Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve Sues Navy Over Growler Noise Threatening Murrelets

A Central Whidbey conservation group filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Navy EA-18G Growler operations based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island are so loud they jeopardize the marbled murrelet, a small seabird listed as threatened federally and endangered in Washington, Oregon and California. The complaint asks a judge to block the Navy from "taking" marbled murrelets - defined as harassing, capturing or killing - until the Navy secures a lawful incidental take statement and directs the Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a new biological opinion that accounts for recently available information.

Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve filed the complaint in federal court on Jan. 16, arguing the Navy’s biological opinion, prepared in consultation with Fish and Wildlife Service, was flawed and failed to consider new internal guidance on noise thresholds and abrupt noise increases. The suit cites Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that marbled murrelets will face millions of Growler overflight exposures each year and says state populations in Washington have declined markedly in recent years.

The lawsuit frames the noise threat as an immediate conservation and community concern. "Marbled murrelets in the Pacific Northwest are already on the brink of survival and have no margin to absorb further harm," the complaint states, asserting that Growler overflights will push the bird closer to extinction. For residents of Coupeville, Ebey’s Landing and other parts of Central Whidbey, the case ties long-running debates about flight paths and training intensity to tangible wildlife impacts that affect local natural resources and the island’s character.

The filing follows a prior federal action in which Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve and the state Attorney General challenged increases in Growler training at Outlying Field Coupeville and other locations. In that earlier case a judge found the Navy had "turned a blind eye" to some evidence; as required, the Navy completed an amended Environmental Impact Statement last month. COER had notified the Navy and the Fish and Wildlife Service of its intent to sue in 2024.

Local civic and military stakeholders reacted along familiar lines. The Oak Harbor Navy League criticized the lawsuit as "the latest in 13 years of never-ending legal challenges regarding Growlers and Whidbey Island," framing the suit as part of a protracted legal contest over training operations.

For Island County residents, the case could have practical consequences. If the court grants the requested injunction or orders a new biological opinion that finds greater risk, the Navy may need to adjust training patterns, mitigate noise impacts or secure a revised incidental take statement before resuming certain activities. The federal court’s schedule and any subsequent administrative actions by Fish and Wildlife will determine whether community noise levels or Growler training routines change in the months ahead.

The lawsuit puts conservation science and federal compliance squarely into local debates about the balance between national defense training and island life; residents should watch for court orders and agency responses that will shape both murrelet conservation and the soundscape over Whidbey.