The visitors caused problems with Groom Lake operations. Whenever someone was on White Sides or Freedom Ridge, altitude and route changes had to be made to avoid their seeing the aircraft (i.e., the MiGs). In some cases, operations had to be delayed or canceled.[826]
Signs were posted announcing, "Warning, There Is a Restricted Military Installation to the West." At the Groom Lake border, signs read, "Restricted Area, No Trespassing Beyond This Point, Photography Is Prohibited." The small print on yet another sign read, "Use of Deadly Force Authorized."
Security guards, (originally in tan Broncos or Blazers, then later in white Cherokees and HUMVEES) watched the visitors. When they observed a group climbing White Sides, the local sheriff was called. The group was called down off the mountain, IDs were checked, warnings were issued about entering the restricted area or taking pictures, then the visitors were sent on their way. Video cameras also were installed to watch visitors on White Sides Mountain. The few foolish enough to enter the restricted area were arrested on the spot. They were required to sign a notice that they were being removed for trespassing on a military reservation, a form listing home address, social security number, and so on and a secrecy agreement related to "intentional or accidental exposure to classified information." The fine was typically $600, but could run as high as $5,000 or a year in jail. It was also illegal "to make any photograph, film, map, sketch, picture, drawing, graphic representation of this area or equipment at or flying over this installation." It was also illegal to sell, publish, or give away any of the above. In either case, the fine was $1,000 and/or a year in jail.
Throughout 1993, there was a standoff, which grew increasingly tense, between the viewers and the security guards. Film was confiscated, and hikers were often buzzed by low-flying helicopters. In other cases, the visitors were followed by guards. Rumors of a land grab by the air force of White Sides Mountain and Freedom Ridge began circulating in the spring of 1993. As support for this, when Freedom Ridge was discovered, there were already survey stakes in the ground. It was claimed that congressional personnel had already been warned that the seizure would be made in several months. Three congressional groups were (reportedly) shown Groom Lake and came away "dazzled" by what they had seen.[827]
The White Sides Defense Committee was organized to bring political pressure in the event of a land seizure. In their handouts, they have depicted as absurd the idea of a secret base that anyone can see. They have castigated Groom Lake as a Cold War relic and demanded that the land seized in 1984 be returned to public access.[828] On October 16–17, 1993, the committee organized a camp out at White Sides. About thirty people showed up and had "a grand old time."[829]
The following day, the Federal Register carried a notice of the withdrawal of 3,972 acres of public land in Lincoln County, Nevada. Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnell said the land was "necessary to the safe and secure operation of the activities on the Nellis Range." The withdrawal would be until the year 2001, and the land would be closed to public access, mining, or any other government agency. The land was, of course, White Sides Mountain and Freedom Ridge.[830]
The land seizure attracted both protests and media attention. The White Sides Defense Committee asked, "Is the military realistically trying to hide critical national secrets from foreign enemies, or is it trying to inhibit watchdog groups, interested taxpayers, and other domestic critics who could challenge the wisdom of continued billion dollar projects?" The Federation of American Scientists called the action "profoundly offensive… this move should be put on hold."[831] A Black airplane buff-UFO believer said, "What the hell is going on at Groom Lake? Why all this extreme secrecy after the Cold War is over? We think someone should shine a bright light on this place."[832]
Newsweek carried a brief story that artfully evaded the UFO aspects. It talked about "reporters and aviation buffs" climbing the two hills, and "a craft that, judging from its lights, has extraordinary maneuverability." This article ignored the fact that the main group was UFO believers, while the "craft" was actually Old Faithful, the 737 airliner UFO believers believed was a human-flown UFO.[833]
The controversy also drew the attention of the counterculture. During early 1994, magazines such as Wired, Spin, and Nose carried articles on Groom Lake. They featured a trendy nihilism as well as extravagant rheto-ric and accusations, (e.g., "militarists who view [Nevada] as nothing more than featureless sandbox to bomb," "horribly irradiated," "a gung-ho think tank," "elite Air Force colonels," and "they move in like the Mafia)."[834] A list of projects at Groom Lake was called "Satan's Shopping List." This included not only Aurora, the "flattened diamond," the XB-70, the TR-3A, and UAVs, but also weapons with "microwave, electromagnetic pulse and psychtronic (mind-control) payloads." Groom Lake was described as equipped with defensive systems to protect against air and missile attack, including antiballistic missile launchers. The floor of the large hangar was described as descending "22 stories to a cavernous facility below" (an apparent reference to the tales of "secret alien underground bases" at Groom Lake). The budget for Groom Lake projects was claimed to be in the "tens of billions per year."
It was also suggested that any visitors make sure they have no "wants and warrants," as "your name is entered into a national crime and counter-intelligence data base, your life, friends and family researched, your phone tapped, your mail monitored, and the movies you rent screened."[835]
Throughout the end of 1993, the controversy over the Groom Lake land seizure built, with accusations that the air force's request was too vague, that illegal chemical waste burning had taken place at the site, and that civilian contractors had cheated on their property taxes for their facilities at the site. The goal was to focus attention on Groom Lake, to make the land seizure more difficult, and to force the Bureau of Land Management to hold public hearings. In this effort, they were successful.
The final public hearing was held on March 2, 1994, at Las Vegas. One person there commented that "entertainment like this can't be bought."[836]
Only about one-third of the speakers actually talked about the land seizure.
The remainder were UFO believers, conspiracy buffs, paranoids, and other "colorful characters." A radio talk show host from Alaska said,
God knows what they're testing out there. Do they have genetic engineering programs? Do they have bacteriological warfare programs? Did they not, in fact, create a thing called AIDS? Do they want to reduce the population of the planet by 25 % by the year 2000? You cannot allow them to take your property. This is YOUR land. It is not their spread.
Adolf Hitler wrote the book, The New World Order, and he used the Big Lie. He could not allow the people to go in and take a look at the camps at Nordhaus, Auschwitz, and Dachau. There are missing children, a hundred thousand plus across this nation. Where are they being taken to? Are they being used for medical experiments? Are there anti-gravitational disks being flown over there that were first developed under Adolf Hitler? Yes, yes, yes. You cannot, you must not allow it.[837]
826
Statement by Col. Warren Bennett, Commander 554th Range Squadron, Caliente Land Withdrawal Hearing, January 31, 1994.
830
"Air Force tries to plug 37-year-old leak with Groom Lake land grab,"
831
"USAF Seeks To Keep Unwanted Eyes from Watching Secret Nevada Base,"