Program aims to deter development around naval air station

WASHINGTON (AP) — Government agencies and the Chesapeake Conservancy are committing $9.7 million to discourage development in parts of three states within the aircraft testing range of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in southern Maryland.

The U.S. departments of defense, interior and agriculture said Wednesday that the installation has been added to a program called Sentinel Landscapes. The program creates buffers for military test missions by protecting lands from development in partnership with environmental groups.

The Patuxent River Atlantic Test Ranges cover nearly 2,400 square miles of restricted airspace over parts of Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.

The territory includes part of Somerset County, where a wind power developer recently shelved a project amid concern that the tall turbines could compromise radar during aircraft tests.

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