Farms & Fishing

• Farms on Central Whidbey produce food for the island and for restaurants throughout the region. They contribute to the island’s local economy and food security. But farmers cannot tend their crops during Growler operations because of noise deemed unsafe for workers by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

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• Quadrupling flights threatens farming on Central Whidbey. Jet engines do not burn cleanly, but their toxic by-products tend to disperse high in the atmosphere. But, because the Growlers fly at low altitudes during landing practices, toxic particulates fill our air, fall into our waters, and drift down to our soils. Healthy food cannot grow on acreage exposed to constant pollution from above, which is why California—with strict clean air regulations—prohibits such maneuvers.

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• The average annual commercial value for Puget Sound crab, shrimp, mussel, oyster, geoduck, and other clams is $44 million. Recreational shell fishing is valued at $42 million per year; recreational fishing in Puget Sound at $57 million a year; commercial fishing at $4 million a year. What might the additional noise and carbon dioxide pollution from more military jets do to water quality and to these economies?