Navy to shut down radio transmitters in Wisconsin, Michigan

Navy to shut down radio transmitters in Wisconsin, Michigan

CLAM LAKE, Wis. (AP) -- The U.S. Navy said Friday it will turn off two submarine communication systems in northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan later this month and permanently dismantle them because they are outdated and no longer needed.

The Navy's extremely low frequency (ELF) radio transmitter in the Chequamegon National Forest near Clam Lake has been the site of repeated demonstrations by anti-nuclear weapons activists.

The Navy also will shut down a similar transmitter in Michigan's Escanaba State Forest near Republic.

Radio transmissions from the sites will cease Sept. 30. It could take the Navy up to three years to permanently close down the sites, said Steven Davis, a spokesman for the Navy's Space and Navy Warfare Systems Command in San Diego.

The Navy uses the ELF system to maintain secure communications with submarines at sea, allowing the vessels to receive messages without surfacing.

"Improvements in communications technology and the changing requirements of today's Navy made the ELF communication system no longer necessary," Davis said.

All communications with submarines will now be done with 12 "very low frequency" transmitters located worldwide, Davis said.

For years, people have been routinely arrested for trespassing in acts of civil disobedience at the 13-acre Clam Lake site. Critics have contended the system is for use during a first-strike nuclear attack, became obsolete with the Cold War's end and may cause health and environmental problems.

The Navy said the system was a vital communications link.

Each system uses dozens of miles of above-ground antenna strung on 600 40-foot poles. The Navy began using the $400 million system in 1989.

The annual operating costs for both ELF transmitters is $13 million, Davis said.

Each site has one Navy worker and 27 civilian contractors, Davis said.

Davis said the Navy will work with the U.S. Forest Service and Michigan Department of Natural Resources on the final closures of the sites, dealing with issues like National Historical Preservation Act requirements, environmental assessments and land disposition.