Growing concerns over the timing and potential adverse impact of military training exercises in the Gulf of Alaska have prompted a new request to the U.S. Navy to offer more transparency on what will happen during Northern Edge 2017.
The biennial joint synchronized exercise, which involves all four branches of the U.S. military, coordinated by the U.S. Pacific Command, includes naval exercises scheduled from May 1-12, 2017. Many Alaskans, including some in Cordova, are concerned about potential adverse impact of these exercises on the fisheries and other wildlife habitat.
While the people of coastal Alaska, like other residents of the state, support the military, they need to know that fishery conflicts will be avoided and marine resources will be protected,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in a letter of Sept. 16.
The senator cited what she said was a recent lack of transparency from the Navy, such as not discussing proposed mitigation and avoidance techniques with stakeholder communities, and said she wants to ensure greater collaboration and cooperation between communities and the Navy prior to Northern Edge 2017.
The joint training exercise, which stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Alaska’s Interior, is designed to sharpen tactical combat skills and improve command, and much of the exercise is conducted on a classified basis.
A lack of communication between the Navy and impacted communities in advance of Northern Edge 2015 resulted in public protests over that military exercise.
Murkowski said she had hoped the Navy would have learned from that experience and would work proactively with stakeholders in planning for Northern Edge 2017.
She applauded the Navy’s participation in COMFISH 2016 at Kodiak, the state’s largest commercial fishing show, but said that should have been only the state of a sustained proactive outreach effort.
Murkowski said the Navy should now act quickly, through the Pacific Fleet and Alaska Command, to reengage with stakeholders in communities adjacent to Northern Edge 2017.
Further delay in such communications could result in the adoption of resolutions in other coastal communities similar to that adopted by Homer, and endanger support for the Navy’s long-term involvement in Northern Edge, she said.
Further delay in such communications could result in the adoption of resolutions in other coastal communities similar to that adopted by Homer, and endanger support for the Navy’s long-term involvement in Northern Edge, she said.
Along with her letter, Murkowski submitted a copy of a resolution passed by the city of Homer in August requesting that the Navy refrain from using live ordnance or sonar in any marine protected area, including NOAA Fisheries Marine Protected Areas, state marine protected areas and habitat areas of particular concern.
The Homer resolution also asked that the Navy relocate its training area to the far southeast corner of the current designated training area, off the continental shelf areas of the Gulf of Alaska, and away from seamounts, and that those training exercises take place after mid-September and before spring, in order to avoid impacting migrating salmon and other species.
The Homer resolution noted that the training exercises would impact Gulf waters by releasing up to some 352,000 pounds of expended materials, including up to 10,500 pounds of hazardous materials that include cyanide, chromium, lead, tungsten, nickel, cadmium, barium chromate, chlorides, phosphorus, titanium compounds, lead oxide, potassium perchlorate, lead chromate, ammonium perchlorate, fulminate of mercury and lead azide into waters designated by NOAA as essential fish habitat for a multitude of species that support economic development in these coastal communities.
The training is scheduled to take place during the summer season when many fish populations are migrating and spawning, and at least 383 species belonging to 84 families of marine and anadromous fishes have been reported from predominant ecosystems in the training area, the Homer resolution said.
