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Trees being removed at Fentress Airfield for safety

Posted at 7:34 PM, Jan 04, 2013
and last updated 2013-01-04 19:34:43-05

There's something disappearing from the landscape at Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress in Chesapeake: trees.

Trees all over the airfield are being cut down, and in their place, there are logs, stumps and piles of mulch.

Several folks who live nearby asked NewsChannel 3 to Take Action and investigate why the trees were being cut down.

The Navy says the trees are being removed for safety reasons.

Kelley Stirling, Public Affairs Officer for Naval Air Station Oceana which operates Fentress, says the trees were identified as being hazardous in the Clear Zone Management Plan.

The plan said the height of the trees could impact safe flight operations and the vegetation was also attracting a lot of birds, which pose a strike hazard for aircraft.

The trees are being cut down and stumps removed so that the area will remain within the Clear Zone Management Plan for at least ten years.