OEA	Compatible	Use

Case	Study

NAS	Fallon

I. Background

A. JLUS	Nomination	Reference

The	Naval	Air	Station	Fallon	(NAS	Fallon)	Joint	Land	Use	Study	(JLUS)	is	a	joint,

collaborative	effort	between	NAS	Fallon	and	the	cities	of	Fallon	and	Fernley	and	the	

County	of Churchill	and	portions	of	seven	north-central	Nevada	counties:	Eureka,

Mineral,	Lander,	Lyon,	Nye,	Pershing,	and	Washoe.		Based	on	a	Fiscal	Year	2011	

JLUS	nomination,	the	NAS	Fallon	JLUS	was	completed	in	June	2015.

NAS	Fallon prepares	all	Navy	Carrier	Air	Wings	for	operational	deployments	and is	

home	to	the	Naval	Strike and	Air	Warfare	Center	(NSAWC),	which	includes	the wellknown Navy	Fighter	Weapons	School	(TOPGUN) and Carrier	Airborne	Early	

Warning	Weapons	School	(Top	Dome) . These	activities	are	vital	to	the	overall	Navy	

mission;	the	land	and	airspace	used	for	the	activities	must	be	protected.	Conversely,	

the landowners,	residents,	recreationalists,	and	business	owners	surrounding	NAS

Fallon	and	within	the	Fallon	Range	Training	Complex	(FRTC) must	also	be	protected	

from	adverse	impacts	that could	occur	due	to	training	activities	performed	at	NAS	

Fallon	and	the	FRTC.

With	leadership	by	local	sponsor	Churchill	County,	the	JLUS sought	to	guide	

planning	and	land	use	decisions	about development	surrounding	NAS	Fallon	and	

within	the FRTC.

B. Community/Installation	Situation	and	Description

NAS	Fallon	is	made	up	of	the	main	base	area	and	the	FRTC.	The	main	base area	

includes	the	primary	operational	facilities, including	administrative buildings,	

barracks,	and	three	runways	(one	of	which	is	the	longest	runway	in the	Navy).	The	

FRTC	includes	four	bombing ranges and	the	airspace supporting	flight	operations.	

The	terrain	surrounding	NAS	Fallon	and	the	FRTC	is	a	unique	combination	of

northern	Nevada	desert,	wildlife	refuges,	alkali	flats,	and	farmlands	found	in

the	Lahontan	Valley.

A	majority	of the	land	surrounding	the	installation	is	used	for agriculture,	some	of	

which	has	been	preserved	through	conservation	easements	under	the	Readiness	

and	Environmental	Protection	Integration	(REPI)	program.	Urban	development	

occurs	approximately	3.5	miles north-northwest	of	the	base	located	in	the	City	of	

Fallon.

C. Military	Mission

NAS	Fallon	supports	the	U.S. Navy	by	providing	a	center	of	excellence	in	Naval	Strike	
Warfare	enabling	testing	on numerous	weapons	systems	and	combat	and	air	

maneuver	tactics	due	to	its premier	location	and	relatively	few	compatibility	

conflicts.	Protecting	the	NAS	Fallon	mission	helps	to	ensure	readiness	for	U.S.	Naval	

aviation

The	primary	mission	of	NAS	Fallon	is	to	prepare	U.S.	carrier-based	air	wings	to work	

as	a	cohesive	unit	prior	to	deployment.	NAS	Fallon	is	the	premier training	and	

warfare	center	for	naval	aviators	with	57,000	flight	operations annually.	This

number	is	projected	to	increase	to	approximately	63,000	flights operations	annually	

in	the	future.	

