February 6, 2017 — The waters off Kauai’s Pacific Missile Range Facility have been used for military weapons tests for more than fifty years, but some are troubled by one of the military’s most recent requests.
In December, a Florida-based Air Force squadron asked for a permit that would allow continued testing of long-range missiles whose explosions are documented to have debilitating effects on dolphins and whales.
“These marine mammal populations off Kauai are already being barraged by military training activity,” said David Henkin, an attorney with Earthjustice, an environmental activist group. “There are very specific populations of marine mammals that only live around Kauai, so if we harm those particular individuals, we run the risk of harming the population and losing that very important component of our environment.”
Officials say this is the second permit request by the squadron, which completed a one-day training mission where nine weapons were released last October.