WASHINGTON, D.C. - North Carolina's top two elected leaders in Washington say that despite years of study, they are not ready to take a stand on the Navy's plans to put a landing strip alongside a migratory bird refuge in Eastern North Carolina.

Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr said they will try to ensure that the Navy follows the law and addresses North Carolina's concerns. But they also said that they don't want to interfere in the armed service's process to find a suitable location for the airfield.

"At this point, it's a matter of the process," Dole said. "We still need to get answers to the questions."

Said Burr, "I don't think it's a member of Congress' role to tell the Navy where or where not to place something."

The outlying landing field is one of the most contentious issues in years to hit the sparsely populated peninsula in far Eastern North Carolina, a vast swath of marshlands enclosed by the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and renowned among bird-watchers and hunters for its wildlife.

The Navy's preferred site is in southern Washington and Beaufort counties in the peninsula's interior.

The Navy wants to build the landing strip so squadrons from Naval Air Station Oceana near Virginia Beach, Va., can practice nighttime landings. Building the airfield would mean buying out several area farmers and fending off tens of thousands of large migratory waterfowl that winter in the region.

A hot-button issue

Dole, the state's senior senator, sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, giving her oversight over the Defense Department.

"People think if there were a strong, strong word from her, that would block it," said Thomas F. Eamon, an expert on North Carolina politics at East Carolina University. "People expect that from her, and if she doesn't do that, it could be harmful [politically]."

Eamon said the senators might find themselves walking a fine political line on an issue that directly impacts few people but is attracting statewide attention. Dole is up for re-election in 2008.

"It's a very hot-button issue," Eamon said. "Americans are people, when they get excited about things, they expect some intervention. A lot of people expect this from a governor or a senator."

Dole said she has concerns about the current site, especially regarding its impact on bird populations, but that she wants to work within the Navy's process.

And Burr said that although the Navy must follow the rules, he thinks North Carolina will benefit by helping the military meet its training needs.

Their remarks, in separate interviews with The News & Observer last week, come as other elected officials are exerting more more pressure against the Navy.

Gov. Mike Easley called on Congress last month to block $10 million for the airfield site that the Department of Defense requested for next year's budget.

U.S. Rep. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat and the only North Carolina congressman on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, opposes the Washington-Beaufort site. He directed the Navy in an appropriations bill last year to strongly consider other locations.

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat who represents Washington County, also has spoken against the Navy's preferred site.

But two weeks ago, the Navy released a new study re-emphasizing the site.

In the report, the Navy encouraged nearby farmers to tend fields so birds won't be attracted to the area, and it said the birds could be poisoned or shot to discourage flocking.

Dole's role

Dole said she wants to join the rest of the public in an open comment period on the report that begins March 19. She said she will raise her questions then, in writing. Dole said she will ask questions about bird mitigation, about another possible site in Carteret County and about what benefits the landing strip offers to North Carolina.

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