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Mary Frazer, a representative of the North Carolina chapter of the Sierra Club, challenged the Navy's assertion that right whales are seen infrequently at the site. She said the Navy should do acoustic modeling of the effects of sonar on the endangered species.

"This is a large gap," Frazer said. "There is no room for margin of error with right whales. There is not enough data to remove that margin of error.

Toti said the Navy acknowledged there is a potential impact to marine mammals, but he said the Navy would take precautions to minimize the impacts. For example, the Navy would have lookouts aboard ships watching for whales and other marine mammals, if they are on the surface, and reduce the levels of sonar if spotted.

The Navy has concluded that sonar can seriously harm whales. A joint investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy found that midrange sonar from Navy ships was the most plausible explanation for a stranding of 17 whales in the Bahamas in 2000. The animals had damage to the ears, possibly from exposure to sonar, that might have prompted them to become disoriented and beach.

However, the Navy said the proposed North Carolina location has vastly different underwater terrain.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is investigating whether Navy sonar played a role in the beaching of at least 37 whales, mostly pilot whales, near Oregon Inlet. It doesn't expect to release the results until after the comment period ends for the proposed sonar range.

John Costlow, retired director of the Duke Marine Lab, attended an afternoon open house held by the Navy to answer questions. Costlow said he had many questions about the proposal but was keeping an open mind. He said he'd like to see a century's worth of data comparing the frequency of whale strandings on North Carolina's coast before and after the Navy began using sonar during World War II.

"On a number of occasions, we've had beachings of pilot whales and some larger ones," Costlow said. "Nobody knows why."

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