Navy Persists In Threatening National Refuge With Jet Landing Field

The U.S. Navy has proposed once again to put a jet landing field right next to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern North Carolina, winter home to 100,000 swans and geese. It is also home to numerous black bears, and the country’s only population of endangered red wolves, as well as Bald Eagles and millions of other birds. The conflict between jets and birds is inevitable. The recent court-ordered supplemental report reveals just how far the Navy may have to go to try to make the site work: stripping forage crops from 20,000 acres and harassing, even poisoning, birds that might interfere with the jets.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, and Defenders of Wildlife entered legal challenges to the proposal in January 2004. Washington and Beaufort counties, the areas designated for the landing field, where up to 100 family farms would be condemned or controlled by the Navy, joined in the suit. Rulings in federal district and appeals courts ordered the Navy to temporarily stop its plans and do additional studies. At the end of February 2007, the new studies were released by the Navy.

Unfortunately, the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS)

makes clear the Navy’s intention of still trying to make the same unsuitable site work. It can’t. The documents reveal the Navy’s intention of moving birds based at the refuge away from the area by eliminating their feeding areas, by harassing them, and by killing those that persist in the area. While these techniques are perhaps necessary for safety at existing airstrips where a new bird or wildlife hazard may be present, they are wholly unjustified at a location that can be avoided altogether. The refuge and birds have been here for decades.

What You Can Do: You have an important opportunity to help prevent the Navy from constructing a destructive outlying landing field (OLF) next to Pungo Lake and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and near Lake Phelps and Pettigrew State Park. The Navy’s decision to construct the landing field must be consistent with North Carolina’s coastal management program. North Carolina’s coastal management program designates Pungo Lake and Phelps Lake as Areas of Environmental Concern. As Areas of Environmental Concern, Pungo Lake and Phelps Lake must be managed to maintain their biological, aesthetic, and economic values.

If you enjoy Pungo Lake and/or Phelps Lake, the spectacular waterfowl, and the peaceful settings, please EMAIL or WRITE the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management BY MARCH 16 AND ENCOURAGE THE DIVISION OF COASTAL MANAGEMENT TO DETERMINE THAT THE NAVY’S OLF IS INCONSISTENT WITH NORTH CAROLINA’S COASTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.

1) If you visit Pungo Lake and the refuge, or Phelps Lake, tell the agency why.

2) If you are concerned about the impacts of a landing field on the swans and geese, let the agency know.

3) If you spend money in the area on your visit, let the agency know.

4) If you just enjoy knowing these wild places exist, tell the agency.

AGAIN, ENCOURAGE THE DIVISION OF COASTAL MANAGEMENT TO DETERMINE THAT THE NAVY’S LANDING FIELD IS INCONSISTENT WITH MAINTAINING THE BIOLOGICAL, AESTHETIC, AND ECONOMIC VALUES OF PUNGO LAKE.

*It is very important to generate quickly as many letters and emails as possible. Together, we can stop this ill-advised Navy landing field and protect Pungo Lake and Phelps Lake, the wildlife refuge, and the waterfowl for future generations.

Send emails to: Stephen.Rynas@ncmail.net

Send letters to: Division of Coastal Management

Attn: Stephen Rynas

NC DENR

400 Commerce Avenue

Morehead City, NC 28557