THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, August 24, 1994             TAG: 9408230436
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS            PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE                         LENGTH: Medium:   59 lines

FOR BASES, IT'S BACK TO NATURE AMONG THE FIRST NATIONWIDE IS A VIRGINIA FACILITY THAT WILL BE TURNED INTO WILDLIFE REFUGE.

An Army lab that once did the grisly business of developing and testing strategies to help soldiers survive and operate in a nuclear war is about to become a test site in the battle to save endangered wildlife.

The Woodbridge Research Facility, on 580 acres of meadows and marshes 25 miles south of Washington, is among the first of dozens of soon-to-close military bases across the country - including one in Suffolk - that could be converted to wildlife refuges or public parks.

``This is a tremendous example of the peace dividend for the American people. It allows them access to areas that have been off-limits because of the Cold War,'' Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said last week.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will acquire the property from the Army in October and make it part of the Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Officials hope to open at least part of it to the public next year for fishing, hiking, bird-watching and nature education programs. Area universities and high schools also may offer classes at the site.

There are similar designs, but no firm plans, for a former radio transmission facility owned by the Navy along the Nansemond River in Suffolk. Mostly wetlands, the 605-acre site is being eyed by the city government as a way to gain access to the Nansemond and stimulate recreational activities there. The Fish and Wildlife Service, meanwhile, would like at least a portion of the property to connect the two halves of the Nansemond National Wildlife Refuge.

The Suffolk and Woodbridge bases, like most of the others being eyed by the Interior Department, were largely undeveloped by the military. The Navy didn't need much space for its now-obsolete radio towers in Suffolk but wanted a substantial buffer zone around them. The Army kept most of its land in Woodbridge open to help isolate its facilities there for testing the effects of electromagnetic pulses on communications equipment.

Babbitt, U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb and Rep. Leslie L. Byrne of Fairfax County braved a steady rain last week to tour the Woodbridge site. Under legislation patroned by Robb and Sen. John W. Warner, the land and buildings will be transferred at no charge to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bounded on the east by the Potomac River, the base has a large freshwater pond and saltwater marshes that already are home to more than 200 species of birds, including the bald eagle. Fox, beaver, deer, otter and other animals also live on the property. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo

Sen. Charles Robb, left, U.S. Rep. Leslie Byrne and Interior

Secretary Bruce Babbitt last week toured the Woodbridge Research

Facility, which will be turned into a wildlife refuge this fall.

by CNB