US NAVY ANNOUNCES PUBLIC MEETINGS TO DISCUSS NEW GROWLER OPERATIONS

The U.S. Navy has scheduled five public meetings December 5 through 9, 2016 to discuss and receive comments about increased operations of Growler aircraft at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI). The flight operations will affect NASWI’s Ault Field near Oak Harbor as well as its Outlying Field (OLF) near Coupeville and within the Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. Date, location, and time of the meetings are as follows:

• Monday December 5, 2016: Fort Worden State Park - Conference Center USO Hall, Port Townsend, WA 3PM to 6PM
• Tuesday December 6, 2016: Oak Harbor Elks Lodge - Grande Hall, Oak Harbor, WA 4PM to 7PM
• Wednesday December 7, 2016: Lopez Center for community and the Arts, Lopez Island, WA 3PM to 6PM
• Thursday December 8, 2016: Seafarer's Memorial Park Building, Anacortes, WA 3PM to 6PM
• Friday December 9, 2016: Coupeville High School Commons, Coupeville, WA 4PM to 7PM

At these meetings cultural resource staff from NAS Whidbey Island will have a poster and handouts dedicated to discussing the Section 106 consultation for this undertaking, the cultural resource analysis in the EIS, and tribal resources. The EIS team will provide NAS Whidbey Island cultural resource staff with all comments collected pertaining to cultural resources for consideration in the Section 106 process.