BrinnonProsperity.org

LETTER OF JOHN McDUFF

USN torpedo training area in Hood Canal 11/12/03

Before the Hood Canal was being used for a torpedo range both Quilcene and Brinnon had a lucrative economic base from pleasure boaters and sports fisherman.

1- Originally the Navy held meetings in regards to starting to use the Hood Canal as a torpedo training area.
It was understood at that time the range would only be used during business hours five days a week. As stated by residents who was present at those meetings.
In the beginning the use of Hood Canal hurt the economy of both Quilcene and Brinnon by stopping both pleasure boaters and fisherman from using the canal during those hours.

2- Then the Navy started using the canal on weekends. This move all but destroyed a very important economic base for Quilcene and Brinnon.

3- In 2002 the Navy stopped torpedo training for a period of time and the Killer Whales returned for the first time in years.
Is there a connection? No one can say for sure.
The Navy claims they only tested 50 times last year however many folks disagreed saying the lights were on to stop traffic allot more than that.
There is a concern that lowering the use of the torpedo range could be a set up for increasing the use of the range as was done before.

4- For the same period of time both pleasure boaters and fisherman increased activity in Quilcene and Brinnon.

5- It is almost impossible for the towns of Quilcene and Brinnon to remodel or update their water fronts due to the EPA. Now the Navy wants to increase the destruction of fish and wildlife, the very reasons the EPA uses to keep these communities from updating their waterfronts.
The impact on the fish and wildlife in this area due to the Navies use of this area cannot be estimated at this time but would be negative.

6- The Quilcene and Brinnon chamber of commerce would like to see the use of torpedo’s in the canal CEASE.
However since we realize this probably will not happen we suggest the Navy use a 5th option not mentioned and that would be going back to the original contract made with the Emerald cities of Hood Canal.(Quilcene and Brinnon.)using the canal only during business hours 5 days a week.

7- The Navy has never excepted responsibility for destroying this vital economic base in these two towns.

8- With the continued use of the canal by the Navy these two towns can never recover from the economic disaster created by the Navy.
Hopefully creating room for a recovery suite.


9- Using the Hood Canal as a torpedo range is only a convenience for the Navy, there is no reason why the torpedo range could not be set up in a less populated area in the ocean, witch is more realistic as far as training. When will the Navy ever find the same setting as the canal in war time? No where else in the world.

10- There is a concern that the environmental office should be made aware of.
Torpedo’s use a fuel that is heavier than salt water and the un-used fuel at each test is settling in pockets on the bottom of Dabob bay. What effect is this having on our shell fish and other bottom fish? What is the Navy doing to clean this mess up?

11- The navy want’s to expand the torpedo range in order to run test’s on torpedo’s and under water bottom crawlers in different densities of water. Such as the mouth of our rivers and the change from salt to fresh water.
Please note the concerns around un-spent torpedo fuel, won’t mouths of rivers spread this pollution further and faster?
Won’t this expansion effort require more hood canal closures?

12- There is another option that the Navy refuses to accept that would help the south sound economic recovery.
Hood Canal is the only Navy testing area run by Key Port, out of three areas, that the Navy completely shuts down all pleasure boat traffic.
The suggestion brought forth is to not allow expansion of the torpedo range and require a pleasure boaters lane be open at all times.
There is a definite separation between both test’s sites the canal and Dabob according to the Navy charts.
This open boaters lane could be between those two ranges and marked by the Navy. It would not interfere with the Submarines as long as they stayed on the east side of the canal next to Bangor and would not effect testing in Dabob bay since it would be no closer than the traffic now allowed during testing.



The fallowing is a quote from a Quilcene/Brinnon Chamber of Commerce Action Alert dated 11/08/03 under the heading of Torpedo Range Expansion.

Herb Beck is a Lifelong Resident of Quilcene. He attended the public meetings when the Navy first proposed to use Dabob bay for torpedo testing. According to Herb, they promised they would only operate on a normal workday schedule and boating traffic wouldn’t be interrupted. In those days there was a lively recreational boating traffic up Dabob bay to Quilcene bay. Tour boats came in from Seattle and Yacht clubs from around Puget Sound for rendezvous and boaters stayed at Linger Longer Lodge. As the Navy tightened control over Dabob bay and restricted pleasure boating anytime it saw fit the recreational boaters quit coming to Quilcene, and Linger Longer Lodge went broke and closed its doors.


