Opponents fear proposed Air Force test sites will endanger tourism in the scenic Big Bend area.
By AMY WIMMER SCHWARB
Published May 11, 2004
[Times photo: Ted McLaren]
Residents are concerned the missile plan will spoil the burgeoning eco-tourism business in serene places like Steinhatchee.
U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Nolan looks at the Big Bend area of Florida and sees all he needs to test the military's new high-tech weaponry.
Open space. A sparsely populated coastline. Thousands of miles of military air space. Just enough topographic variation to make the test realistic.
Nolan and his colleagues in the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base east of Pensacola hoped residents of Dixie, Levy and Taylor counties would see the wisdom of using their coast for target practice. The Air Force wants to buy or lease land there that its pilots can use to aim unarmed missiles from 200 miles or more away.
The reception along this 150-mile swath of virgin Florida the locals call the Nature Coast has been chilly. Even in a time of war, reactions have ranged from incredulous to indignant.
"You won't find a more patriotic area than Taylor County," said Bish Clark, a fourth-generation resident. "So having said that, the majority of people don't really feel like they want to have missiles fired at them."
The area's burgeoning eco-tourism business - fishing, hunting, birding, canoeing - is incompatible with missile testing, some residents say.
"This area is starting to make a lot of money off nature," said Mark Long, a Levy County resident. "It just floors me to think they could come out here. They won't call it "the Nature Coast.' They'll call it "the Bombing Coast."'
The opposition has caught the Air Force by surprise.
"We didn't envision as much pushback as we have seen," Nolan said. "What we would really like is the opportunity to gain the trust of these counties and convince them to partner with us, because this is really in the best interest of the United States."
The Air Force has eyed six sites - three in Taylor, two in Dixie, one in Levy - as possible targets for its long-range weapons testing program. For now, the 46th Test Wing is trying to select a site for six tests of unarmed missiles during one year. The tests would demonstrate the viability of the selected site.
"We're demonstrating not only to gain the trust of the local community, but also to gain the confidence of the Department of Defense," Nolan said.
Ultimately, the Air Force would like what Nolan calls "a permanent range in the Big Bend area of Florida" to be used about twice a month over an extended period.
Nolan said he was surprised partly because of the Air Force's reputation near Eglin. "From the perspective of Walton, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, the Air Force is a partner with those county governments to try to do good things, preserve access to the local communities and provide jobs in those communities," Nolan said.
The six sites essentially have been narrowed to four - one in Dixie and three in Taylor - though the Air Force told politicians in Levy that their coast was considered. The Levy and Dixie county commissioners have unanimously passed resolutions opposing the proposal.
U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, who represents Dixie and Taylor counties, is undecided on the Air Force plan and waiting to hear from constituents. U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, who represents Levy, said she has heard from residents, loud and clear, and passed on their message to Air Force and Department of Defense officials.
"It's certainly the wrong place, the wrong time," Brown-Waite said, pointing out Levy's proximity to the Progress Energy nuclear plant in Crystal River, "and I let them know that in no uncertain terms."
The Taylor County Commission last week decided to leave the issue for a voter referendum later this year. But even Taylor County Administrator Buddy Humphries said he is unsure what power the county has over the Air Force's plans.
"You're talking about a private landowner," Humphries said Monday, "so what would the county's role be?"
His concern echoed elsewhere on the Nature Coast, where locals fear their opposition might not matter.
"They indicated to us that they didn't want to go against our wishes," said Hoyt J. "Buddy" Lamb, chairman of the Dixie County Commission. "I don't know that it's the end of discussion."
Air Force officials say they prefer to work hand in hand with the local government and are unsure what their plans will be if they are not able to agree on a site.
The Air Force recognized years ago that its outdated, World War II-era bomb testing facilities would not suffice for modern, computer-guided weapons. Space for testing "smart bombs" became increasingly critical as the population exploded around 764-acre Eglin Air Force Base, the nation's largest, where most of the Air Force's weapons are developed and tested.
But the Air Force hopes not to venture far from the Gulf of Mexico, where it controls 134,000 square miles of air space. When Big Bend residents ask why the military doesn't just drop bombs in the desert, Nolan points to air space concerns.
"The Gulf of Mexico really becomes the linchpin in this whole thing," Nolan said.
On a coastal map of the United States, the Big Bend of Florida appears lavishly open. In coastal counties like Pinellas, barrier island communities pack the coast, making Redington Shores indiscernible from Indian Shores. Big Bend coastal towns such as Cedar Key, Suwannee, Horseshoe Beach and Steinhatchee are miles apart, reachable by two-lane county roads that veer off U.S. 19.
Taylor County has 18 people per square mile; Dixie, 20; and Levy, 30. Florida, on average, has 296. Fewer people, Air Force officials say, make for safer missile testing.
"The Nature Coast of Florida is relatively unique in the fact that there are large tracts of unpopulated land," Nolan said.
That mostly unpopulated coastline is something the rural counties are proud of, and they fear being singled out for a missile testing range penalizes them for conservation.
"I think that's probably why they did pick on us," said Sammy Yearty, a Levy County commissioner for 26 years. "We've fought development on the coastline."
Counties like Dixie, Levy and Taylor are just beginning to capitalize on what they don't have to offer: no Disney World, no bumper-to-bumper traffic, no built-up coastlines. In Taylor, forestry remains the No. 1 industry, and the Buckeye Cellulose pulp and paper mill in Perry is the county's largest employer.
Logging companies are downsizing or, in some cases, going out of business. But tourism - almost exclusively of the eco-tourism variety - was a $5-million business last year and is growing, said Dawn Taylor, executive director of the Perry-Taylor County Chamber of Commerce. The situation is the same in Levy and Dixie counties, where charter fishing boats and cabin rentals attract people from out of town and out of state.
Nolan hopes he can convert the locals if he gets a chance to state his case. This week his staff will begin visiting the counties, making presentations on the Rotary Club and chamber of commerce luncheon circuit.
"I think if we can tell this story and have people understand this is a matter of trust, really, if we can have these folks trust us the way people in the counties around here do," Nolan said, "this wouldn't be an issue."
- Amy Wimmer Schwarb can be reached at 352 860-7305 or wimmer@sptimes.com
