A hand-written petition supporting the Navy and its touch-and-go operations at Outlying Field Coupeville has gathered more than 1,650 signatures since last month.

Conceived by former Island County commissioner and retired Navy veteran Mac McDowell, the petition first appeared for signatures at the Aug. 10 car show in Oak Harbor.

“We want to show our support to the Navy and to OLF and the operations they perform there,” McDowell said.

The petition is not intended to replace an already-existing online petition, he said.

McDowell said the most interesting part of his signature gathering is the feedback he is receiving from Coupeville residents who live near OLF but say they aren’t bothered by the noise or don’t plan to complain about it.