Draft Report
of the
Governor’s OLF Study Committee
Released May 21, 2004
The Outlying Landing Field Study Group has met eight times over a 12-week period. We traveled twice to Washington County: once to observe a Navy flyover of F/A-18 Super Hornets that would use the OLF for training purposes and to visit the Pungo Unit of the Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge, and again on a Saturday to receive comments directly from more than 60 local residents. In three all-day meetings in Raleigh, we delved into a wide any of concerns raised by the Navy’s proposed facility in Washington County, including the wildlife and agricultural issues and the "human toll" of siting this facility in one
of North Carolina’s poorest counties. At another meeting, we reviewed the Navy’s OLF siting process, with a focus on Open Grounds Farm in Cartaret County as a possible alternative to the Washington County site. To set the OLF controversy in a larger context, we also garnered information on the overall impact of the military on North Carolina’s economy.
Over the course of its meetings, the study group addressed dozens of concerns that have been raised
with regard to the Washington County OLF site. The Navy participated actively and openly as a source of information throughout this process. Through its forthright participation, the Navy put some concerns to rest. However, the study group finds that there are a number of key concerns with the Washington County OLF site that remain unresolved. These concerns are summarized below.
Ecological Significance of the Refuge
Several key unresolved concerns are connected to the Pungo Unit of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which is located approximately five miles from the proposed OLF site. The study group received considerable expert testimony stressing the ecological significance of this internationally recognized refuge.
Approximately 100,000 waterfowl spend the winter from October through February at the Pungo Unit including 70,000 snow geese and thousands of tundra swans. The refuge is particularly important for tundra swans, providing habitat for 25 percent of the entire eastern population during the winter. An international panel of scientists ranks this refuge as one of the 50 most significant bird areas in the world. This is no accident. The Pungo Unit was established in 1963 with the primary purpose of attracting and protecting wintering, migratory birds; substantial public investment has gone into realizing this goal over the past 40 years.
The study group has learned that there are a variety of significant ways in which the OLF could have an adverse impact on the migratory birds in the Pungo Unit, including:
aircraft overflights and noise startle waterfowl (particularly snow geese that are intolerant of such activities) causing the birds to take flight which adversely affects their overall heat and their ability to reproduce; the extent to which the Navy may require changes in crop planting on agricultural land surrounding the OLF to reduce bird airstrike hazard (see below) could have the effect of dramatically diminishing or eliminating foraging habitat that experts maintain is a key ingredient to the overall success of the refuge; and in some cases, aircraft overflight and noise could lead to abandonment by birds that currently use the refuge.
At this point, the study group has not been provided sufficient information on noise levels associated with OLF training missions and their impact on snow geese, tundra swans and other specific species to conclude that the proposed OLF in Washington County would not pose a substantial threat to the Pungo Unit of the refuge and the migratory bird populations therein.
The Navy has suggested that it may be possible to alter flight paths of the F/A - 18 Super Hornets training at the proposed OLF, in order to reduce potential negative impacts on the Pungo Unit. No information on these revised paths has been provided to date.
Bird Airstilke Hazards
All parties agree that bird airstrikes pose a threat to pilot safety. Initial study of the proposed OLF site indicates loses that this site has a bird airstrike “hazard ratings” that is worse than any existing military jet training facility in the country. Yet, there is considerable dispute with regard to the level of risk (to various species of birds and to Navy aircraft and pilots) posed by the proposed OLF site's close proximity to the migratory birds that frequent the refuge and surrounding areas.
The Navy has yet to complete a full analysis of bird airstrike hazards at the proposed OLF site and a management plan to address these hazards. Such management plans typically blend a variety of
strategies including: avoiding operations during times of major bird activity, managing surrounding agricultural lands in a manner to make the OLF area unattractive to birds, scaring birds away, and even potentially killing some of the birds.
The Navy points out that it has substantial experience managing similar bird airstrike hazards at other
OLF sites. However, the study group has not been informed of an existing OLF site that might be factually comparable to the proposed site with respect to numbers, size and foraging patterns of the birds. Nor have we learned of management techniques that have been adopted at such sites.
