The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be hosting four public scoping meetings as part of the ongoing land use planning for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments next week in Southern Utah. As part of these meetings, the BLM encourage the public to submit comments to help identify any issues, management questions, or concerns that should be addressed in the planning processes. These comments will be used to help set the scope of the review of the land use plans.

If you, like us, are concerned about preserving aviation’s access to these public lands, we encourage you to voice your concerns to the BLM. Even if your future travels won’t bring you to our great state, your comments will help continue to establish aviation as a recreational activity worthy of access to our public lands.

Comments regarding the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted by April 11th to the following email address: [email protected] or via mail to P.O. Box 7 Monticello, UT 84535. Comments regarding the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument must be submitted by April 13th to the following email address: [email protected] or vial mail to 669 S Hwy 89A Kanab, UT 84741.

As you compose your letters to the BLM, we ask that you write in your own words in a positive manner your comments using the points below as a suggestion:

1. Introduce yourself as a pilot and that you frequent the Utah Back Country in private aircraft for recreation purposes. Those of you who camp, hike, rock climb, fish, or the like, discuss how aviation allows you to accomplish these activities.
2. Mention that groups such as the UBCP work side-by-side with the BLM to to establish protocols and maintain airstrips through volunteer efforts and self-raised funds.
3. Request that aviation be identified as a valid mode of transportation access within the affected areas.
4. Specifically request that the airstrips contained within the affected areas continue to be open to the public and that you are against the closing of any airstrips that could potentially provide access to pilots, search and rescue teams, fire fighting aircraft, and other emergency aircraft.

Airstrips contained within the Bears Ears National Monument are Dry Fork Canyon and Mule Canyon. Airstrips contained within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument are Collett Top and Squaw Bench.

Thank you for your continued support of the Utah Back Country Pilots and our friends. As of this writing, the UBCP has submitted our comments to the BLM regarding both Monuments.

A .pdf version of this can be found at https://goo.gl/PmERmc.

Airstrips contained within the Bears Ears National Monument are Dry Fork Canyon and Mule Canyon. Airstrips contained within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument are Collett Top and Squaw Bench.

None of these airstrips are listed on the UBCP website or I don’t know where to look? A little guidance?

I have been flying/camping in that area for 15 years (and UBCP member). Never heard of those strips. Please tell!
Tom

I'll write them a letter. Planning on backpacking a bit out that way in May. Hiking out of the boulder strip to Escalante.

Coordinates for the two strips would be a great reference is anyone has them...

Strips in the BENM:

- Dry Fork Canyon N38.0933 W109.6160
- Mule Canyon N37.4739 W109.7096

Strips in the GCNM:

- Collett Top N37.4563 W111.4670
- Squaw Bench N37.3682 W111.6633

Thanks for bring this important issue to the attention of the BCP members. I encourage everyone to take the time to submit comments. Your efforts will help preserve aviation access to our public lands.

PA11,
Are these strips on the UBCP list to get opened up? Looking at Google Earth, they are not useable as is.
Put me on the list to help get them into shape! The Mule Canyon strip looks very interesting.
Tom

I emailed my support message. Thanks for the reminder and continuing action.

Blue skies,

Tommy

I must be over-caffeinated, cuz I just wrote a long email - here it is if anyone needs inspiration:

Greetings from Idaho!

My name is XXXXX and I am writing to express my support for aviation and backcountry airstrips as you consider the future of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments.

My wife and I have backpacked the Robbers Roost complex, floated the Green River, backpacked Buckskin and Paria, the length of Grand Gulch, Escalante, Death Hollow and portions of the Boulder Mail - we love Southern Utah and will be returning in the fall for more backpacking! I mention all of this simply to establish that while I write from Idaho, we are the users that are affected by decisions in these areas. We bring our tax, permit, fuel, lodging, and tourism dollars to southern Utah on a regular basis.

General aviation has gotten a really bad rap lately as the exclusive purview of rich corporate robber-barons. But that's not us and it's probably not fair to them, either. In reality, those of us who are writing in to express support for backcountry aviation are generally "average Joes" with a passion for aviation and the wilderness that runs so deep we are willing to sacrifice our finances in the pursuit of it. We fly safe but basic aircraft that weigh less than your average compact car, are modestly powered, and are capable of landing on simple, dirt airstrips.

And if you think about it, aviation is really the ideal, least impactful way to access the backcountry. No, I'm not kidding!

- Consider the hundreds of miles of roads that have been carved into the backcountry and their impacts on wildlife and habitat in order to facilitate human access to remote areas. With your support, aviation users can access those same remote areas with a simple dirt clearing a thousand feet long (ideally 2,000-3,000 feet).

- While cars and trucks may take three, four, or five hours to travel from paved roads to trailheads, resulting in three, four, or five hours of noise, dust, and damage to streams and rivers, an aircraft can fly high with little to no noise impact, no dust whatsoever, no damage to streams and rivers, and traverse the same distance in 20 minutes.

- After arrival, other users may continue to impact the wilderness with motorized vehicles or pack animals. Aviation users are exclusively limited to foot travel and whatever can be carried on their backs.

- Whereas motorized (land) vehicles have powered wheels that can churn up dirt roads, aircraft wheels are unpowered and cannot cause similar damage.

- Additionally, backcountry airstrips provide an important link to the outside world for fire crews, emergency response aircraft, wildlife studies and management, and search and rescue teams.

Also, if there ever was a more supportive and conscientious group of wilderness users than the backcountry aviation community, I have yet to meet it. We strictly adhere to a Leave No Trace ethic and many participate in a #HeavierOut campaign of picking up other users' trash and debris and leaving "heavier" on the way out. What's more, between the Utah Pilot's Association, the Utah Back Country Pilots Association, the Recreational Aviation Foundation, the Idaho Aviation Association (I could go on), there is a veritable army of volunteers ready to care for and maintain wilderness airstrips. Here in Idaho, just one chapter of the IAA recorded nearly 500 hours of volunteer service in maintaining airstrips in 2017 - I know there is similar support in Utah.

For all of the above reasons, I strongly request that you maintain and - gasp! - consider expanding backcountry aviation access by specifically identifying aviation as a valid method of travel, keeping open the many existing airstrips that are potentially affected, and by working with the various volunteer groups to improve existing airstrips, add new ones, and create guidelines for their safe and low-impact use.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Absolutely. Since the beginning of the year, the UBCP has become re-energized with a new Board of Directors and some amazing people that have taken it upon themselves to comb through the state and find airstrips like these to rehabilitate. Without their hard work and their passion, these strips wouldn't be on our radar, but today, they're part of our five-year plan we hope to have ironed out here shortly.