The state of Washington is suing the U.S. Navy in an effort to prevent the escalation of touch-and-go practice landings by EA-18G Growler jets on Whidbey Island.
The Navy wants to quadruple its current practice, from 6,000 to 24,100 annual takeoffs and landings.The 677-acre practice field in question is adjacent to 17,000-acre Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, established in 1978. Ironically, it was President Jimmy Carter, a Navy veteran, who signed the bill establishing the Reserve.
NAS Whidbey has been using the landing strip for touch-and-go practice since 1943. A potential addition of up to 36 F-18G Growlers are planned to join the existing 82 Growlers already stationed at the base.
Washington’s attorney general might as well have jammed a stick into a hornet’s nest. NAS Whidbey is the largest employer here, with over a billion dollars of total economic activity generated. Needless to say, local reaction to the lawsuit has been extreme.The island’s economy depends on the base’s existence as crucial counter-weight to the seasonal tourist industry. Our national Red/Blue divide can be felt, heard, and seen in the middle of paradise, at Ebey’s Landing.
It was in response to the Homestead Act that Isaac Ebey sailed from Olympia and landed in 1851, staking his claim to 640 acres. The land was fertile then, ever more so since. And the view of Puget Sound from the cliffs is amazing. The reserve was established to preserve Ebey’s farm, the surrounding rural community and the pioneer way of life. It encompasses the harbor village of Coupeville, across the road, on the other side of the island.
Brigadoon-like, 21st century citizens are going about their daily lives in a place stopped in time. Toby’s Tavern itself is living history, established in 1890 as a mercantile and in its present incarnation since the 1960s. Go for the locally-sourced mussels, stay for the company, a lively mix of tourists, locals, and lost souls, sea breezes blowing in the open bay windows.
The suit contends that the Defense Department’s decision to quadruple the Growlers’ impact fails to fully measure its affect on public health and on tufted puffins, bald eagles and other wildlife, “disrupting feeding and breeding.”
True that. All conversation stops when the Growlers attack during a picnic on the reserve. Talk about disrupting locals feeding and breeding!
The landing field was specifically chosen because its conditions mimic what pilots face during aircraft-carrier landings: a tiny, flat, narrow strip in the dark, surrounded by water.
Little known fact: There are more residents over age 60 living here than in any other county in Washington state. And they need their sleep.
The Defense Department’s big mistake was calling the planes Growlers. Should have gone with Happy Face Stealth Jets. McDonald’s would love to get a tie-in, I’m sure.
My suggestion is that the Growlers should be transferred to Utah. The Great Salt Lake would make a suitable substitute for Puget Sound. There are islands that can be adapted to Defense Department demands. This will be a win-win for both Utah and Washington. The lawsuit can be dropped and needless years of litigation avoided.
Don’t worry about Whidbey NAS. It still has eight Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance squadrons flying the P-3 Orion, P-8 Poseidon and EP-3E Aries. Utah is going to love having the Growlers air show added to its $9 billion dollar military-industrial-state portfolio.
Bob Sawatzki is an Ogden homeowner, peacefully retired on Whidbey Island.