II. Compatibility	Challenges

At	NAS	Fallon,	compatibility	concerns	relate,	for	example, to	the	expansion	and

integration	of	civilian	unmanned	aerial	systems	(UAS)	into the	airspace,	given	the	

Federal	Aviation	Administration	selection	of Nevada	as	one	of	the Test	Sites for	the	

commercial	UAS.	In	addition,	compatibility	concerns	include	the appropriate	level	of	

coordination	and	communication	regarding	development within areas	needed	for	

low-level	flight	training	and supersonic	maneuvers,	and	generally,	concern	about	

increasing geothermal	resource	development.	Moreover,	the	NAS	Fallon	JLUS	

identified an	overall	general	interest	in the	preservation	of	the	natural	

environments and	species	relative	to	mission	impacts.	All	of	these	issues, if	left

unmanaged	or	without	enhanced	coordination	efforts,	could	unintentionally

jeopardize	the	Navy’s	ability	to	train	its	resident	and	visiting	personnel	at	NAS

Fallon	and the	FRTC.	

Much	of	the	land	beneath	the	FRTC	belongs	to	the	Federal	government,	managed	by	

the	Bureau	of	Land	Management	and	Bureau	of	Reclamation.		Close	coordination	

across	sister	Federal	agencies	was	a	hallmark	of	the	NAS	Fallon	JLUS.

Numerous	factors	influence	whether	community	and	military	plans, programs,	and	

activities	are	compatible	or	in	conflict.	For	the	Naval	Air Station	Fallon	(NAS	Fallon)	

Joint	Land	Use	Study	(JLUS),	24	compatibility factors	were	identified,	to	include:

• Air	Quality

• Biological	Resources

• Coordination/Communication

• Cultural	Resources

• Dust,	Smoke	and	Steam

• Energy	Development

• Frequency	Spectrum	Capacity

• Frequency	Spectrum	Interference/Impedance

• Housing	Availability

• Infrastructure	Extensions

• Land	Use

• Land,	Air	and	Sea	Space	Competition
• Light	and	Glare

• Noise	and	Vibration

• Public	Trespassing

• Safety

• Scare	Natural	Resources

• Vertical	Obstructions

• Water	Quality	and	Quantity

III. Description	JLUS	Sponsor	Organization	and	Approach

The	organizations	and	entities	that	participated	in	developing	the	JLUS	are:

• City	of	Fallon

• City	of	Fernley

• Churchill	County

• Lyon	County

• Eureka	County

• Lander	County

• Mineral	County

• Nye	County

• Pershing	County

• Washoe	County

• Bureau	of	Land	Management

• Bureau	of	Reclamation

• Fallon-Paiute	Shoshone	Tribe

• Nevada	Farm	Bureau

• Nevada	Cattleman’s	Association

• Nevada	Division	of	State	Lands	(Nevada	State	Planning	Agency)

• Nevada	Department	of	Wildlife

• United	States	Fish	and	Wildlife	Service

Two	committees,	comprised	of	city,	county,	military,	and	other	partner agencies	and	

organizations,	guided	the	development	of	the	NAS	Fallon	JLUS. These	committees	

were	the	Policy	Committee,	which	is	responsible	for	the	overall	direction	of	the

JLUS,	and	the		Technical	Committee	(TC).	The	TC	is	responsible	for	identifying	and	

studying technical	issues.	The	TC	assists	in	reviewing	the	analysis	and	the	

development and	evaluation	of	implementation	strategies	and	tools.	

The	participants	approached	the	project	agreeing	that	a	successful	JLUS	would	

require balancing	the	different	needs	of	all	involved stakeholders.	Several	guidelines	

formed	the	basis	upon	which	the	strategies were	developed:

• In	concert	with	the	Nevada	state	laws,	the	Implementation	Plan	was
developed	with	the	understanding	that	the	recommended	strategies must	

not	result	in	a	taking	of	property	value.	In	some	cases,	the recommended	

strategies	can	only	be	implemented	with	new	enabling legislation.

• In	order	to	minimize	regulation,	where	appropriate,	strategies	were

recommended	only	for	specific	geographic	areas	to	resolve	the compatibility	

issue.

• In	lieu	of	eliminating	strategies	that	do not	have	100	percent	buy-in	from	all	

stakeholders,	it	was	determined that	the	solution	/	strategy	may	result	in	the	

creation	of	multiple strategies	that	address	the	same	issue	but	tailored	to	

individual circumstances.