In sum, the study group lacks the information necessary to conclude that it would be possible to identify and implement bird management measures at this OLF site that will ensure pilot safety without either causing substantial adverse impacts to the migratory bird population at Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge, or
seriously degrading the training value of the OLF.
Agricultural issues
The Navy has declared its intention to pursue the outright, fee simple purchase of 30,000 acres of prime North Carolina farmland. This purchase of land would load to the displacement of farming families some of whom have been living on this land for generations. It is not clear to the study group why all this land must be purchased, as opposed to the less invasive approach of purchasing land in the core area and creating a protective buffer around it through conservation easements or other means.
Since the Navy has not completed a bird management plan — which would include any crop restrictions on land purchased by the Navy - the study group Is unable to assess the full impact of the proposed OLF on tie agricultural community in Washington and Beaufort counties. Crop restrictions have the potential to hurt farmers who have made significant capital investment In production equipment for a particular crop, if that crop is then excluded or severely curtailed. Crop restrictions also limit the ability of farmers to make necessary business-planning decisions about production depending on market conditions.
Economic Impact
Information gathered by the study group indicates that the proposed OLF has the potential to harm the local economy and the quality of life in Washington and Beaufort counties, while offering little positive economic impact in return.
Negative impacts associated with the Navy's current OLF proposal in Washington and Beaufort counties include:
A permanent loss of more than 70 homes and businesses. According to information presented to the
study group, the rural farming community displaced by this action will face significant challenges in relocation - particularly with regard to finding comparable and affordable housing, preserving family ties
and finding comparable tracts of farmland that are available for relocated farmers to purchase;
An estimated recurring annual loss $185,000 in ad valorem tax revenues to county governments as a
result of the inability to collect property tax on 30,000 acres of highly productive farm land no longer in
private hands; and
An unquantifiable loss to two economically depressed counties due to the potential for noise (or public perception of potential noise from Navy jets depressing real estate values and eco-tourism potential in the region.
There is still considerable uncertainty with regard to the noise associated with jets that will use the proposed OLF site. In order for communities to get a better sense of the potential damage to quality of life, real estate values and future eco-tourism in the area the Navy should delineate flight paths for planes approaching the OLF in a more precise way, and these flights should be accurately demonstrated to affected communities and other affected parties through flyovers.
The study group recognizes that the U.S. military serves as one of the most significant economic engines in North Carolina. According to research provided by East Carolina University, the military contributed $18 billion to North Carolina’s economy in 2002; nearly 262,000 jobs are estimated to be directly related to military operations in North Carolina.
The Navy estimates that the direct, recurring impact of their proposal to site two of 12 squadrons of F/A-
18 Super Hornets In the Cherry Point region would create 798 jobs and an increase in payroll
expenditures of $27.3 million. The OLF in Washington and Beaufort counties, on the other hand, is estimated to have a recurring, direct impact of 50 to 60 jobs created and an increase in payroll expenditures of $1 million.
Alternative Site
Over the course of our meetings, and in public comments gathered in Washington County, the study
group was repeatedly encouraged to explore an alternative OLF site in Cartaret County, commonly
referred to as Open Grounds Farm, which was considered and dismissed by the Navy in its siting process. Based on information provided to date, the study group is unable to conclude that the "operational constraints" that the Navy cites as problems with Open Grounds Farm are significant enough to merit dismissing the site, especially In light of unresolved concerns at the Washington County site.
Conclusion
The unresolved issues cited above require answers before it is possible to reach a definitive
conclusion. The study group stands ready to work toward this end in the months to come. Until
these issues can be resolved, the study group recommends that the door be left open to pursuing
an alternative OLF site in North Carolina.
Activity with regard to the proposed Washington County OLF site has ceased for the time being,
however, following Judge Torrence Boyle's decision on April 19, 2004, to enjoin the Navy from
directly or indirectly taking any further activity associated with constructing an OLF in
Washington and Beaufort counties.
