Navy To Open New Undersea Range

The Navy plans to place a new undersea warfare training range off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla. The new range will not become operational before 2014, the Navy stated, allowing the service time to fulfill commitments to complete environmental impact statements. The 500-square-mile location was chosen because it is "well outside the areas designated as critical habitat for the North Atlantic right whale," the Navy said in a statement. The Navy ultimately prevailed in a longstanding lawsuit filed by environmental groups that contended sonar use had killed whales, when the Supreme Court ruled in the service’s favor last November. In the wake of the high court decision, the Navy agreed to consider the safety of marine wildlife when conducting such exercises and choosing exercise locations.