The Community Planning Liaison Office Naval Air Station Whiting Field worked with other Navy offices to coordinate the purchase of 335 acres of easements near the North and South fields for the purpose of buffering NAS Whiting Field.
At its heart, buffering is the acquisition of acreage adjacent to or near the base to avoid incompatible development underneath flight tracks, noise corridors, and accident zones. To this end, over 3,900 acres adjacent to NAS Whiting Field have been protected, with more than 500 additional acres still in negotiation. The most recent closings involved four tracts of land with easements purchased during the first week of June.
North Field is one of only two primary flight training sites in the country, and South Field is the only Intermediate/Advanced training helicopter airfield. Overall, both fields have over 260 aircraft, and provide 1.2 million operational flight hours annually training three service branches and nine other nations. The mission is vital to the nation’s defense, and buffering efforts help enable the mission of the airfields to go forward smoothly.
Not only is NAS Whiting Field a supremely important resource for the Navy, but its presence also aids the civilian community. It’s estimated that the base and service personnel are a $1.1 billion asset for Milton and the surrounding area.
Acquisitions are also not overly taxing for the locals. Santa Rosa utilizes the Defense Infrastructure Grant from the state (provided by the Florida Defense Alliance) to purchase land along with the aid of the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Grant. This means that from the $878,000 of new acquisitions, the Navy paid 75 percent of the cost through REPI. Since the mission and capabilities at NAS Whiting Field can’t be duplicated anywhere else, this proves to be a safe long term investment for the area.
The hard work between the Navy’s community planning liaison and the community leaders for buffering provides solid dividends for both. As described by Randy Roy, Navy Operational Liaison Officer, “This base buffering effort coupled with established land development codes (lighting, noise, military airport zones, military airport influence areas, and AICUZ recommendations) will aide in alleviating noise complaints, mitigating mission constraints, enhancing readiness, and protecting our mission footprint over land and airspace.”
Additionally, land purchased provides a cornerstone for conservation elements that serve the community and the Navy’s mission. Acreage acquired protects forests, creeks, and trails from being developed on and can still be utilized by the public. This also protects the habitats of animals and birds native to the area, with the added benefit of keeping them from moving into the area of the airfield.
NAS Whiting Field and Santa Rosa County have a truly unique relationship: so much so that the Department of Defense uses their partnership as the national model of base relations and planning with communities. All of the acquisitions and easements come from willing sellers and are purchased at market value. Furthermore, the buffering land cuts down on noise from overhead aircraft and keeps residential development away from high trafficked areas. All of this helps to make NAS Whiting Field a good neighbor for Milton and is part of the state wide military buffering initiative. “Our goal is to secure real estate that will have an immediate as well as long term impact on preventing incompatible development from impeding NAS Whiting Field’s mission,” Roy said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: NAS Whiting Field achieves more buffering success