Location

The Barry M. Goldwater Range-East (BMGR) is located in southwest Arizona, and consists of over 2.7 million acres in Maricopa, Pima and Yuma counties, from Yuma to Gila Bend, Arizona and is bordered by Mexico to the south. BMGR is divided into the eastern portion managed by the Luke Air Force Base and the western portion managed by the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station. Only BMGR-East managed by Luke AFB is discussed in this narrative | View Map >

The Area A Munitions Response Site, which functioned as a bombing range, is located in the easternmost corner of BMGR-East. This site is situated within the Sonoran Desert National Monument and falls under the management of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Contaminants of Concern (COCs)

The COCs include munitions and explosives of concern and associated munitions constituents. COCs at the site may change as new data become available.

Munitions | Do not approach, pick up, touch, or move suspected ordnance, munitions, or explosives debris as serious harm could result.

Action Taken

Area A is the subject of the munitions cleanup effort, as it was utilized as an air-to-ground bombing target range. The site has been annexed and is currently under the jurisdiction of the BLM. Access to the area necessitates a permit, which must be obtained through Luke Air Force Base.

• Remedial Investigation with surface clearance was completed in 2022.

Status

The Area A site is currently undergoing the Feasibility Study (FS) reporting phase. Completion of the FS has been significantly delayed due to federal funding limitations and a reprioritization of funds to focus on inherent risk. Because of its remote location and the necessary requirement for a permitted access system, as well as a surface clearance that occurred simultaneously with the Remedial Investigation, the Air Force has ranked this site low on its risk prioritization matrix.