By Associated Press
CLam Lake, WI, Republic, MI – The U.S. Navy is closing two controversial submarine communication systems in Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. Navy officials say the Extremely Low Frequency, or ELF, Transmitters are outdated and are no longer needed. The Clam Lake transmitter will soon be closed. The facility is a popular site for anti-nuclear weapons protest. A similar transmitter in the Upper Peninsula's Escanaba State Forest near Republic will also be shut down within the next three years. Activists say the facilities were for use during a first-strike nuclear attack and became obsolete with the end of the Cold War. The Navy has until recently said the system is a vital communication link to submerged submarines.