Commissioners meeting in San Diego ruled unanimously that the
Navy lacked enough information to back up its argument that the
threat to marine mammals would be negligible. The Navy is
expected to ramp up its training in the waters over the next
five years with the war in Afghanistan winding down and the
military shifting its focus to the Pacific as part of the Obama
administration's national security strategy. Commissioners said
they are concerned the increased activity—especially near marine
protected "The Navy needs to understand the significance of the
California coast in relationship to the entire world because
we're doing research that will assist future generations,"
Commissioner Martha McClure told Navy officials before her vote:
"I also would like to reiterate that I believe your
documentation was absolutely short." Alex Stone, who directs the
Navy's environmental team on the project, told commissioners
that additional marine safeguards being sought by the panel
would limit the training program's scop