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RALEIGH, N.C. (Dec. 16)—U.S. Navy top guns are roaring into a danger zone of waterfowl and conservationists, according to the December issue of Wildlife in North Carolina. The Navy plans to build a facility in Washington County for pilots to practice aircraft-carrier landings. “In a few years, the dominant sound heard in the skies near Pocosin Lakes will be the roar of F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets,” writes Greg Jenkins, associate editor of the state’s wildlife magazine. The controversial project has garnered extensive media coverage statewide. Jenkins’ article focuses on wildlife—in particular how the noise could prove disastrous to migratory waterfowl populations. More than 100,000 snow geese and tundra swans overwinter in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which neighbors the Navy site, and in several nearby Wildlife Commission-owned state game lands. Snow geese, especially, are easily spooked. If the jets chase away the big, white birds, they could have trouble finding new foraging grounds, which could damage the flocks’ health and reproduction. For those reasons, the Wildlife Commission has joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several nonprofit organizations in opposing the Navy project. Even the pilots face grave danger if a 20-pound snow goose or tundra swan collides with a jet in flight. But the Navy insists that it can mitigate the dangers to pilots and birds alike. Radar can detect flocks and warn pilots. And Navy environmental scientists report that noise levels on and off the site will be, on average, the equivalent of a normal conversation. But average noise levels, opponents argue, take into account the 99 percent of the time that a jet isn’t streaking overhead as loud as a power tool or approaching subway train. And considering the irregular schedule of flights—from none to hundreds, each day or night—skittish wildlife would have difficulty habituating. The result could be hundreds of thousands of acres of prime waterfowl habitat silent of honks, quacks and fluttering wings, but sonorous with whooshes, roars and screaming engines. Wildlife in North Carolina magazine is published monthly by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. For subscription information, call toll-free (866) 945-3746, or see the subscription form here. |