Much to the chagrin of enviros, Congress has given the military primary responsibility for managing more than 1.6 million acres of the Sonoran desert in southwestern Arizona, encompassing most of the Barry M. Goldwater Bombing Range. Although a law signed Wednesday requires the military to work with the Interior Department on a management plan, enviros worry that the Pentagon won’t be inclined to protect the area, which is considered to be the world’s most biologically diverse desert. Many conservationists and locals have pressed for the land to be made a national preserve and park managed by the National Park Service, and Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) has said a park proposal is worth considering. The military uses the area as a training range, and some 70,000 sorties are flown over it each year, but the park plan would not interfere with the military’s exercises.
