge in Orange County, California. But not all is smooth with the creation of the refuge. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council:

In 2001, a portion of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration on the condition that a federal habitat reserve would be established and no new development would be allowed on the property. The proposed reserve, the El Toro National Wildlife Refuge, represents a unique California ecosystem and would be home to the highest regional concentrations of the threatened coastal California gnatcatcher and coastal cactus wren.

Under the agreement, certain existing uses of the property, including a small FBI pistol range, are allowed to continue. But the FBI is ignoring the agreement not to develop beyond the current training facilities by seeking to expand the size of the firing range. The expansion would threaten nearly 1,000 acres of endangered species habitat and public space within the proposed refuge.

Expanding the rifle range facilities would present terrible safety hazards to both humans and wildlife. The danger of stray bullets to nearby neighborhoods, parks and roads is unconscionable and would be an effective death knell for any public, educational or research uses of El Toro.

The FBI and the FAA are nevertheless proceeding with development plans for the new rifle range as if all prior agreements and the conditions of transfer did not exist. To add insult to injury, plans are also underway to develop a state-of-the-art rifle range at the nearby Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, which effectively renders the proposed El Toro facility redundant and wasteful of taxpayer dollars.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments on the proposed El Toro reserve and development plan through June 30th.

You can submit your comments in support of the refuge on the NRDC site or you can find information on submitting comments (along with more background information) on the Sea and Sage Audubon Society website, which is based in Orange County.

If you’d like to see the planning information (including maps) for the proposed El Toro NWR, visit the San Diego NWR Complex website.

Please submit your comments now as the comment period has almost ended. And thanks for your support.

Tags:
National Wildlife Refuge System, El Toro NWR, California