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Urban Shield, a training exercise for emergency response teams, sparked controversy when it held its operations in September on a bird nature reserve at Alameda Point that is home to endangered species.

According to John Lindsay-Poland, a member of the Alameda County committee on Urban Areas Security Initiative — a federal program that funds Urban Shield — repeated explosions during Urban Shield’s SWAT team competition raised environmental concerns.

“The conduct of military-type exercises on an area set aside for wildlife raises raises alarm bells about how our federal lands are managed,” said Richard Bangert, an environmental activist, in an email.