Washington State Parks
Originally published on January 28, 2021 6:04 pm
Washington state has approved a request to use multiple Washington state parks to train Navy SEALs. But the move Thursday came with significant amendments to what the Navy requested.
The permits would expand the five parks previously used for Navy SEAL training to 16 or 17. The Navy had requested access to 28 state parks as a way to diversify its training sites. Officials had said a small number of sites can become too familiar to trainees overtime.
The commissioners called their move “difficult,” “hard” and “probably the toughest decision” of a 10-year commission career.
Washington state parks commission approves scaled-back proposal for Navy SEALs training By Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times
Published: January 28, 2021, 5:51pm
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A state commission has approved the Navy’s use of up to 17 Washington state parks for after-dark stealth training of SEAL teams.
The 4-3 vote approves the training over the next five years.
The Navy had sought to use up to 28 state parks for up to 48 hours at a stretch to enable special operation SEAL teams to make shoreline landings, then conduct surveillance of other military personnel dressed in plain clothes. This was a big expansion from previous five-year permits that allowed through 2020 the use of five state coastal parks for the SEALs. That proposal drew hundreds of public comments, most of them opposed.
The State Parks Commission determined this week that should the Navy be allowed to conduct special operations training in Deception Pass State Park and 27 others the training would not cause significant environmental harm if certain conditions are met.
Those conditions outlined in what is called a mitigated determination of non-significance include avoiding active restoration sites, avoiding protected plant and animal species, and not training during nesting seasons for sensitive birds.
State Parks also proposes conditions on the Navy proposal, including that it not bring real weapons into the parks, not spy on park users, and that it coordinate training dates and locations with tribes.