RAF LEANS IN ON USFS PROJECTS IN IDAHO
RAF President Bill McGlynn has worked for years with the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, advocating for a way to ensure the ongoing preservation and maintenance of seven airstrips on the Forest. Moose Creek, within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness; Shearer along the Selway River; Dixie USFS with access to the Gospel Hump Wilderness; Orogrande along Crooked Creek; Wilson Bar along the Salmon River; Cayuse Creek, and Fish Creek in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, are all irreplaceable airstrips for the enjoyment of Idaho’s famous backcountry.
Thanks to McGlynn’s efforts, funding and cooperative maintenance has been approved, and is outlined in a Challenge Cost Share Agreement signed in 2022 by McGlynn on behalf of the RAF, in conjunction with the USFS. Work began with an engineering assessment of the seven airstrips, starting with Moose Creek and Shearer. “Lucky for us, Steve Harris, a certified airport planner and civil engineer from Oklahoma, agreed to do the assessments for the RAF on a pro-bono basis,”McGlynn said, adding, “This was wholeheartedly welcomed by the Forest Service because they don’t have engineers trained on airport standards.”
The Forest Service approved the Moose Creek and Shearer plans, and work began in 2023 that will span several years.
This past September, Steve Harris returned with fellow engineer Joe Sober, also from Oklahoma, and completed assessments on Fish Lake, Cayuse Creek, Orogrande, Dixie, and Wilson Bar. Their work was significantly aided by the Kodiak 100 provided by Daher-Kodiak, which quickly and easily carried the engineers and gear to each airstrip. The engineers are now developing plans for Forest Service approval, and work can begin in 2026.
The Kodiak also flew to Lewistown, Montana, to pick up a dozen new USFS steel fire pans that were distributed to several of the airstrips. These new pans replaced the original ones provided by the Idaho Aviation Association that had rusted out after a decade of service.
“The overall goal is to make these airstrips safer and restore their condition as much as practical over the five-year term of the Agreement. This includes surface restoration, tree and brush removal, grass seeding, and drainage improvements,” McGlynn said
Submitted November 1, 2025