Battle Over Proposed Landing Field Heads To D.C.

Raleigh, N.C. — The dispute over a proposed Navy landing field in North Carolina is heading to the nation's capital.

The Navy hopes to practice its own takeoffs and landings in an area near the Beaufort-Washington County line. Two Navy studies show the area is the best place for an outlying landing field, but critics said it is too close to a wildlife refuge for birds.

Critics have also said they are worried about the field's effect on the environment.

Several state leaders, including Gov. Mike Easley and state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, are against the proposal. U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., has also voiced his opposition to the plan.

Opponents from Washington County will go to Washington D.C. Thursday to ask Congress to withhold funding for the airfield.

The battle over the proposed landing field has been going on for more than six years now. The next public hearing about the outlying landing field will be next Wednesday in Plymouth.