Navy seeks input on Gulf of Alaska sonar training

ANCHORAGE - The Navy plans to conduct live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Alaska over the next few years, bringing in an aircraft carrier and other ships in a strike group.

Navy spokesman Alex Stone told a meeting Friday in Anchorage that besides explosions and ship noise, the exercises would make extensive use of sonar. That has environmentalists worried about the effect on marine mammals.

At a public meeting Friday night in Fairview, Stone said the Navy plans to designate portions of the gulf for live-fire naval training, and is seeking public comment on those plans. He says the Navy will take steps to protect marine mammals and other wildlife.