CALL TO ACTION: BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT – WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PRESERVE 18 OF UTAH’S SCENIC BACKCOUNTRY AIRSTRIPS

The BLM has progressed in the process of revising its Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) and invites public comments to guide their final decision .

The BLM is proposing that aircraft only be allowed to take off and land at the Bluff Airport and the Fry Canyon Airstrip. By placing this limitation, it serves to essentially close the other 16 airstrips in the Bears Ears NM until someday when the BLM puts together their implementation-level travel plan and perhaps these airstrips might be reopened. All 18 of the airstrips have existed and been in use for the past 40-70 years and we request that none of them be closed or banned arbitrarily without first evaluating the merits of each.

RAF Utah Liaison and Utah Back Country Pilots board member Wendy Lessig says, “It is essential that we submit positive comments about preserving these recreational assets. Your voice counts!”

Please submit your BENM comments directly via this button:

Comment

The deadline to submit public comments is JUNE 11, 2024 .

Here are talking points for reference. Please submit your own individualized comments, and include positive, personal reasons for allowing access by private, non-commercial, fixed-wing aircraft:

· Access by GA aircraft for private, non-commercial use protects the objects and values of the National Monument.

· In addition to Bluff Airport and Fry Canyon, access should be provided for the other 16 airstrips by private, non-commercial, fixed-wing aircraft for recreational use, the same use that has been ongoing for the past 40-70 years.

· These existing airstrips are recreational assets, and provide for dispersed primitive camping, especially with increased use of the backcountry by “boondocking” road vehicles.

· Aviation has a very small environmental footprint, the lightest footprint form of access to these lands.

· Access by air requires NO road, nor infrastructure like bridges or corrals.

· Access by air eliminates miles of dusty road traffic.

· Most Utah backcountry airstrips predate the 1964 Wilderness Act. Access and use of these airstrips should be retained.

· Noise from aircraft is transient and of short duration.

· Airstrips are situated on natural flat land features, such as level, open meadows with little occurrence of soil disturbance or erosion.

· Airstrips provide vital access to aid Search and Rescue, emergency response, and firefighting.

· Airstrips offer possible life-saving options when small aircraft encounter mechanical problems or deteriorating weather conditions while flying over the relatively unforgiving terrain in southern Utah.

· Peer-reviewed research substantiates that small aircraft noise has no detrimental impact on wildlife.

· Backcountry airstrips offer recreational access to the disabled and those with limited mobility and without the need for strenuous physical activity to enjoy our public lands.

· Airstrips are trailheads: aviators are non-motorized recreationists, participating in hiking, camping and other low-impact activities. These users practice “Leave No Trace” ethics.

· The Recreational Aviation Foundation and the Utah Backcountry Pilots work in collaboration with the BLM and USFS to provide cooperative maintenance of backcountry airstrips, saving administrative resources that can be used elsewhere.

Your public comments count. Please click the button above to officially submit comments to the BLM. Comments need to be submitted personally via the button and not in the comments section of this article. We are unable to forward comments on your behalf.

Thank you for helping preserve these unique and priceless backcountry aviation assets.

These 18 airstrips are in the BENM and could potentially be affected:

Airstrip	Latitude	Longitude	Documented Existence Year
Brown’s Rim	37.854	-110.299	1952
Fry Canyon South	37.613	-110.139	1952
Sipapu Bridge	37.6255	-110.034	1952
Deer Flat	37.6654	-110.027	1954
Dry Fork Canyon	38.0933	-109.616	1954
Hammond-Kigalia Point	37.6843	-109.773	1954
Bluff	37.2535	-109.636	1962
Mule Canyon	37.4739	-109.71	1962
Red House Spring	37.4815	-110.184	1963
Dark Canyon North	37.89585	-110.089	1980
Dark Canyon South	37.8242	-110.09	1980
Fry Canyon	37.6515	-110.171	1980
Long Canyon	37.7817	-110.159	1980
Clay Hills Crossing	37.317	-110.367	1987
Lockhart Basin	38.3268	-109.706	1987
Lockhart Road	38.3292	-109.681	1987
Polly Mesa	37.3877	-110.124	2006
Valley of the Gods	37.2531	-109.92	2006

