The Navy's call for input from the public regarding
the environmental, cultural, and recreational impact of
this proposal is appreciated. I understand that receiving
such input will enable the Navy to identify issues to be
addressed in an Environmental Assessment. Since my head
is not full of the factual expertise of a botanist,
ornithologist, acoustics engineer, nor archaeologist, I
can only speak from my heart and personal experiences in
strong opposition to the bombing range proposal.
From an early age I have been fortunate to be
instilled with an appreciation for Nature in general and
the wonders of California's natural beauty specifically.
Though I'm not from the Central Coast region myself, my
father's recollections of his own childhood: going to
school barefoot, smelling the fragrances and seeing the
beauty of the native plants in his Central Coast town,
have left a lasting impression on me. As a child, I
vividly recall my father taking me to appreciate the
unspoiled sights and smells of Nature in that area. He
hoped that I, too, could appreciate firsthand that
continuity of an experience that had made an impression
on him until his dying days. I grew up and returned to
share the treasures of the Central Coast and its inland
coastal valleys with my husband, later with our children,
and now they do the same with their own friends and loved
ones.
My husband and I had the pleasure to return to the Big
Sur Region for a long weekend this past November. We
found hiking from the beach up to the 2,000-foot summit
of the Santa Lucia range through the gorgeous Partington
Canyon to be an idyllic, even spiritual experience. The
following day was surreal, lingering at little Lucia with
its lovely bounty of fragrant flora. Journeying down to
Sand Dollar Beach we were enchanted by people recreating
with silent paragliders, kayaks, surfboards, a stroll, or
a sunbath on the beach in the balmy, warm haze of fall.
We drove up over the incredible Nacimiento Road toward
Jolon through the rugged mountainside and then into the
golden valleys, absorbing the unique peacefulness of the
environment. Our appreciation of the unspoiled beauty and
serenity of the area would have been shattered had there
been jet fighter bombers shrieking in from the coast.
Please, rethink the proposal.
While many environments have changed drastically in
California in the span of this state's relatively brief
history, the Central Coast, Santa Lucia ranges, and its
inland valleys have been fortunate to remain fairly
pristine. For the majority of the past 10,000 years, this
region has been respected by its inhabitants who have
lived in harmony with the land. In recent history,
however, newcomers' intrusions have impacted this area
and its earlier inhabitants negatively. In college, I did
some extensive research about this unfortunate era and
how it impacted the indigenous peoples of the Central
Coast. I feel it is now our duty to make every effort to
facilitate the Salinan Nation's recovering of their
heritage and to preserve this area's unique environment.
We must do so for the appreciation of its natural
aspects, for the protection of its endangered species and
habitats, for the study of its cultural history, and for
the rare opportunity this area provides for the spiritual
serenity sought by many.
Last week, by coincidence, I met a bright little
fourth-grade girl, photocopying her thoughtfully written
report on the San Antonio de Padua Mission. She proudly
shared her report with me, similar to the ones created by
most Californian school children. Often these same
children also get to share the rewarding family
experience of making a mission model together and,
perhaps, taking a visit to the mission they've studied.
Little Brooke hadn't visited San Antonio Valley to see
California's most wonderfully restored mission yet, but
she dreamed of doing so one day. How shattered her dream
will be if she arrives with her little sister and parents
only to be terrified by the sounds of jet bombers
overhead.
As passionate backpackers, my husband and I have spent
much time hiking the Ventana Wilderness, Los Padres
National Forest, and coastal valleys of the Santa Lucia
Range. Our trips, some up to nine days with just our
packs on our backs, have enriched our lives with deeper
appreciation for the natural beauty, diverse ecology,
serenity, and cultural history of the area. Immersing
ourselves so completely, lingering beside waterfalls and
creeks, sitting beside Native American grinding stones,
fording icy rivers, awakening to ice and snow,
discovering clusters of lady bugs on pine boughs, hearing
wild boars snorting, climbing summits to appreciate
breathtaking views ... all would be lost if we had been
assaulted by the roar of fighter jets overhead. We have
experienced these jets' terrifying sounds, sights, and
sonic booms while backpacking in the Sierras, and I know
how shaken we felt, I can only imagine the
impact it must have on startled birds and other wildlife.
