Record numbers of birds fuel fears about Navy's plans

A record number of waterfowl have settled at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge this winter as the Navy studies whether a proposed practice landing field it wants to build nearby will endanger pilots or the birds.

On one day in December, refuge biologist Wendy Stanton counted 75,000 to 80,000 snow geese and 26,000 tundra swans, both records. On another day, she counted a record 12,400 ducks. "The whole lake was white," Stanton said.

More birds will mean more problems, said Derb Carter, a Southern Environmental Law Center attorney fighting the Navy's efforts to build the field in eastern North Carolina.

"They're increasing year by year," he said. "That is a key issue the Navy has to resolve."

The Navy is bidding to buy 30,000 acres in Washington and Beaufort counties for a runway and a buffer area where jets can simulate night landings on aircraft carriers.

Environmentalists say the landing strip, and its noise, would harm wildlife and pose a severe risk of bird-aircraft collisions. There are also worries that the airstrip could hurt the burgeoning red wolf population in the area.

The Navy argues that the thousands of birds won't endanger the pilots or their aircraft, and the new numbers don't change that stance, Navy spokesman Ted Brown said.

As part of an early study, the Navy said two civilian landing strips and four low-level military training routes safely operate routinely in the area. Setting aside land around the airstrip and preserving it from future development might help the refuge, according to the report. A court-ordered supplemental study on environmental affects on the area is expected by March, Brown said.

Pocosin Lakes is about 5 miles from the site the Navy wants. Birds that winter at the refuge roost on Pungo Lake and often feed in neighboring farm fields, including some near the proposed airfield.

Snow goose counts have risen most of the past six years, Stanton said. The peak of about 80,000 this year compares with a peak of about 44,000 in the winter of 2001-2002.

Warm weather could account for the waterfowl surge this season, she said.