IV. Findings	and	Recommendations

D. Implementation	Strategy

One	of	the	key	recommendations	is	for	the	formation of	a	JLUS	Coordination	

Committee	that	will	be	responsible	for	overseeing	the progress	of	the	

implementation	in	the	months	and	years	after	the	JLUS	is completed.

The	strategies	identified	by	the	JLUS	are:	

Biological	Resources

• Collaborate	with	USFWS on	species	that	may	be	considered	for	listing

• Develop	management	strategies	to	protect	Greater	Sage	Grouse

Communication

• Establish	a	JLUS	Coordination	Committee	to	provide	oversight	and	

monitoring	of	the	JLUS	implementation

• Establish	Military	Compatibility	Areas	(MCAs) for	use	by	stakeholders	to	

identify	where,	geographically,	each	JLUS	strategy	should	be	applied

• Formalize	Navy	cooperation	with	federal	and	state	agencies

• Develop	or	amend	real	estate	disclosure	language/	rental	agreements

• Create	and	maintain	a	GIS	data	clearinghouse

• Establish	an	unmanned	aerial	system	(UAS)	coordination	group

• Establish	procedures	for	plan	review	and	comment	between	NAS	Fallon	and	

local	jurisdictions	and	agencies

Cultural	Resources

• Protection	of	known	cultural	resources

• Coordinate	access	protocols	to	cultural	resources	within	the	FRTC	ranges

Dust,	Smoke,	Steam
• Consider	compatibility	when	permitting	geothermal	operations	and	promote	

dry	cooling	in	winter

• Reduce	potential	for	fugitive	dust	from	fallow	lands

Energy	Development

• Update	land	use	and	zoning	ordinances	to	consider	non-reflective	solar	

energy	projects

• Coordinate	with	DoD	Siting	Clearinghouse	on	renewable	energy	projects

Frequency	Spectrum	Interference/Impedance

• Provide	signage	noting	areas	that	GPS	and	cellular	technologies	could	be	

impacted	by	military	training	operations

• Formalize	communication	procedures	relative	to	frequency	use

• Promote	joint	infrastructure	and	facilities

Infrastructure	Extensions

• Implement	transmission	line	utility	corridors	into	master	plans

• Amend	Assembly	Bill	239,	Sections	27.5	and	27.7	to	Consider	Military	

Compatibility	and	Energy	Conservation

• Routinely	evaluate	the	ability		for	local	jurisdictions	to	provide	infrastructure	

and	services	to	NAS	Fallon

Land	Use

• Enhance	Transfer	of	Development	Rights	(TDR)	program

• Amend	Churchill	County	Cluster	Development	Ordinance

• Limit	future	Navy	land	withdrawals

Land/Air/Sea	Spaces

• Identification	and	development	of	unmanned	aerial	system	operating	

areas/corridors

• Develop	memorandum	of	agreement	for	coordination	of	aviation	activities

Light	and	Glare

• Develop	Dark	Skies	ordinances

Noise	and	Vibration

• Develop	sound	attenuation	building	standards	for	new	construction	and	

building	expansion

• NAS	Fallon	should	notify	communities	of	supersonic	training	exercises

Safety	Zones

• Maintain	current	individual	fire	management	training

• Maintain	NAS	Fallon’s	role	in	wildland	fire	detection	and	monitoring

• Update	Churchill	County	Fire	Plan

• Conduct	a	comprehensive	wildlife/bird	hazard	assessment	for	aircraft
• Secure	land	within	the	Runway	07/25	Clear	Zone	for	aircraft	safety

Vertical	Obstructions

• Enact	building/structure	height	limitations	under	flight	paths

• Provide	NAS	Fallon	notification	of	proposals	for	structures	greater	than	75	

feet

Water	Quality/Quantity

• Conduct	regional	water	resources	studies

• Evaluate	cooperation	on	flood	control	response	between	NAS	Fallon,	

Churchill	County,	and	the	City	of	Fallon

E. Status	

The	Policy	Committee	accepted	the	NAS	Fallon	JLUS	in	June	2015.		Initial	

implementation	of	strategies	has	begun	and	will	span	through	2018	and	beyond.