I am so sorry to hear that such jet maneuvers are already
occurring in the Central Coast Region. I strongly
question the necessity of such military preparedness in
this region.
The preciousness of the Santa Lucia ranges is what
moved me to name our first child "Laurel Lucia."
• "Laurel," as in the distinctively scented bay
tree found in this area. To some, laurels are a sacred
symbol of triumph, peace, and eternity -- appropriate
symbols for the botanical preservation of all of Nature's
treasures in this area.
• "Lucia," as in this jewel of a mountain range
which "brings for light" and enlightenment for those who
are enriched by the serenity this area affords.
What I feel when I think of fighter jets shrieking
through these ranges dropping inert bombs, is not unlike
what I'd feel upon witnessing of an assault on a
defenseless child. We must protect and nurture this
precious area as if it were own child and not carry out
such an abusive proposal.
Shortly before my father died of a brain tumor, he had
a simple regret, an unfulfilled wish to go to one of the
highest summits in the coastal range to see the beauty of
the valleys and the azure ocean from above. With
saint-like help from a very kind ranger, we fulfilled my
father's wish, a last, yet eternal wish. One simple wish
that I would like to make is that for generations to
come, anyone who desires to do so, could look down from
any point of the Santa Lucia range in its monastic
silence and see only eagles and condors soar with no
military bull's eyes on the valley floor nor aircraft
carriers off the nearby shore.
My father served proudly in Naval Intelligence during
World War II, though there were aspects of his service
assignment he was not proud to have engaged in. He was
proud of his three brothers who served as World War II
bomber wing pilots, one giving his life. As devoted as my
father was to the Navy, I'm quite sure he wouldn't have
wanted this proposal carried out. My only brother served
the Navy in Viet Nam, surviving a helicopter crash,
avoiding the U.S.S. Forrestal tragedy by one day, and
making documentary films for the Admiral. Of those three
happenings, the one he tries to block the most out of his
memory is his involvement in the filmmaking ... what he
actually saw was not at all what the Navy presented in
the finished films. Having backpacked the area around San
Antonio Valley with my brother, discussing this issue
with him, and being skeptical himself, I know he opposes
the Navy's proposal.
I am very skeptical, as well. I am skeptical of: the
rational for this target range proposal; whether or not
we are being told all the facts; what would really happen
if the proposal successfully passes through Environmental
Assessment; and what disastrous effects such a plan and
any unforeseen aviation mishaps could have on this most
unique environment.
Last spring, I attended a college graduation address
given by Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General. As
the voice of the United Nations and a fellow citizen of
the earth, his adamant plea to the graduates was: "One of
our main responsibilities is to leave to successor
generations a sustainable future... The world needs you
to lead in safeguarding the global environment... The
inescapable global reality is that we are plundering our
children's future... Policy-makers seem to be giving the
environment frighteningly low priority...All too often a
collective blindfold seems to descend on those in a
position to make a difference, obscuring the dangerous
path we are on... All too often management of the
environment is viewed as a luxury, not a necessity...All
too often, the issue is framed as an intractable conflict
between economy and ecology."
Though the Doolittle Training Range is but a tiny
piece of the global environment, is the savings of $3
million per year in fuel worth the future impact on this
precious region now or for centuries to come? Kofi Annan
decided that the most important message he could impart
to Stanford graduates was to choose a life of activism
and engagement in public affairs, improving upon the
older generations' records, and building the
environmental stewardship that is needed so badly. As
part of the older generation, I plead with you also,
please take a fresh look at your proposal and, if you
must, responsibly find a more appropriate place for such
preparedness training.
Margie Whitnah
San Carlos, CA