FSEEE has filed a lawsuit challenging the Forest Service’s approval of a Navy plan to conduct electronic warfare training on the Olympic National Forest in Washington state.
Earlier this summer, Olympic National Forest officials gave the Navy a special-use permit to park mobile transmitter trucks at 11 locations on the national forest. The trucks would shoot electromagnetic transmissions skyward and Navy fighter jets would try to detect and intercept the signals.
FSEEE claims the Forest Service violated the Olympic National Forest’s land and resource management plan in issuing the special-use permit.
That plan, adopted in 1990 and required by the National Forest Management Act, states that the Forest Service must consider whether an activity can be accommodated on private land before issuing a special-use permit to operate on national forest land. FSEEE claims the Forest Service failed to consider a private land option.
The complaint also alleges that the permit approval violated a requirement that the Forest Service give priority to the interests and needs of the general public when deciding whether to issue a permit.
“Finally,” the complaint reads, “the Forest Service failed to determine that the permitted activity is compatible, and in harmony with, the surrounding landscape, as the (land and resource management plan) requires.”
FSEEE filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Friday. The complaint asks the court to order the Forest Service to withdraw the permit.
The permit allows the Navy to operate the transmitter trucks up to 260 days a year, for 8 to 16 hours each day. The trucks would be surrounded by yellow caution tape when operating on the national forest.
Absolutely the best news I have heard this month!
Bless all of you. We haven’t had a good night’s sleep since this insanity began. Wonder what kind of pressure the Navy used to get the Forest Service to ignore their own regulations, mission statement and the thousands of letters delivered to them in protest. May an Injunction be forthcoming.
The Navy has been doing this stuff for years! The transmitters will be a new thing but I guarantee you they won’t be THAT noticeable where they’ll be set up and utilized. Why don’t you folks just quit the excuses for why it’s ‘not environmentally sound” and just admit you hate the military. People would actually ‘buy’ that versus all of the environmentalist BS.
These are NATIONAL parks; owned, operated and run by THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT and they kind of get to choose how they’re utilized.
Please realize that Congress sets national priorities not agencies (and if you don’t like it, please do VOTE don’t sue!), that US Navy issued two separate full Environmental Impact Statements detailing their proposed training activities & responded to thousands of public comments, that USFS is a LAND management agency NOT an airspace management agency, and USFS would have NO justification for not allowing US gov’t to use forest roads that are open to the public. Your position is nonsensical and I expect the court to promptly toss it. Your complaint is all about process, not about product. But meanwhile you’ll cost US taxpayers a few hundred thousand utterly wasted $ and change nothing. Thanks a whole lot! Is this an example of responsible citizenship? NOT. Or of self-righteous self-aggrandizement? 100% We expect nothing less of FSEEE.
What’s this about? Remember MH17.
Navy has been flying there since WWII. We need a new EIS to assess the impact of transplant Californians, Lawyer and fringe journalists who are behind this “quack science” lawsuit. This is the real environmental impact.
Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve (COER) is surprised and thrilled to see your action. Is there any way we can be helpful to you? We anticipate a legal challenge to the Navy’s final EIS in 2018, but if there is some way we can add our organizational name to your legal efforts please contact us. We have a growing Alliance of organizations who are working together to resist the Navy’s encroachment into our air, water and lands, including our many federal and state parks. We are eager to assist in any way that might be helpful to you.
This is horrible! Why would you prevent our young men and women from training with new technology that could possibly save lives? I hope you loose that lawsuit and we send you and your team in harms way without using the latest technology to keep you safe. Better yet…I hope they deploy your kids and grand kids to fight the enemy without it. Shame on you all for putting our young warriors at risk. I just hope the public doesn’t think you represent all Forest Service employees. You surely don’t have the support from the ones I work with. Your organization degrades the name of the Forest Service and you shouldn’t use it.
Is this still an ongoing lawsuit? What is the update? I appreciate that FSEEE is trying to protect our national park and forest on the Olympic Peninsula.