{"id":16377,"date":"2026-07-18T19:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T02:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/18\/americas-missile-ranges-do-more-than-test-weapons\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T01:16:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T08:16:33","slug":"americas-missile-ranges-do-more-than-test-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/18\/americas-missile-ranges-do-more-than-test-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"Americas Missile Ranges Do More Than Test Weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Few places on Earth are as deadly as a weapons test range. It’s usually a variation of a sprawling rural salt flat, alpine tundra, or coast where artillery batteries drop bombs, jet bombers, and missile systems prove their accuracy. Once the combined arms live shooting exercise is started, stopping it is not an easy task. Coordinating aircraft, weapons, armored vehicles, drones, and ground forces requires months of planning; once the rounds start flying, the mission usually continues until the objectives are met or the bullets run out. While everyone involved has the right to call “fire off”, you better have a very good reason when the Range Safety Officer comes storming in and asks why you’re closing their range.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, some of these cease-fires have nothing to do with equipment failure or medical emergencies, as it is universally justified to do so simply for the sake of seeing an animal. In fact, it has become commonplace for a wildlife attack to be the event cited as a range-stopping event. At New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, one of the largest military test centers in the world, the simple presence of an endangered Northern Aplomado Falcon could halt a shoot or force an exercise to be completely rescheduled. Otherwise, if the big desert sheep roam within a set of live limits, the shouts of “get out” and “show clear” are all around.<\/p>\n

It is interesting that instead of viewing these species as barriers or obstacles, the US military has taken ownership of their well-being and included their protection in the management of the range. Breeding seasons, migration patterns, and habitat requirements are built into training programs using timed breaks, seasonal restrictions, and carefully planned exercises. The result is an unexpected relationship between conservation and national security: In some war-torn areas of the world, endangered wildlife has found an unexpected place.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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How the US Army writes wildlife conservation doctrine<\/h2>\n
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Protecting endangered species in a military world is not just a matter of calm. All US military installations comply with environmental law, including the Endangered Species Act, and many operate under Integrated Natural Resource Management Programs. These efforts are jointly developed by military environmental offices, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and wildlife agencies, balancing military and conservation needs.<\/p>\n

Some efforts are remarkably straightforward. Range orders may designate off-season areas, prohibit fire drills during breeding seasons, or require environmental surveys before training begins. If critical species are detected in a training area, commanders may delay exercises, relocate operations, or temporarily close parts of the range. These steps often require more than careful planning, but they make a big difference for endangered wildlife.<\/p>\n

Some programs involve very close collaboration. Many major military training facilities now employ biologists to monitor endangered plants and animals. This provides exercise planners with up-to-date information that allows military operations to proceed without harming critical habitats or active breeding grounds.<\/p>\n

The result is a rare but effective example of management where wildlife benefits from habitats protected from urban expansion, agriculture, mining, and many other pressures that have caused species to decline elsewhere. Today, the lands managed by the Department of Defense support more species of listed and endangered species than any other federal land management agency, including America’s national parks \u2014 though these areas remain relatively easy to visit thanks to the plethora of mobile apps associated with them. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Wildlife that thrives in the kill box around the world<\/h2>\n
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The results of these conservation efforts have been striking. The US Department of Defense manages 25 million acres of land, much of which remains in wildlife habitat. Although explosions, the noise of airplanes, and armored vehicles may seem incongruous to a fragile ecosystem, many species have proven themselves to be able to withstand the rigors of military occupation in an offensive manner.<\/p>\n

The San Clemente Bell Sparrow at California’s San Clemente Island Training Range, the Louisiana Pine Snake at Fort Johnson, and the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, found across from Fort Liberty, Camp Lejeune, and Eglin Air Force Base, have all maintained or gained populations on military lands that now serve as wildlife refuges.<\/p>\n

The US military is joining other government agencies in this conservation model, as NASA uses satellite imagery to protect animal populations. In addition, other forces also participated; The British Army’s Salisbury Plain Training Area protects one of Europe’s largest remaining areas of ecologically significant chalk land. In New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Air Force regularly suspends operations at the Kaipara Bombing Range to support the breeding of the endangered Fairy Tern. Even the strictest Korean Demilitarized Zone has become one of the richest wildlife areas in Asia.<\/p>\n

It is a remarkable irony that areas designed for combat have become some of the safest places for wildlife. Military training classes will never lose their primary purpose: They exist to improve combat skills and ensure that the armed forces remain competent and reliable. But the same exclusionary boundaries have also limited human development, allowing biodiversity to flourish beyond the shot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Few places on Earth are as deadly as a weapons test range. It’s usually a variation of a sprawling rural salt flat, alpine tundra, or coast where artillery batteries drop bombs, jet bombers, and missile systems prove their accuracy. Once the combined arms live shooting exercise is started, stopping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16378,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16377","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-smartphones-tablets"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16377"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16379,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16377\/revisions\/16379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}