glacierbaze

The Outlying Landing Field seems to have dropped off the radar. Anyone know what the status is?

Drifter

It appears to be tied up in the legal system at the moment. And being close to elections...

Try a google search for info.

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Drifter

colliwh

GB,

The lawyers are still having fun with this one.* Being a native of the area, I can tell you that there are*many sides to all this.* One side, the most vocal and the largest, is dead set against the OLF for any of a number of reasons, but primarily the proximity to Pungo NWR and ranking right along with that is the family farm concept where the land has been in the family since the it*was cleared in the 1800's.** The Navy is now under an injunction that prevents them from negotiating more land purchases.* Prior to the injunction, several landowners sold their property to the Navy at high prices.* That brings in one of the other sides.....those that publically stand with the NO OLF folks, but privately look at the potential payday that they could get from the NAVY.* There is a downside to that though.....many of these folks are in big debt from prior years of farming and all those bills would come due once they had cash.

Lastly there is the side that looks down the road 10-20 years when the NAVY/MARINES may be looking for a new facility that is away from large population areas like Virginia Beach and Cherry Point.* That could be a source of many good paying jobs and population growth in one of the states poorest counties......Washington.*

I live so far away from where it would be located (20 miles) that it will be no difference to my living conditions.* BUT, I have known some of those landowners since I was a kid and I will support what they wish to do.* Although, in my heart, I think they will build the OLF eventually.* I say that because, IMO, and despite what some of the outsiders like Albea and Carter say.....there will eventually be no valid legal reason why it should not be built here.* If you have ever driven down 99, you would see that from a terrain and population density standpoint, it is ideal.

We shall see.....

lps

I'm one of the many people who are opposed the the OLF. I've worked closely with the landowners whose land is being taken, and I have not seen any offers from the Navy that I would characterize as generous. Many farmers are losing their entire farms, and face being left with lots of expensive equipment that they may owe lots of money on. Since their farms will be gone, they no longer have use for the equipment, and can't afford to pay for it anymore. The "relocation benefits" are capped out at around $20,000, which is peanuts. A farmer can't buy a new 1000 acre farm, and move eveyrthing there and keep up his farming operation. The $20,000 in relocation benefits will just give the farmers creditors a little more to fight over in the bankruptcy.

Personally, I think the lawyers representing the Plaintiffs in the lawsuit to stop the OLF are worthy of praise and admiration. They are representing the plaintiffs pro-bono (for free). They are taking on a powerful adversary (the United States Navy) to protect the rights of the poorest communities in North Carolina. The navy doesn't need this OLF for combat readiness; they are responding to powerful political interests in Virginia who are trying to placate their constituents who moved to the area around Fentress field, and now are tired of the noise. Judge Boyle has issued a preliminary injunction for a very good reason: the Navy has not complied with the law in selecting the site for the OLF.

Please visit the area where the Navy wants to build the OLF during the months of October through January and see the tens of thousands of snow geese, tundra swan, and other migratory waterfowl inhabiting the area, and I think you'll agree that it's an area worth preserving, and a very bad place for jets. This area is one of the very few unspoiled wilderness areas left on the east coast, and it's a refuge for waterfowl for a very good reason. Personally, I don't want the Navy to deprive my family or future generations of this remarkable area.

The people of Washington and Beaufort Counties, and the lawyers who are fighting to protect their rights, have my full support.

Lars Simonsen