By: Mark Spencer
Who would have imagined two years ago that the pilot community in Arizona would enjoy an award winning relationship with the U. S. Forest Service? Yet this is exactly the relationship we have built with the Tonto and the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest teams. On January 16th, I was taken by surprise as District Ranger (DR) Telles interrupted our presentation to a group of Forest Service leaders in order to present a Certificate of Appreciation to the Arizona Pilot’s Association, RAF, and local ranchers for working to preserve the historic Double Circle Ranch and airstrip.
The presentation took place at the invitation of DR Telles in a long abandoned log structure we hope, with the pilot community’s continued help, to convert to an activity and education center for pilots, locals, and other visitors. In attendance with me were RAF Vice President Dan Prill, and local ranchers, Doug Dressler and Wilma Jenkins. Attendees from the Forest Service included four District Rangers, safety, natural resource, archaeology and recreation staff from around the Apache Sitgreaves forest.
The award was a complete surprise as I was only told that they wanted to learn about the pilot community’s efforts at the Double Circle. Recreation staff, Micah Miller, explained to the group that the pilot community had donated roughly $28,000 in labor, materials and travel to the Double Circle in their efforts to clean up and start the preservation process over the last year. Doug and Wilma were also rightfully presented with their own certificates. After our presentation we had time to show the team around the site and explain what our typical fly in camp or event looked like. Imagine my joy as one DR leaned over to DR Telles and proclaimed, “I just wish I had something like this on my district.” I jumped in and gently commented, “We can arrange that!” I hope to follow up with a visit to the Forest Supervisor’s office in Springerville in the coming weeks.
On January 7th, RAF President John McKenna, Utah Liaison Wayne Loeber , Utah pilot Paul Bowmar, and I attended a meeting at the Arizona State Land Department’s office in Phoenix to discuss a possible lease agreement for the Tuweep airstrip, formerly L50. This was the 6th in a series of meetings that began in November of 2011. We are not there yet, so stay tuned as we explore further options to reopen this one of a kind airstrip. Sadly, Utah Pilot Paul Bowmar and his friend Nicholas Reznick were killed just over a week after our Tuweep meeting in Phoenix. Paul’s aircraft collided with power lines in southern Utah on Saturday January 19th. In my very brief friendship with Paul, I can tell the pilot community has lost a great friend.
January also brought another fantastic 80 degree winter fly in camp at the Grapevine airstrip, formerly E75, with 28 aircraft and nearly 60 people in attendance. Part of the crowd was a few RV’rs from New Mexico. We received a great, big thank you from District Ranger Kelly Jardine and his staff for the repair of the Roosevelt Visitor Center’s A/V System. Pilots Dale Jensen, Dr. William Waller, my better half Stefanie, and I made several visits to the visitor center, near the dam, where we were finally able to rehabilitate the system that had been down for over a year. I guess we don’t just fix fences and runways! You’ll want to put the February 15th thru 17th weekend on your calendar as the aviation community descends on this incredibly beautiful sight for another fly in camping weekend, complete with a local historian providing stories around the campfire. Pack your sleeping bag stay tuned to the APA web site and Facebook page for news on this event!
We have a way to go in Arizona and Forest Service Region 3, but we have sure come a long way, from no airstrips open in 2010 to District Rangers wishing they had an airstrip on their districts! I am convinced that as long as pilots continue to honor Forest Service leadership with responsible positive behavior we will continue to enjoy this trend.