Alaska residents and military discuss concerns over exercise

KODIAK, Alaska (AP) – Residents of a southern Alaska community have voiced environmental concerns over a planned military exercise.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Thursday that residents of Kodiak met with U.S. Navy and Air Force officials to discuss concerns about the impact of a two-week military training exercise scheduled to take place in May.

The paper reports that the biennial Northern Edge exercise conducted in the Gulf of Alaska began in 1975.

Some residents say the military activities could harm marine species and ecosystems and that the training should take place in the fall to mitigate impacts to species that are active in the spring and summer.

Military officials say Alaska is important to both naval and air strategy and that the spring offers relatively safe weather for the exercise.
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Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com