Forest Service may permit electronic naval training

PORT ANGELES — The U.S. Forest Service issued a draft decision Tuesday that would allow the Navy to expand its electronic warfare training on the Olympic Peninsula.

The proposed decision would authorize a special use permit for the Navy to conduct ground-to-air training using mobile electronic transmitters on Forest Service lands for five years. A 45-day period to register objections before a decision is made started Tuesday.

The Navy is planning for an $11.5 million expansion of its electronic-warfare range activities, including the deployment of three mobile, camper-sized electromagnetic transmitters on Olympic National Forest logging roads in Clallam, Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties.

The transmitters would engage in exercises with radar-jamming jet pilots from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Establishing the range would allow for future growth in training and make it easier for the Navy to train closer to home, according to the environmental assessment.

The Navy has said the project will not have a significant impact on noise, public health or plants and animals. Flights over Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest would increase up to 10 percent, but Navy officials said noise levels generated during the exercises would not harm wildlife. Officials have said jets involved in the exercise would fly as low as 6,000 feet, the Peninsula Daily News reported.

The Forest Service received more than 3,300 comments, most of them expressing opposition over concerns such as jet noise or electromagnetic radiation. The Forest Service said based on the comments that project design features and standard operating procedures have been incorporated to protect public health and safety.

People who commented on the proposal previously can submit objections.