Posted on by West Coast Action Alliance April 26,
2016
Analysis of increases and some impacts as shown in the Navy’s Northwest Training and Testing EIS.
It’s obvious even to tourists that the increase in Navy activity in our Northwest waters, public lands, and skies is huge. But how big? The West Coast Action Alliance examined the Navy’s Northwest Training and Testing EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and the Letters of Authorization for incidental takes of marine mammals issued by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. We found some startling numbers. These numbers apply only to the coastal waters of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Southeast Alaska, as well as inland waters including the San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Click on any image to enlarge it.
2016
Analysis of increases and some impacts as shown in the Navy’s Northwest Training and Testing EIS.
It’s obvious even to tourists that the increase in Navy activity in our Northwest waters, public lands, and skies is huge. But how big? The West Coast Action Alliance examined the Navy’s Northwest Training and Testing EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and the Letters of Authorization for incidental takes of marine mammals issued by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. We found some startling numbers. These numbers apply only to the coastal waters of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Southeast Alaska, as well as inland waters including the San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Click on any image to enlarge it.
Map from the Navy’s EIS showing the Northwest Training and Testing Range. This does not include any other ranges such as the Electronic Warfare Range on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
The NWTT EIS is still open because the Navy has not been able to sign a final Record of Decision (ROD) due to the fact that the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species consultation is still not finished, seven months after publication of the EIS. This is unprecedented.
First, a comparison of baseline to proposed numbers of activities listed in the October 2015 EIS revealed the following:
72% increase in electronic warfare operations,
50% increase in explosive ordance disposal in Crescent Harbor and Hood Canal,
244% increase in air combat maneuvers (dogfighting)
400% increase in air-to-surface missile exercises (including Olympic National Marine Sanctuary),
400% increase in helicopter tracking exercises,
778% increase in number of torpedoes in inland waters,
3,500% increase in number of sonobuoys,
From none to 284 sonar testing events in inland waters,
From none to 286 “Maritime Security Operations” using 1,320 small-caliber rounds (blanks) in Hood Canal, Dabob Bay, Puget Sound & Strait of Juan de Fuca,
72% increase in chaff dropped from aircraft (contains tiny glass fibers and more than a dozen metals,)
1,150% increase in drone aircraft,
1,150% increase in drone surface vehicles,
1,450% increase in expendable devices. These are just a few.
Read the rest of this alarming article on West Coast Action Alliance.
First, a comparison of baseline to proposed numbers of activities listed in the October 2015 EIS revealed the following:
72% increase in electronic warfare operations,
50% increase in explosive ordance disposal in Crescent Harbor and Hood Canal,
244% increase in air combat maneuvers (dogfighting)
400% increase in air-to-surface missile exercises (including Olympic National Marine Sanctuary),
400% increase in helicopter tracking exercises,
778% increase in number of torpedoes in inland waters,
3,500% increase in number of sonobuoys,
From none to 284 sonar testing events in inland waters,
From none to 286 “Maritime Security Operations” using 1,320 small-caliber rounds (blanks) in Hood Canal, Dabob Bay, Puget Sound & Strait of Juan de Fuca,
72% increase in chaff dropped from aircraft (contains tiny glass fibers and more than a dozen metals,)
1,150% increase in drone aircraft,
1,150% increase in drone surface vehicles,
1,450% increase in expendable devices. These are just a few.
Read the rest of this alarming article on West Coast Action Alliance.