South Dakota Ranchers Ask Air Force for More Flight Info

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota organization that represents livestock producers is petitioning U.S. Air Force officials to provide more information to rural pilots who fly in a newly expanded training zone.

The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association sent a request to officials at Ellsworth Air Force Base on Tuesday regarding last year's expansion of the Powder River Training Complex.

The expansion roughly quadrupled the training airspace for the Air Force in Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas.

Stockgrowers president Bill Kluck says officials committed to making flight information available to ranchers who monitor their herds and land by air in the area. He says they have not effectively followed through.

Kluck says it's difficult for rural pilots to know whether it's safe to fly.

Air Force officials did not immediately comment.

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