• Longer Summer • Chancellors’ Pay: Upsets Educators C A R O L I N A No Private Donations Seeing Red on Cameras Fahrenheit 9/11 Volume 11, Number 8 A Monthly Journal of News, August 2004 Analysis, and Opinion from JOURNAL the John Locke Foundation www.CarolinaJournal.com www.JohnLocke.org Navy’s Outlying Landing Field Encounters Rough Sailing Land taken from owners, Who’s encroaching rather than environment, on whom in Onslow? may be biggest problem Military or private parties? By BOB FLISS By BOB FLISS Contributing Editor Contributing Editor RALEIGH RALEIGH hanks to a court order, Washington he property-rights battle between and Beaufort counties are hanging the U.S. Navy and Washington T tough in their fight against a U.S. T County residents at least has the Navy landing field — although to read one virtue of being straightforward — from some of the published reports, one might elected officials to local farmers, few people get the impression that the area was inhab- in Washington County want Navy jets fly- ited only by tundra swans, rather than farm- ing in and out of their community. ers trying to save their land and livelihoods. Ninety miles south in Onslow County, The fate of the landing field — and the a much more complicated scenario is brew- communities that consider it the worst of all ing over the expansion needs of the U.S. possible neighbors — may be tied up in the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune. Al- federal court system for many months. For though a “joint land use study” (JLUS) has now, an injunction bars the Navy from “di- U.S. Department of Defense photo been on the table for about two years, recent rectly or indirectly” taking any further steps A squadron of F/A-18 Hornets flies toward Oceana Naval Air Station at Virginia Beach, Va. events show that it will be difficult to ac- to develop the field, including land acquisi- commodate both the Corps’ need for round- tion, site preparation, and construction. Much the same scenario may play out Field, but the Navy has deemed it unsuit- the-clock training and residents’ need for a The judge’s comments suggest that the with the landing field, Page said. He said able for further development because it’s little peace and quiet. Navy didn’t do its homework before an- local activists are doing an excellent job too close to residential areas. Camp Lejeune covers about 151,000 nouncing in September 2003 that it was disseminating information about their acres, out of nearly 500,000 acres in all of pursuing development of a field where car- plight to anyone who will listen. Fiscally Property rights, birds as hazards Onslow County. Most of the land was ac- rier pilots could practice landings far from conservative groups such as CSE make an quired by the federal government during the congestion surrounding the Oceana, immediate connection because of the prop- The landing-field controversy could be World War II. The last great expansion of Va. and Cherry Point air stations. erty rights aspects of the case. And for the described as being fought on two fronts. the base took place in the early 1990s, when activists on the Left, there’s always the wel- First is the environmental front, which about 42,000 acres was added to create the Quiet death of field possible fare of about 20,000 tundra swans and 44,000 essentially involves saving the Navy’s F/ Greater Sandy Run Firing Area, a complex snow geese to consider. A-18 jets and the birds at the Pungo Unit of of ranges used for training on the M1A1 Allen Page, state executive director of In this election year, reporting from the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Abrams tank and other combat vehicles. Citizens for a Sound Economy, said he both the mainstream and conservative press from each other. Ron Merritt, a retired U.S. Local property owners have maintained would not be surprised if the landing field continually harps on how polarized the Air Force major who headed numerous that the military promised at the time that died a quiet death in the court system. He nation has become, with the Iraq War pro- investigations involving collisions between this would be its last demand for land. Since noted that the Navy has already generated viding the principal wedge. aircraft and birds, describes the swans, then, Onslow has struggled with the ques- a lot of bad press for itself that would only Yet there are still rare cases where the geese, and other large waterfowl that in- tion of whether development is encroach- get worse if owners are forced off their land. Right and Left can build temporary coali- habit the refuge as “flying bowling balls” ing on the military or the military is en- Page compared the situation with the tions around an issue, usually for com- and