The 49th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, proposes to fly approximately 300 supersonic sorties per month in the Reserve Military Operations Area/ Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspace area. Several alternatives were reviewed including the no action option. A review of existing MOA's within 150 NM of Holloman AFB show the more viable alternatives to be: utilize only the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) and the Reserve MOA; use only the WSMR and the Valentine MOA. The Air Force's preferred alternative is to conduct 300 sorties per month in both MOA's (Valentine and Reserve) to minimize the number of sonic booms each area would receive. The primary environmental concern associated with the proposed action is the effects of sonic booms. Concerns have been raised about significant indirect impacts to the economy by sonic booms impacting ranching operations and recreational activities. Other concerns raised were wilderness, wildlife, human health and annoyance, structures, cultural resources, and commercial/private air traffic impacts. Each attribute has been analyzed to a depth sufficient to determine if the potential impact would be significant. No significant impacts were identified on socio-economics or health effects. The potential long term health effects of loud noise is a debatable issue.


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