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:
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
Please do not restrict access to the existing airstrips in the BENM. General aviation has one of the smallest environmental impacts of any transportation mode, and these strips have been open for many decades without incident. Access to the backcountry out west is being restricted on a daily basis. What good is creating all of this wilderness if no one can enjoy it? Public land should be available to the public! JG
Great comment, John! Would you copy/paste it to the BLM’s ePlanning web site? The link is in the body of the article, just below the quote from the RAF Utah Liaison. Thank you so much for your support and participation!
[…] RAF officials have put together a list of “talking points” to help pilots put together their comments, as well as a list of all 18 airstrips in the BENM here. […]
Submitted save Utah
[…] Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) issued a call to action requesting pilots submit feedback on a proposal from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding […]
[…] Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) issued a call to action requesting pilots submit feedback on a proposal from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding […]
To Whom it May Concern:
Please do not restrict access to any existing back-country airstrips in Utah. Not only are these airstrips are an important recreational asset, but they have other value as well. Such as for diversions in emergencies, or for fire fighting operations. Valuable small airports are disappearing around the country at an alarming rate. Don’t let these Utah airports be among them!
Regards,
-George B.
Great comment, George! Would you copy/paste it to the BLM’s ePlanning web site? The link is in the body of the article, above. It’s the big oval button that says “Comment.”. Unfortunately, your comment on the article here won’t reach the BLM. Thank you so much for your support and participation!
Please do not restrict free Americans from landing on American soil, that we own collectively.
Great comment, Steven. Would you copy/paste it to the BLM’s ePlanning web site? The link is in the body of the article, above. It’s the big oval button that says “Comment.”. Unfortunately, your comment on the article here won’t reach the BLM. Thank you so much for your support and participation!
[…] BLM trying to close 16 of 18 Backcountry airports in Utah https://theraf.org/call-to-action-bears-ears-national-monument-2/ […]
Thanks for the call to action. I have submitted the following.
Dear Sirs
I am writing to complain about the extraordinary decision to close bush strips in the backcountry that have been open for years.
What on earth can be the purpose of this?
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.
Small non commercial aircraft Cause no environmental stress and there use of the airstrips are short term and damage nothing and harm nobody.
To close them would be a violation of rights, And would not achieve anything.
Thanks Tim Lapage
Thank you Tim. We appreciate your participation to help preserve these unique airstrips in the Bears Ears NM. Every voice counts!
I haven’t used these airstrips yet, but I hope to someday. These restrictions are even more absurd than the ones which constantly threat arc and snowmobile usage. All of these machines bridge the gap between cities and nature. They are necessary for us to stay connected to the earth so that we don’t forget that which we want to preserve. If you take this away, we won’t care if someone decides to pave over it in 50 years. We are all on the same side here. Using the land is just as important as preserving it.
I honestly do not think the BLM is intending to close all access to the airstrips forever. They chose a poor wording in the draft Bears Ears plan that would require all aircraft to only use two of the 18 airstrips. The draft plan says they would consider allowing other airstrips to eventually be reopened, but that option could take years. So the hope is to keep all of the airstrips open for use and they could close an airstrip later for a valid reason, but keep the airstrips open until such time. Thank you for your thoughtful insights.
Please reconsider the closure of these limited use airfields. We need to save what was established many years ago. Aviation is a low or limited noise and low dust impact to the area. We need to keep these areas open for emergency landing ateas when flying over the wide open ares of Utah.
Great comment, Carl. Would you copy/paste it to the BLM’s ePlanning web site? The link is in the body of the article, above. It’s the big oval button that says “Comment.” Unfortunately, your comment on the article here won’t reach the BLM. Thank you so much for your support and participation!
I am a Canadian Ultralight Pilot and have enjoyed flying in Utah back country airstrips for several years with friends who live in the Southwest. I have all the required license and paperwork to legally fly in the United States – my favourite country in the world to visit.
The United States of America is the most aviation friendly country in the world. Much of North America is not accessible without Aviation. Annually my friends and I have enjoyed flying in Utah and camping at the remote back country airstrips. Our inpact on the evironment is very low , and we have noticed no pilots leave anything at the airstrips except footprints and tire tracks on the dedicated runways. The noise our propellors and motors makes are very breif , mostly only during the take off process.
Please do not limit access to the back country airstrips of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. It is a premier expreince to visit these airstrips by suitable aircraft and the BLM land that the strips are located on should be accessible by all, not only selected few.
Thank you.
Adrian Van Loenen. Ontario Canada.
Great comment, Adrian. Would you copy/paste it to the BLM’s ePlanning web site? The link is in the body of the article, above. It’s the big oval button that says “Comment.”. Unfortunately, your comment on the article here won’t reach the BLM, since you have to submit it to the BLM yourself (we are unable to forward your comment to the BLM). Thank you so much for your support and participation!
On behalf of the 150 members of EAA Chapter 1241 in the Florida Keys, I urge BLM to keep all 18 backcountry airstrips in Bears Ear National Monument open for public access.
Although EAA Chapter 1241 is located in the chain of islands below Miami at the very southeast corner of the US and far away for BENM, you may be interested to know that we have members who tour literally all across the United States every year, taking advantage of publicly owned backcountry airstrips to enjoy the scenic beauty and spectacular natural outdoors that are unique to our great nation’s public lands.
The nature of aviation is that it shrinks distances and travel time while creating access to lands all across the US that would be inaccessible otherwise.
As a personal note, my wife and I spend about three months every year touring the US and we absolutely treasure our extensive visits to the marvelous scenery and backcountry strips in Utah.
Please visit AOPA.org/PILOT/Kitfox for a featured article in the world’s most widely read aviation magazine, AOPA PILOT, for a better understanding of what my comments above can not adequately describe.
Sincerely
Dr & Mrs Robert D Jones
Advocacy Committee Chair
EAA Chapter 1241
326 Stirrup Key Blvd
Marathon, Fl 33050
443-480-1023 drjones7788@gmail.com
Great comment, Dr. Jones. Would you copy/paste it to the BLM’s ePlanning web site? The link is in the body of the article, above. It’s the big oval button that says “Comment.”. Unfortunately, your comment on the article here won’t reach the BLM, since you have to submit it to the BLM yourself (we are unable to forward your comment to the BLM). Thank you so much for your support and participation!