"I very rarely sign petitions of any sort," Tribe wrote in an e-mail message.

The petition's supporters contend that the Vieques economy is being hurt by the Navy presence. They argue that the island's fishing industry has been hurt by the Navy's bombing of natural fisheries, and that the island cannot benefit from the tourism that the rest of Puerto Rico enjoys.

Vieques has a 26.3 percent unemployment rate, and 73.3 percent of its population lives below the poverty line, according to a Puerto Rican government commission on Vieques.

A Navy spokesperson, Commander Karin Jeffries, said yesterday that the Navy has supported 50 economic development programs in Vieques. Jeffries said, however, that these programs have had limited success because they lacked the full cooperation of the Puerto Rican government.

The petition's supporters also point to environmental and health concerns

In particular, the rate of cancer on the island in the 1980s was 27 percent higher than that of Puerto Rico as a whole, according to the Puerto Rican government commission.

Jeffries said that "no scientific study exists" that links the Navy's presence to cancer rates.

Secretary of Defense William Cohen convened a four-person panel to study the Navy's presence on Vieques this summer. The panel's report, released last month, states that the Navy has done well in addressing environmental concerns on the island, including the protection of endangered species.