According to the press release we’ve received from NASWI, the Navy will clearcut a swath of trees east of Runway 25 for about 10 acres. All vegetation that grows there will be allowed to be cut down at will from now on by the Navy.
The release suggests that there can be written comments about this sent to the Navy until May 13th.
Information about how to contact the Navy with your comments, about the clearcut, and about the Environmental Assessment, can be found below in the copied release.
Speak now or forever (quite literally, as it indicates in the press release) hold your peace.
NASWI PRESS RELEASE
OAK HARBOR, Wash., – The Navy is accepting written public comments through May 13, 2016, on an Environmental Assessment (EA) project to clear 7.6 acres of alder trees on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s Ault Field that are becoming hazardous for aircraft landing on one of the base’s runways.
The proposed plan is to cut-down and leave-in-place 7.6 acres of alders located east of Runway 25, the eastern approach runway at Ault Field, to eliminate visual obstructions for aircraft approaching that runway for landing. The proposed action is planned to occur between September and December 2016. Future vegetation clearing at the 9.5-acre site would occur in perpetuity to prevent re-growth of visual obstructions to runway operations.
All written comments must be received by May 13, 2016, to be considered by the Navy as it prepares the Final EA. If you would like to read the EA please go the NAVFAC Northwest public website at http://go.usa.gov/tAr4.
Comments may be sent by email to NWNEPA@navy.mil or by U.S. Mail to NAS Whidbey Island Tree Cutting EA Team, NAVFAC Northwest, 1101 Tautog Circle, Room 203, Silverdale, WA 98315.
For more information, please contact Mike Welding at michael.welding@navy.mil, or call 360-257-2286.
###
For additional information or questions contact:
Mike Welding
Public Affairs Officer
(360) 257-2286 FAX (360) 257-3972
E-mail: whdb_naswi_pao@navy.mil
Aren’t they supposed to be “training” to fly anywhere? Do they expect other countries to clear cut lines of sight for them.
Please find an alternative.
I don’t know how much more the Earth can take.
We need air, nature, water, life.
Please find a way not to destroy this earth and its beings as you improve your
weapons. Staying on this track of the destruction of nature, your weapons will simply
have nothing left to defend. Stop. Stop. For God’s sake, please Stop.
Enough with the rape of our cherished forests and much needed recreational lands. If we destroy all that matters, then what are we fighting for?
Yeah, this plan has been in place for years. The trees have been a longtime problem, and there is no alternative. Sorry, but the trees are coming down. It’s a safety of flight issue, and it’s a requirement to operate aircraft safely at any airfield. So you have no hope of stopping it. Decision is made and required, just like it would be at SEATAC or anyplace else.
The Navy needs to leave the island alone, the current impact is enough.
Please don’t do this. We need to protect this sacred land and the resources it provides us. There already so much your disturbing in our airs and waterways.
I’m strongly against it. Negative impact to wildlife, the environment and people. Let the trees grow!
Clear cutting is not the answer! Be kind to nature!
This is PURE INSANITY!!!! WHY????? There is NO winning this war you have unleashed on the earth and her people. We’re ALL goin down if you continue to insist on “ownership” thru destruction and actions soooo very reckless. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS! YOU who ever “YOU” are or “think “YOU” are, have NO RIGHT! Do YOU have children??? Do you care??? The answer is obviously no. This make NO sense.
Have the Navy done and environmental impact study.?
I thought part of the training in Whidbey was to learn to deal with hazardous environment so when they went to other countries, they would have the expertise.
I wonder what they are doing with the wood sell it?
OK, I got it. You like trees. But these are trees that are growing inside the fence, on government land, at a Naval Air Station. Their continued growth endangers aircraft taking off or landing and puts human lives at risk. There are far more trees growing at Ault Field today than there were in the 1950s and 60s. Part of the reason is that the Navy now employs professional foresters and conservation managers to help make smarter decisions about balancing the needs of the land and vegetation versus the needs of an operating airport. Are you actually saying that you value the trees more than you value the lives of people who fly the planes, not to mention those on the ground who might be in danger if a plane crashes? If so, you really need to reassess your values…or your sanity.
Sorry, the trees are owned by the Navy, represent a direct hazard to aircraft, and will be removed. This has been years in the planning, and we can no longer accept the risk to pilots. The trees are now in the 40:1 obstacle path prescribed by the TERPSTERS from NOAA who work with the FAA to design safe instrument approach procedures. The arrival to runway 25 is unsafe for pilots. Therefore, the trees will be removed and flight operations will continue.
There will be no discussion on the topic, no negotiation, and no interest in what you have to say. This is going to happen whether you like it or not.