Photo credit: Bureau of Land Management

Posted in News

TIME TO REVIEW AIRSTRIP SAFETY BRIEFINGS

March 30, 2026

As you're planning your 2026 flying adventures, remember to review safety briefings for the airstrips you plan to visit. The RAF strongly recommends you review safety briefings and print a copy to have in your airplane - it's even required to fly into some airfields, like Ryan Field (2MT1). For those airfields, pilots flying in are required to review the briefing on an annual basis, and now is the perfect time to catch up on any changes to the runway/area that happened throughout the winter. You can find safety briefings on the RAF Airfield Guide . If an airfield in the Airfield Guide has a required briefing, the airfield listing will clearly indicate it and have a tab to view the briefing. Submitted March 30, 2026 Photo By Jim Stevenson

RAF VOLUNTEERS BEGIN TO RESTORE HISTORIC RANGER AIRFIELD HANGAR

March 30, 2026

RAF Texas volunteers and Ranger Airfield Foundation volunteers helped begin restoration of the historic 1928 Ranger Airfield hangar on March 28. “A Wright biplane landed here at the field in 1911, and people have been using it ever since,” Ranger Airfield Foundation Founder Jared Calvert said. He noted that Amelia Earhart landed there in a Pitcairn Auto Gyro. Richard Bach, Pancho Barnes, and General Patton also landed at the field. It’s the oldest continuously used turf field in Texas.

FEATURED AIRSTRIP: SACATON, NM

By Carmine Mowbray • March 30, 2026

For adventurers seeking access to the Gila Wilderness, we suggest landing at Sacaton Airstrip, NM16, near Buckhorn, New Mexico. The runway lies on a “finger mesa,” and the Rain Creek trailhead lies just northeast of the field. Thanks to RAF New Mexico Liaison Ron Keller's coordination with the USFS using a Cost Share Agreement, Keller was able to organize RAF and New Mexico Pilot Association (NMPA) volunteers to rehabilitate and reopen the long-abandoned airstrip in 2022. Beyond reopening the airstrip, Keller added camping amenities, including picnic tables and a new vault toilet. Most recently, Keller oversaw the installation of new shade structures, most welcoming to campers and hikers. RAF and NMPA volunteers complete ongoing maintenance at Sacaton and other airfields in the Gila National Forest. You’ll see white-painted rocks along Sacaton’s 3,989-ft dirt runway, and surrounding the segmented circle near the RAF windsock. The airstrip lies at 6,200-ft elevation, so pilots should be mindful of density altitude while flying over high terrain in the vicinity, even in winter temperatures. “Anglers will enjoy plying streams for the rare native copper-colored Gila trout, once a threatened species,” Keller reports. The mile-and-a-half trail to the crossing at Rain Creek is narrow and challenging and traverses a variety of terrain, but the serious hiker will be rewarded trekking through steep canyon walls lined with green alder, willow, and boxelder, hoodoos, and eagle aeries above. There are rumors of a double waterfall some distance on the west fork of Rain Creek trail. See the Sacaton page in the Airfield Guide for more details. Note that the airstrip may be unusable due to snow or after heavy rains. This runway should be considered one-way in/one-way out to avoid overflying the Wilderness boundary. There is a 4.6% upslope to the East, favoring landing Runway 08 with right traffic, remaining clear of the Wilderness east and north of the airfield. Please consider others seeking a Wilderness experience. Prior to landing at Sacaton, permission is required by calling the USFS Gila Dispatch center at 800-538-1644. Please familiarize yourself with Sacaton in the Airfield Guide and the New Mexico Pilots Association Safety Briefing . Submitted March 30, 2025 By Carmine Mowbray