Finally, a major news outlet on the “east” side of the Sound discusses, in depth, what has been happening out here over the last year. Our friends in the environmental movement in Seattle have rebuked all efforts to get them involved in any way, stating that the coal and Bakka Crude train issue is all they can handle. Luckily, there are a number of dedicated people, like Karen Sullivan quoted in the article, that have worked to keep this a front burner issue.
To be clear, jet training noise in Port Townsend, which is 16 nautical miles from the airbase, is loud enough at midnight to wake people up inside houses with windows closed. That would be the equivalent of Green Lake hearing the jets from Sea Tac at midnight. The Seattle-ites that love to come over here and use the Olympic National Forest might want to help before the expected peace and quite of the wilderness is overrun by troop training exercises. It will be too late then, folks. They are asking for over 260 days a year to use these locales, and never admit that or state it in public meetings. Just read the documents to find the truth of their demands.
Special Operations units and an Air Force survival school already use Northwest forests New plans might lead to more noticeable training on Olympic Peninsula, North Cascades. Environmental reviews draw thousands of letters from opponents
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/military/article59954826.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/military/article59954826.html
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Navy Expansion, Puget Sound |
Your friend in the Cascades should know that there are multiple military low level routes through the Cascades. Those routes have been there since the 1950s, and they’re not going anywhere. Approved and fully coordinated with the FAA and DOD. Those routes are flown every single day. So enjoy the free airshow and the hard working pilots who are training. And it’s completely remote so no one is going to tolerate you whining about it. More flyovers coming your way!
Andrea, we are well aware of the routes through the Cascades, and this isn’t what we are talking about here. To be clear, one persons’ “remote” is another person’s cabin in the woods, a get away from modern noise pollution, for one thing. The issue we are concerned about is that they Navy has requested, in writing, to use the edge of the Olympic National Park, a National Park designated for Wilderness use, and fly over that at low altitude for over 200+ days a year.While it could be argued that they have never flown that much, it’s what they themselves are asking to do, in writing. Many tens of thousands of people come and spend a lot of money seeking the peace and quiet of a National Park on their vacations, just like they do at Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. They spend millions of dollars a year, according to the people who track that for the government. Thousands of jobs, based on wilderness use. They will not be happy, and likely will not return, upon finding that this area is simply Navy noise zone. I for one, and thousands of others who have signed petitions against this ‘taking’ of our public sky, our peace and quiet, and essentially our wilderness, do not believe that we are ‘whining’ nor saying that the Navy shouldn’t train. It’s funny to me how the right wing screams about takings when it’s the range lands, for example, but get all hot under the collar when we complain about takings from our National Parks.
The Navy clearly has other locations that they already are using, as you so wonderfully point out, and that is the crux of this thing. The agreement, signed in 1988 between the Navy and other Federal Government organizations, specifically calls out that they cannot take more lands when they have lands already to use. Read the law, and then get back to me.
My friend was hiking in the Cascades, and a Growler flew BELOW him as he was walking along.
would you happen to have contact info for him? im a student studying this issue and i would love to talk to him
Who are you asking that of Ashley?
Don’t overlook the Navy’s trashing citizen’s health, home values and The Ebey’s Landing National Reserve with Growler Training at OLF Coupeville on Whidbey Island.
We live on Dosewallips Road in Brinnon. Yesterday, a plane went over our house so closely that it not only scared my cats silly, but it rattled the house. That is just too damn loud!