DATE: Friday, July 25, 1997                 TAG: 9707250719

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER LANGSTON, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   59 lines

HUNTERS FIGHT TO KEEP RANGE ROAD OPEN MILITARY IS STUDYING SAFETY, MIGHT CLOSE PERIMETER ROAD TO TRAFFIC

Hunters asked military officials Thursday to keep roads surrounding the Navy Bombing Range on the mainland open to the public.

A recent safety report has prompted a review of operations on the range. Officials may reconsider allowing hunters and wildlife watchers to drive next to the target areas used for practice bombing runs.

``I don't want anyone out there getting hurt having fun,'' said Lt. Col. Lynn Wheeless of Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va. ``We're going to look at all aspects. We may need to move some things to make it safer.''

Hunters met with the officials at a special meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners.

A report issued in June recommended limiting public access to Perimeter Road surrounding the Navy Bombing Range, which the Navy leases from the Air Force. The report cited concerns about hunters being hit with lasers used to guide bombs.

Hunters, who have used the road freely for generations, argued there have never been any serious accidents on the range.

``My chance of being hit by a laser out there - I stand a better chance of being hit by lightning,'' said Jeff Nycz, a Wanchese resident and spokesman for the hunters.

He also said closing the road would severely limit access to the swampy woodlands populated with bear, deer and other wildlife.

``We've got permission to hunt down here all our lives, and now we're at the point where we're being pushed up against the wall,'' he said.

The hunters also asked officials to reopen another stretch of road on the eastern perimeter of the Air Force bombing area. The road was closed in 1989.

Air Force officials are to begin studies today on the potential risks from errant bombs or lasers.

Wheeless said they hope to come back with a plan within 90 days.

``We want to find a way that the Navy perimeter road can be used by hunters, and the hunters can be safe,'' he said. ``But we need to put a little bit of science to it.''

Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robert V.``Bobby'' Owens told military officials visiting from Virginia that hunting and fishing were part of the heritage of Dare County residents.

``Our people are very attuned to nature,'' he said. ``This is a way of life for these folks.

``We have always supported the Navy and Air Force bombing ranges, but quite frankly, we get very little in return. We want to be good neighbors, but we want it to be reciprocal.''

Officials agreed to erect gates that would block direct entrances to the area where bombs are dropped. The Navy perimeter road will remain open until a comprehensive plan is developed for recreation on the range.

But hunters who attended the meeting were frustrated with a lack of definitive action.

``They still didn't say that the perimeter is going to remain open. They're not committing themselves to that,'' said Ed Hayman, 61, who has been hunting on the range for 50 years.

``We won't know for 90 days what the plan will be. If it comes back negative, then we lose everything and we're back to square one.''

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