a real hazard. An impact with a 15- to croaching on development. stream buffer regulations that were pushed pletely different reasons. The Navy’s plan 20-pound waterfowl can force a pilot to Connie Cole, a Beaufort County activist by North Carolina a few years ago. Legal to buy up farmland in the Washington and reach for the ejection handle. The bird ref- who has been monitoring both the Wash- review of these rules exposed a host of Beaufort counties provides a good example. uge is only five miles from the proposed ington County and Camp Lejeune situa- presumably unintended consequences — The Department of the Navy wants to landing field, so Merritt concludes that it’s tions, said she thinks that the military is for example, the owner of a flooded-out create an Outlying Landing Field to serve wishful thinking to assume that the sky is likely to take a broad view of its preroga- house would, in many cases, have been F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters based at big enough for both supersonic fighters and tives. By way of support, she cited a presen- forbidden by law to rebuild if the house was Oceana Naval Air Station and Cherry Point dense flocks of waterfowl. tation at the 2003 joint environmental con- within a stream buffer. Ultimately, the law Marine Air Station. The proposed location, Second is the property rights front, ference between the Department of Defense placed too many restrictions on private known as “Site C” in Navy documents, which involves about 100 landowners, and Environmental Protection Agency. owners’ use of their land, aside from paying would cover 23,000 acres of Washington mainly family farmers, and about one-fourth This particular presentation involved taxes on it. While Page thinks it’s possible County, and 7,000 acres of Beaufort County. of the arable land in Washington County. training at the Camp Pendleton, Calif. Ma- that the stream-buffer issue may resurface The Navy wants to begin construction as Washington County activists maintain that rine base. According to conference tran- some day, for now it’s been quietly with- early as April 2005 to have the landing field drawn, saving embarrassment to the bu- open by the summer of 2007. Oceana al- reaucrats who promoted it. ready has an alternate landing site, Fentress Continued as “County Would,” Page 3 Continued as “Civilian,” Page 3 North Carolinians’ Political Philosophy The John Locke Foundation NONPROFIT ORG. Contents 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 U.S. POSTAGE Moderate 39% Raleigh, NC 27601 PAID Conservative 39% RALEIGH NC PERMIT NO. 1766 Liberal 20% Calendar 2 Not Sure 2% State Government 3 Education 6 Higher Education 10 Local Government 14 Books & the Arts 18 Opinion 20 % of N.C. Respondents in Oct. 2002 JLF Poll Parting Shot 24 C A R O L I N A Contents JOURNAL ON THE COVER HIGHER EDUCATION THE LEARNING CURVE • The battle over property rights, rather • Some supporters of the University of • A review of the film “Fahrenheit 9/11” than the environment, might prove to be North Carolina think the college should rely by John Plecnik says the film represents the the biggest challenge facing the Navy’s Out- more on private contributions, less on state worst of politics and the best of propa- lying Landing Field. Meanwhile, in Onslow resources, to pay chancellors, like many ganda. Page 18 Richard Wagner County, residents around Camp Lejeune other colleges do. Page 10 Editor contend with constant military exercises. Page 1 • The House and Senate agree for North • Reviews of the books World on Fire: How Paul Chesser, Michael Lowrey Carolina to take on more debt to pay for Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Eth- Donna Martinez NORTH CAROLINA projects at several universities, including a nic Hatred and Global Instability by Amy Associate Editors $60 million cardiovascular center at ECU Chua, and Hayek’s Challenge: An Intellectual • An administrator for a taxpayer-sup- and a $180 million cancer research center Biography of F.A. Hayek by Bruce Caldwell. ported association characterized Rep. John at UNC-CH. Page 11 Page 19 Karen Palasek, Jon Sanders Rhodes, who has asked State Auditor Ralph Assistant Editors Campbell to investigate a state-funded eco- • The executive committee of the Faculty OPINION nomic development agency, as a “true Senate of North Carolina State University • An editorial on the deals and dealings nutcase” whose only allies “are the very has joined the chorus in calling for an open done by North Carolina officials that take Chad Adams, Andrew Cline, Roy Cordato, Charles Davenport, religious right folks.” Page 4 chancellor search. Page 12 more power away from taxpayers and give Ian Drake, Tom Fetzer, Bob Fliss, more authority to the political class.