Win-Win Agreement Reached to Allow
for Expansion of Ft. Irwin
– Compromise provides protection for Desert Tortoise –
October 26, 2000

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Representative Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) today announced that an agreement has been reached between the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Army to allow for the expansion of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin while at the same time protecting the endangered desert tortoise.

Since the mid-1980s, the U.S. Army has been unable to expand Fort Irwin due to concerns of threats to the endangered desert tortoise. The agreement was the result of two years worth of negotiations on the part of Senator Feinstein, Representative Lewis, the U.S. Army and Department of the Interior.

“This agreement is a tremendous step forward in our effort to preserve and protect the endangered desert tortoise while at the same time providing the U.S. Army room to expand for training purposes,” Senator Feinstein said. “It’s a win-win for the environment and our military training needs -- I’d like to thank Secretaries Bill Cohen and Bruce Babbitt and Congressman Jerry Lewis for working so diligently to find this sensible solution.”

“This is a good effort to ensure that the National Training Center can be expanded in a fashion to ensure that the Army is ready to defend freedom anywhere in the world,” said Representative Jerry Lewis. “At the same time, we are making a commitment to make space available for the future survival of the tortoise. It is gratifying that so many fine public servants are putting their word on the line to find a solution that will meet both these goals.”

The agreement allows the U.S. Army to expand the Ft. Irwin training range by 131,000 acres in an environmentally acceptable manner. The proposal would realign the Army’s proposed maneuver training area expansion to the southwest in order to protect critical desert tortoise habitat in the Paradise Valley area while still providing adequate space to meet the Army’s training requirements. It would designate approximately 10 square kilometers on the southeastern side for the desert tortoise habitat.