This should be surprising, but it's not. This is typical of strong-arm tactics being used by the United States Navy to deprive North Carolina family farmers access to information they can use to combat the building of an Outlying Landing Field adjacent to the Pocosin National Wildlife Reserve in northeast North Carolina - where nearly 100,000 snow geese and tundra swans spend the winter.
The story is a sick one, pitting two arms of the government against one another. And guess which one is winning - the Fish and Wildlife Service or the United States Navy?
US Fish and Wildlife Service placed under gag order regarding Navy’s planned OLF
Chapel Hill– U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in North Carolina have been prohibited from talking to reporters, opposing parties or the public about the Navy’s proposed outlying landing field (OLF) in northeastern North Carolina. The directive was issued last Friday by U.S. Department of Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary Todd Willens and comes in advance of the Navy’s release of a court-ordered Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, expected next month.
This is where the Navy wants to put a training field for multi-million F-18 Hornets.
The Navy's original Environmental Impact Statement was a stinking pack of lies. In fact, even arch-conservative Judge Terrence Boyle shut the Navy down in its first attempt to ram the EIS through when it was discovered the Navy had reverse-engineered its study to make sure the Pocosin site (Site C) was the winner.
"This newly issued gag order is an effort to keep the public from knowing the opinions of the Fish and Wildlife service professionals who are concerned about the effects a proposed landing field will have on wildlife and the refuge at the Navy’s preferred site," said Derb Carter, attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center which represents the environmental interests in the case against the Navy’s proposed OLF. "This directive only further confirms that the decision to build the landing field is entirely political and not based on law and science."
The people fighting this outrage are family farmers, with two women named Jennifer and Doris at the front of the NO-OLF organization. They've been at this for years . . . and they're getting worn down. BlueNC recently jumped on their bandwagon, and we're doing everything we can to elevate this issue both at the state and federal levels. Congressman David Price is out front on it, even though it's not his district - but leading NC elected officials have hemmed and hawed. Only a few candidates have weighed in with clear opinions.
Willens’ directive prohibits U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) staff from responding to questions or commenting on the proposed landing field to media, non-governmental organizations and the general public. All inquiries regarding the landing field are to be referred to Jeff Fleming, of the FWS public affairs office in Atlanta. Sam Hamilton, Regional Director of FWS, delivered the directive to the staff.
In February the Navy is expected to release its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS), which was ordered by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a partnering agency with the Navy, staff members have expressed concern over the proposed landing field’s impact on the adjacent Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and on endangered red wolves and threatened bald eagles.
"Fish and Wildlife biologists who know the region best have made it clear from the outset that the landing field would seriously jeopardize the function of the refuge," said Chris Canfield, Executive Director of Audubon North Carolina, a lead plaintiff in the case. "An order from political leaders to keep quiet doesn’t change that fact."
Todd Willens is the former policy director of the House Resources Committee when it was chaired by Rep. Richard Pombo (CA). In this position, Willens had involvement with convicted influence peddler Jack Abramoff according to news articles cited by the Endangered Species and Wetlands Report . Just before Rep. Pombo was defeated in his bid for reelection, Willens left the House Resources Committee to become Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Department of the Interior.
From talking with a Congressional staffer, we have learned:
- There will not be formal action in the House until the defense appropriations bill comes up for consideration in April and May. I specifically asked if a prohibition against using current funds for Site C could be included as an amendment on some other bill, and the answer was "probably not."
- The Navy will be issuing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in late February, with public hearings soon thereafter. Everyone expects they are again reverse engineering the process in favor of Site C, which means they're still a bunch of liars.
- New requirements placed on the Navy by the courts and by Congress include: a) working with state officials to identify and evaluate other sites, and b) working with the Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate the suitability of any proposal.
This is where participation by Governor Easley, Lt. Gov. Perdue, State Treasurer Moore, and the NC General Assembly come into play. If our elected official present a united front that Site C is not an appropriate location for the OLF, the Navy will have a hard time making its case. We need to lean on NC officials to weigh in strongly against Site C.
One thing you might imagine we would do is seek the help of Elizabeth Dole understand That will be hard, though, because Dole is the reason this whole fucking disaster is happening in the first place.
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There is a persistent rumor that the Navy was involved in illegally trapping red wolves on the proposed OLF site. We need confirmation of that rumor. We need whoever saw that happening to go public with it. I was told that the whistle-blower protection would apply here. If the person who saw this is an FWS employee, would her or she be protected?
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Finally, we will need the NC General Assembly to pass a resolution against the proposed OLF on Site C. That resolution should be initiated by representatives and senators from the Site C counties. A draft resolution is currently being written.
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We welcome whatever ideas and energy you can send our way. This is David and Goliath on steroids, and we intend to kick some serious ass.