WASHINGTON - The Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted not to add Grand Forks Air Force Base to the Pentagon's list of closures Tuesday, an indication the base probably will stay open.

Six of the nine commissioners voted against adding the base to the closure list. Seven votes were required to put it on the list.

"We have dodged another very serious bullet," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., after the vote. "This opens up a great opportunity for the future."

Gov. John Hoeven, who was in Washington for the commission meeting, said he is also thrilled with the outcome. "It's more than just the economics, it's the relationships," he said of Grand Forks. "There are so many ties with the community."

Hoeven said that the fight is not over. "We will have to continue to work hard," he said.

A Pentagon plan released in May recommended that Grand Forks stay open but lose its air tanker mission and most of its personnel. Tuesday's vote was on whether to close, instead of realign, the base.

The commission, which makes the final decisions on base closings, will produce a final list of recommendations in the fall. The list then goes to the White House and Congress for up-or-down approval.

Several commissioners said they opposed closure and supported realignment because Air Force officials had made a strong case for bringing unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to the base. The Pentagon has said that mission will come to Grand Forks once the air tankers are moved out.

"Clearly, moving the UAV mission there is important to that vision," said commissioner Lloyd Warren Newton, a retired Air Force general.

Before the vote, for the sake of the debate, staff on the commission presented a detailed argument in favor of closing Grand Forks.

The commission staff said Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, which the Pentagon has recommended for closure, has comparable military value scores for a UAV mission and a higher military value score for an air tanker mission. They also noted that Ellsworth has a similar strategic location to Grand Forks.

Commissioner Admiral Harold W. Gehman, Jr., a retired Navy admiral, argued for adding Grand Forks to the closing list so the commission could further compare it to Ellsworth.

"It seems to me the only way we can compare is by treating both bases the same," he said.

Gehman voted to add the base to the closure list, as did Sue Ellen Turner, a retired Air Force brigadier general, and former Republican Rep. James Hansen of Utah.

Air Force officials have said they changed their minds at the last minute about closing Grand Forks. Commission staff members said Tuesday that Grand Forks' recommendation was changed from closure to realignment on May 4, nine days before the Pentagon recommendations were released.

Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force vice chief of staff, told the commission Monday that Grand Forks is a "perfect opportunity" to house unmanned flying drones, or UAVs.

"We believe this is a place for a family of UAVs as this mission grows and evolves," Moseley said.

The "frosting on the cake" came when Moseley recommended that the Grand Forks base be considered for new tankers in 2010, said John Marshall,a Grand Forks attorney who has led the effort to save the base.

"He stepped up and above and out on that one," Marshall said. But he said he won't rest until the list is final and approved by President Bush.

"I'm thrilled to death," Marshall said, "but it's the third quarter and we still have another quarter to go."

The UAVs are the Global Hawk, which can relay images and sensor information to battlefield commanders, and the Predator, a missile-firing craft that also can be used for reconnaissance and surveillance.

Pentagon officials also testified Monday that keeping Grand Forks open is important for homeland security reasons, since the base is near the northern border.

Military installations in California, Maine and Virginia, among other states, were added to the Pentagon list Tuesday.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said Tuesday that Grand Forks is extremely fortunate not to have been added.

"If we hadn't gotten over this hurdle, it's likely the base would have been closed," he said.

"This is like winning the Super Bowl, only better," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.