< img src="https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/hawaii-volcano-cover.jpg?w=1200"alt =""> A helicopter tour business raised issues about a brand-new air trip management strategy (ATMP) for Hawaii Volcanoes National forest, saying that the strategy will substantially reduce flights and how air tourism services operate in the area.
With the strategy, the National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Air Travel Administration (FAA) will cut the variety of air trips enabled annually from 11,300 to 1,548, restrict flight strategies to 3 specific paths, and limit trips to company hours four to five days a week.
Quentin Koch, president of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, called the 91% reduction in flights “a little bit more draconian than they need to be,” during an interview with KHON2. While the function of the strategy is to reduce sound in populated locations and protect public land, Koch stated the plan eliminates the pilots’ discretion.
“Our pilots understand the parks the best. They understand how to do the least quantity of impact,” Koch said, adding that he ‘d rather the Parks Service and the FAA work with air tour operators to enhance the already-in-place volunteer strategy.
Nevertheless, Rhonda Loh, superintendent of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, explained that the details of the strategy were “more than twenty years in the making” which it was designed to “secure the natural and cultural resources, the wilderness character and general visitor experience.”
The Hawaii Volcanoes’ ATMP is simply the latest in a continuous debate over the Air Tour Act, a 2000 law that authorizes NPS and the FAA to create plans for controling helicopter tours through national parks.
The source of contention isn’t a lot that ATMPs exist, but rather how the plans are produced. Although the public is welcomed to discuss the plans before they’re implemented, critics state the federal government can produce them without seeking advice from or receiving input from stakeholders, i.e., the business that run helicopter trips.
Throughout a Congressional hearing last month, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar argued that sweeping ATMPs lead to a long list of concerns, varying from a loss of financial activity to restricting ease of access to public lands.
Another problem critics raise is just how long it’s taken the federal government to take action. Since the law was enacted, the Parks Service has actually presented 19 strategies and voluntary arrangements. Nevertheless, 17 of those plans were the outcome of a 2020 court order requiring the federal government to comply with the law.
Ray Sauvajot, the associate director of the Natural deposit Stewardship and Science for the Parks Service, safeguarded the 20-year timeline at last month’s hearing. He described the research study process for figuring out the ecological and cultural effect of helicopters as an intricate venture. He likewise identified sound as a substantial concern for park visitors along with being possibly damaging to wildlife and natural landscapes.
The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ATMP is set up to go into result by the end of June 2024.
The strategy will cut the overall number of helicopter trips through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park from 11,300 to 1,548 per year.