1. PARKS:
Overflight controversy extends to wilderness-rich Mount Rainier
Washington's Mount Rainier is the latest national park to wrestle with issues of air tours and overflights, which critics say pose a public safety risk and are disturbing to visitors and wildlife. Photo courtesy of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Mount Rainier National Park officials are considering setting strict limits on the number of commercial flight tours over the park -- or banning the business altogether -- in hopes of preserving the natural tranquility visitors seek at the 236,000-acre site in southwest Washington.
Planners at the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration are jointly crafting what would become the first air tour management plan for a national park since Congress mandated such plans a decade ago.
The agencies' yet-to-be-released environmental assessment (EA) will gauge the impact of commercial air tour operations on visitor experiences at the volcanic park, 97 percent of which is designated wilderness.
At the same time, the plan will evaluate the safety of flying around the 14,410-foot mountain where small aircraft accidents claimed 68 lives over the past 50 years.
"Flying at Mount Rainier is difficult under even the best of circumstances," said Sean Smith, policy director at the National Parks Conservation Association and a licensed pilot Go to story #1
