New Sub "War" Range May Harm Rare Whales, Critics Say

Brian Handwerk, National Geographic News 14 Aug 09;

After considering several candidates, the U.S. Navy announced last week that it will build its latest submarine warfare training facility in the waters off Jacksonville, Florida.

But even though the site won't open until 2014, the new tenant is already having trouble with its neighbors.

That's because the chosen site for the Undersea Warfare Training Range is just 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the only known calving grounds of the North Atlantic right whale.

Only about 300 to 350 North Atlantic right whales remain. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as endangered, meaning it faces a "very high risk of extinction in the wild."

Several advocacy groups are contesting the Navy's choice, saying that the project could prove disastrous to the whales.

"For these right whales, it's hard to imagine a worse location," said Taryn Kiekow, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an "environmental action group."

The Navy counters that an environmental impact statement has already been carried out, and the site has approval from the U.S. government's National Marine Fisheries Service.

"The biological opinion concluded the construction and operation of the range will not jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species in the area—that includes right whales," said Jim Lecky, director for the service's office of protected resources.

"[The study] also concludes that [the range] wouldn't adversely impact or destroy critical habitat, and the right whale is the only species that has critical habitat near the area."