Editor,

There is a huge difference between reading decibel numbers on the page and hearing the shattering roar of the Growlers overhead. I mean, how loud are “decibels” anyway? How “significant” is a warning about significant noise?

You just can’t know until you experience it with your own ears.

Which is why I propose that officials create high fidelity sound recordings of these planes and then require prospective real estate purchasers to listen to these at accurate volume levels for their area.

That’s full disclosure for you.

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station has come a long way since I used to watch the seaplanes from our home on Long Point in the early 1960s. Then the island has changed and most certainly the aircraft have changed. And while most of us still admire the airmen and women of the Navy, it seems a growing number definitely do not like their planes.

Are the Growlers a good fit for the Puget Sound Region? Probably not. The peace and quiet of Ebey Prairie and Puget Sound deserve protection just as the Redwoods of California did. For while it is true that the Navy was here before most home owners, Ebey’s Prairie was here before the Navy even existed. This whole area is special, and the world knows it.

So let’s ask U.S. Rep Larsen to begin to re-think the assignment of Growlers to NASWI that he seems so proud of.

Maybe the Poseidons would be quieter, more acceptable.

Bruce Saari

Oak Harbor