The
Center for Marine Conservation (CMC) welcomes this
opportunity to comment on the Navy's proposal to develop
a practice ordnance target area at Fort Hunter Liggett in
Monterey County, California. Founded in 1972, the Center
for Marine Conservation is a national nonprofit
organization with more than 120,000 members who are
committed to protecting ocean environments and conserving
the diversity and abundance of marine life. Our Monterey
Bay Field Office is focused specifically on protection of
the coastal and marine resources of California's Central
Coast.
CMC is concerned both with the public process and the
potential environmental impacts associated with the
proposed Fort Hunter Liggett bombing range. We urge the
Navy to:
Improve public outreach on this project to insure
adequate involvement by all interested stakeholders.
Conduct a full Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) rather than merely an
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed bombing
range.
CMC is concerned at the apparent lack of public
outreach regarding this project. We first became aware
of the project at the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting in early February.
However, it has since come to our attention that a public
notice was released in November 2000. We were surprised
not to have received a copy of this notice, or any other
formal notification of the project, and ask to be
included in any future notifications. We also strongly
recommend that all of the existing environmental
organizations active in the Central Coast area receive
similar notification regarding this project.
We are concerned that the proposed project may have
significant adverse impacts on the resources of the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and are
particularly concerned about any potential increase in
over flights of the Sanctuary. The Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary is the crown jewel of the marine
sanctuaries program and a national treasure. The
Sanctuary was selected based on its unique diversity of
marine life: its waters are home to 27 species of marine
mammals, 94 species of seabirds, 345 species of fish, and
4 species of sea turtles. Unfortunately, many of these
species are already at risk, twenty-six species that
inhabit the Sanctuary are listed as endangered or
threatened.
CMC is deeply concerned with the potential impact of
increased over flights and sound pollution on the many
sensitive bird and marine mammal species that inhabit the
Sanctuary. Accordingly, we request that the Navy conduct
a full Environmental Impact Statement to analyze
potential impacts, discuss a full range of project
alternatives, and identify adequate mitigation
measures.
Thank you for your consideration of these
comments.
Sincerely,
Kaitilin Gaffney
California Central Coast Program Director