I have been involved in bat work on a number of military installations
in North America. Generally, these are wonderful places to operate, with
a great feeling of safety and confidence that your equipment won't be
ripped off.
On one huge bombing range in Arizona, the habitat was just outstandingly
excellent, and this was obviously reflected in the diversity and numbers
of birds encountered - even though parts of the range are blown to
smithereens on a daily basis and the place is littered with bombs and
rockets and stuff. The habitat is still mostly in very good shape,
presumably because most of it isn't actually a target. And none of it
has ever been grazed!
Ironically, it seems the military here takes far better care of its
natural resources than most institutions.
But just because it is military land doesn't mean it is safe in the
longer term. If the Airforce decided to reduce its expenditure by
reducing the area it paid to maintain (eg if it figured its targetting
is a lot better than it used to be!), then there is no certainty about
what would happen to the land it gave up. There are many and diverse
vested interests who would love to get their hands on it. But in a land
where prime habitat like this barely exists any more, it would be very
sad to see such land go the way of all the rest of it.
Cheers, Chris.
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