Aerial tourism operators say “draconian” proposals to ban flights over some U.S. National Parks — and severely reduce numbers in others — will drastically reduce accessibility, cause unaccounted for safety risks, and lead some to close their doors.
The proposals are contained in draft Air Tour Management Plans (ATMPs) created by the National Park Service (NPS) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), impacting four parks in two states. The agencies are seeking public input on the plans, which must be received by June 20.
The ATMPs suggest prohibiting air tours entirely with the boundaries of Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial Park in South Dakota, while reducing tours to Haleakalā National Park in Hawaii by half, and to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park by 86 percent.
“I think the message is clear: the [aerial tourism] industry is under attack,” said Mark Schlaefli, who owns several operations that would be impacted by the ATMPs, including Dakota Rotors, Rushmore Helicopters, and Black Hills Aerial Adventures. “Our operation at Badlands National Park is directly threatened, and it would be likely that it would go out of business.”
According to NPS documents, between 2017 and 2019, there was a yearly average of 1,425 commercial air tours over Badlands National Park each year, 3,914 over Mount Rushmore National Memorial Park, 4,824 flights to Haleakalā National Park, and 11,376 tours per year to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
In the draft ATMP for Mount Rushmore National Park, the NPS says it “determined that air tour operations at existing levels result in unacceptable impacts to park natural and cultural resources, tribal sacred sites and ceremonial areas, and visitor enjoyment . . . and are inconsistent with the park’s purpose and values, including interpreting the mountain sculpture in its historic, cultural, and natural setting while providing for the education, enjoyment, and inspiration of the public.”
The draft ATMPs for the other parks included similar language.
“The NPS also considered allowing air tours [in Mount Rushmore National Park] within the ATMP boundary at reduced numbers compared to existing levels, but determined that this would still result in noise that would continue to interfere with the park’s management objectives and continue to negatively impact the lands [Northern Plains] tribes hold sacred,” the draft ATMP continued.
Cade Clark, VP of government affairs at Helicopter Association International, said the NPS had failed to reach out to operators to determine the economic impacts from implementing a management plan that restricts overflights. “Limiting the number of allocations does not allow for a profitable business nor the realistic prospect of becoming profitable if demand for air tours increases.”
In addition to doing “real economic harm” to operators, Clark called the draft ATMPs “discriminatory against visitors who choose to experience the National Parks by aerial sightseeing.”
He said air tours were an important option for many visitors conducting a once-in-a-lifetime visit, allowing them to avoid walking trails that can be inaccessible for the disabled or elderly, while reducing congestion and demand on park infrastructure. Aerial tours, for example, require no trails, signs, bathrooms or garbage cans to be placed within a park.
“The National Parks should be available for all visitors to see,” said Clark. “Limiting flights over the parks unfairly limits the elderly, very young, disabled, and others to experience [them].”
Schlaefli said the volume of tours flown by his companies peaked during 2020 and 2021, as South Dakota did not enact any Covid restrictions. Typically, they are in the range of 3,400 to 4,000 tours a year.
“Aerial tourism via helicopter or airplane represents the lowest impact form of visitation to any park unit,” he told Vertical. “We leave no trace at all that we were there, we do not trample vegetation, litter, leave human waste, or require park staff and vehicles to maintain park spaces. The sounds we bring are temporary, diminish rapidly, and do no damage to the environment.”
Operators have adopted measures, such as carbon-offset efforts and strict altitude requirements to control noise, that show they are “responsible stewards of the nation’s parks,” said Clark.
In the two years that Schlaefli has owned his companies, he said they have “been very proactive” in making changes in response to community issues.
“We have changed entire routes and increased altitudes in order to minimize sound impact,” he said.
Company pilots interact with local park units every year before the busy season, covering the importance of the park units and how to “fly neighborly.”
“In the past three years we have not received a single complaint, and local park staff has directly communicated to us that everything was great,” said Schlaefli. “We have very specific routes designed to minimize sound, and any time we have ever received a concern, we would immediately mitigate that concern. In my opinion, the impacts are grossly overstated and are simply being used to check a box to justify their actions.”
Clark said the economic impact of removing operators from the South Dakota parks represents $45 million over 10 years. “In addition to the overall impact to the companies, local economies and suppliers are also affected in a significant way,” he said.
He also questioned the sound models used by the NPS to justify their decision. The NPS claims visitors at many locations experience noise above 52 decibels between 1.2 to 1.8 hours a day.
“The routes and altitudes used for the EA [Environmental Assessment] do not reflect what has been happening at Mount Rushmore for the past two years,” said Clark. “The analysis conducted in the EA inadequately evaluates sound from outside sources whether they be aviation or non-aviation.”
Over in Hawaii, one of the chief concerns with the ATMPs is safety, with the potential implementation of strict corridors with fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft at the same altitude.
“The specific route, with no aircraft stacking allowed, forces people into a very tight route and potentially prevents separation if there are clouds present,” said Clark. “Flying offshore at 3,000 feet will put operators into the clouds every time over on the east side of the island near Hana, where the cloud bank is typically at 2,000 feet.”
Schlaefli said the ATMPs would also create a “significant safety risk” around Mount Rushmore.
“By removing all tours within the boundary, it will force all air traffic into a smaller corridor,” he said. “The FAA has failed to evaluate this and understand the risks.”
He added that other types of flights will not be impacted by the ATMPs. “The Environmental Assessment for both [South Dakota] locations have ignored this possibility, and it will open the door to operations outside of their control, which will result in additional impacts.”
HAI is encouraging all industry members to respond to the draft ATMPs to register their concerns.
