PILOTS URGED TO OPPOSE DEATH VALLEY AIRPORT CLOSURE
Here they go again – trying to close another airport!
This one is the Stovepipe Wells Airport (L09) near Death Valley National Park.
Please read the following primer from AOPA and click on the link to send your comment to the National Park Service. URGENCY required – DEADLINE NEXT TUESDAY DECEMBER 23 !!!
Aside from the fact that once an airport is gone, there is no replacing it, the economic benefit of an airport for local commerce, tourism, emergency access and just the opportunity for people to visit that austere, but beautiful area from the air is worth preserving. Besides, there is PLENTY of space in the desert around the National Park to enjoy the stars – which is the reason they want to close it – so people can see the stars better! Please take the time to comment on the online form here: Airport closing comment link
You don’t have to comment on every question on the form. Focus your attention on Question #2:
What suggestions do you have regarding the proposal to remove the airstrip and create a night-sky viewing area?
Thanks for being involved GPA!
Airports are the lifeblood of our industry – closing them should be opposed, especially when the entity proposing the closure doesn’t fully understand the economics and aesthetics of their actions.
PILOTS URGED TO OPPOSE DEATH VALLEY AIRPORT CLOSURE
The proposal to shut Stovepipe Wells Airport and designate the land as a night-sky viewing area is included in a package of modifications for Stovepipe Wells Village, Emigrant Junction, the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes trailhead, Mosaic Canyon Road and trailhead, and the Devils Cornfield pullout.
The National Park Service has invited public comments and requested responses to specific questions including, “What suggestions do you have regarding the proposal to remove the airstrip and create a night-sky viewing area?”
Stovepipe Wells Airport, located in the northern portion of Death Valley National Park, has a 3,260-foot-long, 65-foot-wide runway, and is about a quarter-mile from the Stovepipe Wells Hotel and a restaurant. The other Death Valley airport, located over 25 miles away in the park’s southern area, is Furnace Creek Airport, known as the airport with the lowest field elevation in the United States, at minus-210 feet msl.
The National Park Service will take public participation into account, so AOPA strongly encourages members to submit comments online or by mail by December 23 to Stovepipe Wells Developed Area Improvements Project Superintendent, Death Valley National Park, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, CA 92328.
*See full AOPA digital E Pilot story within link below.