Jerry Allegood, Staff Writer

PLYMOUTH - It shaped up like a classic David-and-Goliath battle -- a coalition of Eastern North Carolina farmers, housewives, small-town politicians and bird lovers versus the forces of the U.S. Navy, the sprawling Virginia Beach metropolis and powerful Virginia politicians. Most thought the little guys had no chance. Even the little guys had their doubts. But they were wrong. They won.

Navy officials announced Tuesday that they were scrapping plans to build a remote airfield in Washington and Beaufort counties. Even longtime opponents were taken aback. Some had fought plans for the outlying landing field -- commonly called an "OLF" -- for seven years.

"It's still so hard to believe after all we've been through," said Doris Morris, a spokeswoman for the opposition group No-OLF. "I feel like somebody needs to pinch me to make sure I'm awake."

She said the group is planning a community gathering to celebrate the victory and thank supporters. But they aren't quite ready to disband or yank up the hundreds of "No OLF" signs planted in yards and along roadsides in the region.

Now the Navy is looking at two sites in northeastern North Carolina, Hale's Lake in Camden and Currituck counties, and Sandbanks in Gates County. Morris said her group will help landowners and county officials in their fight, too.

For years, the Navy wanted to build a $230 million airfield near Plymouth, about 100 miles east of Raleigh, where jets based in Virginia Beach and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point could practice carrier-type landings. After a $4 million environmental study on several sites, the Navy said its preferred site would take in about 30,000 acres straddling the two counties.

The Navy had already acquired about 2,000 acres.

Washington County real estate agent Mike Swearingen wasn't too worried when the Navy started quietly talking about building the airfield several years ago.

"Like everybody else," he said," I didn't know what an OLF was."

He said he organized early meetings against the project after a local property deal fell through when a Virginia Beach lender learned of the possibility of an airfield. He contended that the fast-growing Virginia Beach area wanted to move the noisy jets to North Carolina.

Landowners and officials in the two counties said the project would wipe out family farms and stifle economic growth. Others said the airfield was too close to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, a 113,000-acre retreat for migrating waterfowl.

Plenty of people doubted local opposition could stop the Navy juggernaut, especially after increased support of the military following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

'Never going to win'

"We had 70 to 80 percent of the people say, 'We support your cause, but you're never going to win,' " said Jennifer Alligood, chairwoman of the No-OLF group.

She said they had testimonials from people who did not want to give up farms that had been in families for generations. But they initially had no money, expertise or plan for taking on the Navy.

Alligood and Morris were both distributing anti-OLF literature independently when they met at Morris' mailbox beside the highway. They began meeting regularly at Alligood's home to plan and pray for guidance.

"We would just sit around the table and try to come up with ideas about what to do and how to do it," Morris said. "We were often told we were not following protocol, but we were fighting with all our hearts and souls."

Larger groups met in farm garages. They raised money and morale with pig pickings and community meetings.

Opponents didn't have money for television advertising, so they divided the state and attended meetings of county boards of commissioners because the meetings were televised. Alligood recalled an early presentation in Western North Carolina when a board readily expressed support and offered to endorse a resolution. She didn't have one ready. "That's how green we were," she said.

Eventually No-OLF gained support from about 100 organizations, ranging from national outdoor groups to local tourism promotion agencies.

There was no shortage of eye-catching publicity stunts. A teenager's PowerPoint presentation consisting of photos of houses and farm buildings that would be lost to the OLF gave outsiders a look at the community.

Farmers rode to rallies in tractor convoys. Others towed a trailer with a homemade model of a Navy jet bearing anti-OLF messages at rallies and parades.

"They won first prize in the Belhaven Christmas parade last year," Morris said, laughing.

The most difficult aspect of the campaign, she said, was being labeled unpatriotic for criticizing the Navy's plans

Beaufort and Washington counties joined with conservation groups in a federal lawsuit to halt the airfield. A federal judge ruled that the Navy's environmental study was inadequate, a ruling that cheered opponents and stymied the Navy but did not end the issue.

Despite the emotional appeals, many participants agreed that the most crucial allies were thousands of ducks, geese and swans that spend the winter at national wildlife refuges and private lands in the area.

Joe Albea of Greenville, an outdoor writer and television program host, had been warning since 2001 that the airfield was not compatible with the waterfowl. He distributed striking videos of huge flocks of snow geese taking to the air and arranged visits for reporters and government officials.

'Birds stopped it'

"The birds stopped it, no question," he said. "If the birds had not been there, it would be operational by now."

For Albea, justice prevailed, and a seven-year battle is over.

But Jan DeBlieu of the N.C. Coastal Federation says the battlefield has simply shifted.

"You can bet that the Navy is hoping our opposition will fall apart, now that the fight has been shifted away from the wildlife refuges," she said. "We still have a long way to go."

Jerry.Allegood@newsobserver.com or (252) 752-8411

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