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Navy Announces Decision on F-18s, OLF in Washington County



Hello all,

After all the great sightings of migrating birds reported from last weekend, this makes the following news even more depressing - let's hope we've only lost the battle but not the war.

Good birding,

Lena Gallitano
Raleigh, NC


"CANFIELD, Chris" wrote:

> As the media is reporting, the Secretary of the Navy has announced the decision to build a landing field (OLF) in Washington County next to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.  It is intended to support 32,000 training flights per year for planes coming from Virginia's Oceana base and North Carolina's Cherry Point.
>
> Below is the Audubon response, sent to state and national media today.  While I'm angry and disappointed, this is not, unfortunately, unexpected.  That is why we got the national board of Audubon to authorize a legal challenge to the plan -- they did that this past weekend.
>
> We will fight this; and we intend to stop this.  Besides our actions, the governor's office is looking at its recourse, as are state legislators.  Other groups may file suits on other grounds.  And there is still a proposal for congressional hearings.  Finally, we believe it is time that national news media give this even greater attention (we have some good leads on that).
>
> Thanks for the wonderful moral and direct support so far.  I'll let everyone know what additional steps we need you to take soon.  For now, if you wish, you can call your congressional delegation (senators and congressmen) and ask them to (continue to) support moving this field elsewhere and overturning the Navy plan.
>
> Chris
> P.S.  If you'd like to see the Navy's full "justification," and have Adobe Acrobat, go to http://www.efaircraft.ene.com/pdfs/ROD%20Final.pdf
>
> *****************************************
> Chris Canfield
> Executive Director
> Audubon North Carolina
> 410 Airport Rd.
> Chapel Hill, NC  27514
> 919-929-3899/fax: 919-929-4599
> email: ccanfield@audubon.org
> *****************************************
>
> NATIONAL AUDUBON CONDEMNS NAVY DECISION TO BUILD LANDING FIELD ADJACENT TO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
>
> Bringing Pilots Face to Face with 100,000 Geese and Swans, Plan is called Bad
> for Birds by Experts and Likely to Cost the Public Millions in Lost Aircraft
>
> Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Wednesday, September 10 - The National Audubon Society condemns the decision announced today by Acting Secretary of the Navy Hansford T. Johnson to locate a jet landing field adjacent to a globally significant national wildlife refuge.  The decision came after extensive and overwhelming evidence presented to the Navy by Audubon, numerous other conservation organizations, and government experts of the great damage the field would cause to bird populations and the risks the birds will pose to aircraft and pilots.
>
> "It is a bad decision based on a flawed environmental study," said Chris Canfield, executive director of Audubon North Carolina.  "Since the Navy has chosen to fly in the face of reason and good science, we have no other choice but to actively pursue legal challenges to stop this unneccesarily destructive plan."
>
> The push to place a practice landing field for new F/A 18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft on the doorstep of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina has drawn public criticism from across the country.  Pocosin Lakes is winter home to 100,000 large waterfowl, including Tundra Swans and Snow Geese from Arctic Canada and Alaska.  Experts - including the Air Force's leading authority on bird/aircraft collisions - have described the plan as ill-considered one with a high liklihood of bird and aircraft collisions producing catastrophic results.
>
> Just this past weekend, the board of directors of the National Audubon Society considered the case and approved the possible use of legal action against the Navy.  "The Navy has had every opportunity to work with knowledgeable partners and the people in North Carolina's neighboring communities," said Audubon COO Bob Perciasepe.  "Their decision to ignore the overwhelming science and the voices of local people has made it necessary for Audubon to act."
>
> According to Perciasepe, Audubon and lawyers from the Southern Environmental Law Center are reviewing the official Record of Decision and developing arguments for a lawsuit.
>
> In order to displace the birds that pose a risk to jets and their pilots, the Navy plans to buy or condemn as much as 50 square miles of land, moving as many as 74 families off land some have farmed for 6 generations.  In doing so, they will also effectively erode the mission of the nearby refuge, which has been the centerpiece of ecotourism plans that could help this largely minority and economically depressed community.
>
> "All elements of the community and the state have stood united against this proposal - farmers, conservationists, hunters, wildlife experts, and local officials.  All have been summarily dismissed by the Navy," Canfield said.
>
> "Even Governor Easley and our congressional delegation have requested reconsideration of this plan.  The Secretary of the Navy has chosen to ignore them as well," he added.  "The people and leaders of North Carolina and the nation should not accept this treatment by people meant to serve and protect us."
>
> Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them.  Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.
>
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