Gov. Mike Easley on Friday strongly objected to any use of poisons by the Navy to control birds at a proposed airstrip near a national wildlife refuge.

Easley said the Navy's plan would destroy the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

"I want to make sure you are aware of this threat to our state's fragile and priceless natural heritage," Easley said in a letter to state officials before six public hearings, starting Monday, scheduled by the Navy to gather comments on the proposal.

The Navy wants to build a jetway for pilots to practice aircraft carrier landings about five miles from the refuge. The refuge attracts tens of thousands of snow geese and tundra swans each winter to Eastern North Carolina. The waterfowl would pose a severe risk to pilots and aircraft about half the year.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report done as part of the Navy's new environmental study recommends driving away birds that pose a risk by taking away the food crops they eat, scaring them with dogs and fireworks, and using poison and guns if scare tactics don't work.

Among the poisons the report says should be considered are Avitrol, which causes birds to give out distress calls, fly in erratic patterns and spook other birds.

"Under no circumstances should this chemical be used in proximity to tundra swans, snow geese or any other migratory waterfowl," said Wes Seegars, chairman of the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

Federal agriculture officials who wrote the report said poisons could be used if necessary on smaller species such as blackbirds, starlings, pigeons and gulls. They said if lethal measures were required to control migratory waterfowl, the birds would be shot, not poisoned.

The Navy said in a statement Friday that news reports focusing on the lethal methods created a misleading impression.

"Poisons and other lethal means are only used as a last resort," the Navy said.

The Navy said using dogs to harass birds and removing the crops that attract the birds were the most effective means of driving off birds. The Navy said it expected it could manage the risk of bird collisions without adversely affecting the refuge -- a statement that federal wildlife officials question.

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