The idea of cruising through a torpedo range which may go active anytime during the day or night, or being hailed over by a patrol boat with an armed crew on deck is somewhat daunting to recreational boaters. This action will end free access to all of Hood Canal and make it subject to the whims of the Navy. There are more slips in Pleasant Harbor than they are in Port Townsend. Most of those people don’t cruise Hood Canal, they use Hood Canal for access to Puget Sound. How many of those boaters are going to continue to moor their boat in a marina where access is controlled by the Navy?
Even if delays or stoppages aren’t too long or frequent, the boating public won’t put up with the hassle and our economy will take another hit. Everyone who turns a buck off recreational boating in Hood Canal will suffer.

The fallowing is the point of contacts for both the to torpedo range and regional office. The regional office over see’s the torpedo range and submarine traffic both have to be addressed in order to help regain the economic loss due to the Navy.

Robert Campagna, Regional Environmental Coordinator
Commander Navy Region Northwest.
1103 Hunley Road
Silverdale, WA 98315-1103
360-315-5400

Commander, Engineering Field Activity NW
Naval Facilities Engineering command
Attn: Kimberly Kler, code 05EC3.KK
19917 7th Avenue NE
Poulsbo, WA 98370-7570


John W Mc Duff
jwmd@olypen.com

===============Sample Letter ================

Robert Campagna, Regional Environmental Coordinator 11/20/2003
Commander Navy Region Northwest
1103 Hunley Road
Silverdale, WA 98315-1103

Sir,
There is a few things I do not know if you are aware of that has been brought to my attention due to the scoping meetings now being held by the Commander, Engineering Field Activity NW.
In regards to alternatives in expanding the torpedo ranges.

The first thing that I am bringing to your attention is the lack of public relations training in regards to the boat crews that are deployed to stop civilian boats activities during the time the ranges are in use and also during the time the submarines are present.
Since both the torpedo ranges and Bangor are involved I believe this falls under the regional office.
I was told to stop and was laid over for over 4 hours last summer during a time when a sub was present. Being stopped for that amount of time was bad enough but the attitude of the armed crew was very intimidating. A person from the crew said to me personally, what’s the matter can’t you see we have a sub in the area, shut it down now.
The fact is we were before the range warning lights and had no idea a sub was in the area.
Than a close friend and neighbor who depends on the use of Dabob bay for his living had a rather hair raising experience him self.
He had set his crab pots earlier in the day and was on his way to pull the pots when the red lights started flashing he immediately shut down, than after 20 minutes are so the amber came on. He proceeded to his crab pots and started to pull the first one and red lights came on he dropped his pot and shut it down another 20 minutes. Than amber came on he started to pull his pots and had about 6 pulled and the red lights came on again. He stopped and waited for the amber, when it came on he started pulling less than 30 minutes later the red lights were back on. He thought some one was having trouble with the lights so this time he did not shut down.
Here came the boat crew, the question given him was CAN’T YOU SEE THE RED LIGHTS, SHUT IT DOWN NOW OR GET A TORPEDO UP YOU’RE A–.
This is not proper public relations and is not the way to treat anybody. Personally I would have told him at that point to go to and stay put.
This is a sign that these boat crews need better training on the art of dealing with others.

That is only apart of what needs to be mentioned.
The public meetings held at the time Dabob bay became a range there certain guarantees given by the Navy.
1- The ranges were only to be used during working hours during the week and all effort would be put out by the Navy not to interrupt the than lucrative pleasure boat usage of the canal and Dabob bay.
This did not happen in fact business’s closed up and a very important economic base was destroyed by the Navy.
When and how does the Navy plan on reimbursing the communities of Quilcene and Brinnon?
2- There is a way to return the canal and Dabob back to the people who own it.

Allow a pleasure boat lane that would never be shut down by either the range or Bangor.
This can be done using the west side of the canal with a lane between both Hood canal and Dabob.
This would satisfy the 500 yard restriction around subs as long as the subs stayed on the Bangor side of the canal, and would be far enough away from the Dabob range to reduce noise interference with testing.
This would help bring back some of the business lost due to the Navy.
I realize more has to be done by the Navy as far as rebuilding the lost business.

The civilian lane would have to be coordinated by the regional office since both Bangor and the range needs to coordinate between themselves in order to leave this lane open.

I am attaching a copy of some of the comments made during the scoping meetings, no doubt you well get a copy of the attached from Keyport, but just in case Keyport tries to with hold some of this information or tries to re-write some of the comments.

Trust for the Navy in regards to Dabob Bay and the canal is at an all time low due to what is being said by Navy officials during the scoping meetings and what allot of us know through experience.

John W Mc Duff
2123 East Quilcene RD
Quilcene WA 98376
360-765-4838