Just received this from the Seaplane Pilots Association--Please consider sending a message to these administrators:

Seaplane Pilots Association Call to Action Colorado
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Call to Action
We need your help in assisting us open Colorado waters to seaplanes.
Please write an email letter in support of the cause.
This week will be pivotal in reintroducing seaplanes in Colorado. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission is meeting in Gunnison on Thursday (6/11/2015) at 4:05 p.m. to review recommendations from its staff regarding seaplane access to Colorado public waterways. An advance copy of those recommendations indicate a stance by the CPW staff to continue to deny access to seaplanes to all state-controlled waterways. The staff recommendations were prepared by an internal committee consisting of four CPW members, none having aviation experience.

We do not intend to let those recommendations go unchallenged. Seaplane Pilots Association Executive Director Steve McCaughey, along with Colorado Pilots Association President Ann Beardall and representatives from several other organizations including AOPA and RAF, will be attending the meeting.

We have prepared responses to CPW and are ready to defend your rights. We intend to petition the Commission to establish a joint citizens committee consisting of aviation, boating, and other water users as well as representatives from CPW.

Please write to the CPW and show your support for seaplanes in Colorado. Send an email today to:

[email protected]
Subject: I Support Seaplanes

We need to show that there is strong community support for seaplanes. Please be professional and polite, but direct.

Talking points to consider:


We are only asking for fair and equal access to Colorado lakes as a recreational resource, similar to those enjoyed by other motorized recreational vehicles such as boats and personal watercraft.
Unlike boaters, who do enjoy access to these lakes, all seaplane pilots are highly trained and FAA certificated in the safe operation of their vessels on the water.
We will ensure that, like boats, seaplanes are inspected and certified to be free of invasive species before entering Colorado lakes.
Most boats expel exhaust into the water, introducing oil, gasoline, and other pollutants. Seaplane exhaust is cleaner due to required periodic maintenance of aircraft engines, and like auto exhaust it instantly and harmlessly dissipates in the air.
Statistics complied by U.S. government agencies show unequivocally that boating poses a far greater risk of accidents, incidents, and unsafe operation than seaplanes on the water. Any argument that seaplanes pose an undue hazard to the general public is simply not based on the facts.
Seaplanes could offer Colorado valuable public services including wildfire spotting, search and rescue, and natural resource research and protection as well as bringing economic development and new tourism growth opportunities.
Seaplanes are used by many state and federal agencies including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, specifically because they allow safe and environmentally friendly access to remote locations for a variety of official and scientific purposes.
Please sit down with the Seaplane Pilots Association who will partner with you to help you make informed, fact based decisions on your seaplane access policies.
If you have any questions, comments, or need assistance in writing to CWC or getting directions to the meeting, please contact SPA Colorado Field Director Ray Hawkins at [email protected], or call him at 303-710-2497.

Thank you for your crucial support in this important initiative to expand seaplane access in beautiful Colorado

I sent this email yesterday:

Greetings--

I am unable to attend the meeting at Gunnison this coming Thursday, but I would like to comment, and I request that my comments be considered.

I am a pilot with 42 1/2 years of experience flying small single engine airplanes. I have a commercial certificate, instrument rating, a dormant flight instructor certificate (airplanes and instruments, commonly called a CFII). I have instructed in the past, and I also flew single engine charter throughout Wyoming and northern Colorado for several years. Last year I added "single engine sea", i.e., a seaplane rating, to my repertoire.

While most states regulate seaplanes by permitting them on some waterways and not on others, Colorado is the only one I can determine which prohibits the use of seaplanes on all of its waterways. The usual arguments against seaplanes are that they are too noisy (true, they are noisy--"too noisy" is subjective, as their noise is only momentary during take-off), but so are boats; and they interfere with others' use and enjoyment of the waterways.

My training was off of Lake Union at downtown Seattle, one of the busiest recreational lakes anywhere. Yet seaplane use at Lake Union is daily, and it's compatible with all of the other uses of that lake. Both Seattle Seaplanes, where I trained, and Kenmore Aviation, a commercial operator flying passengers into the San Juan Islands, fly many flights each day, safely--and without interfering with others' enjoyment of their homes and businesses around the lake, and recreational use of the lake.

An additional argument I have heard recently is that seaplanes can't fly safely out of Colorado's high elevation lakes and reservoirs. I've done the calculations (I was required to as part of my seaplane training). That argument is fallacious. Yes, it will take longer for a seaplane to get off the water at Blue Mesa than at Lake Union, but it's doable. High density altitude is something all pilots deal with everywhere in Colorado; we learn to accommodate it. That is why runways in the high country are longer than they are in lower elevation states.

There is no good reason to prohibit seaplanes in Colorado. Every reason that I have heard or read has little to no merit and boils down to "we don't want them here", a variation of the NIMBY approach. As an experienced aviator, I urge Colorado Parks & Wildlife to open the state's waterways to seaplane use. I would gladly respond to any questions respecting what I have said.

Cary