Banff, Jasper airstrips

The struggle over the Banff and Jasper airstrips is critical to our freedom to fly safely through the Rocky Mountains and over National Parks. We need you to email or write once again, this time to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) concerning the final report from Parks Canada, released Jan. 24, 2006.
The public consultation period is only open for 35 days, ending February 28.

You helped us out last year during Parks Canada’s first public consultation with 1490 supporting responses out of 1512. Unfortunately this was not enough to sway Parks’ plans to decommission these vital airstrips.

The Air Safety Risk Assessment workshop conducted in March 2003 by Kootenai International Associates, clearly concluded there is increased safety risk to small aircraft pilots and passengers by decommissioning the airstrips. The workshop participants agreed on five acceptable risk mitigation options which were presented in the consultant’s report. In its final report Parks Canada is not adopting any of the acceptable options. Instead they are proposing to “remove all features indicative of an operational aerodrome” (including windsock and runway markers) and maintain the lands “in a natural grassland condition free of trees and shrubs.” It is stated that “aviators in distress can perform an emergency landing anywhere in a Canadian national park, including the former Banff and Jasper airstrips”.

In other words the airstrips will be unmaintained and unmarked open fields eventually becoming unsuitable for safe landings. They will be useless for weather diversionary landings since they will no longer be marked on the VFR Navigational Charts, in the Canada Flight Supplement and in GPS databases. Pilots new to the area and future pilots will not know that they exist and the option when inevitably pilots get trapped by unpredictable weather will be to land on the busy highway.

Although Parks Canada acknowledges the increase in air safety risk, the final report suggests they are unable to confine the use of the airstrips to emergency and diversionary landings only, and therefore must decommission them completely. This is based on a court decision (Nordheim) wherein charges of illegal landings were dismissed because the airstrips had not been completely closed. We believe this is flawed reasoning.

During the Air Safety Risk Assessment workshop COPA illustrated to Parks Canada that landing can legally be restricted to emergency and diversionary by using the Prior Permission Required (PPR) designation and appropriate comments in the Canada Flight Supplement. Similarly, restricted indicators can be placed on the VNC and in the databases. COPA maintains with this in place and open airstrips Parks Canada has the right to prosecute offenders. The National Parks Aircraft Access Regulation states that landing in a national park requires the prior permission of the park superintendent. These conditions permit Parks to effectively limit use of the airstrips to emergencies and weather diversions.

In its report Kootenai International Associates’ first recommendation is, “Legal council to Parks Canada should re-evaluate the Nordheim decision to determine whether the implementation of landing site mitigation option (1) would allow for the successful prosecution of pilots who are charged under the National Parks Aircraft Access Regulation”. Option (1) referred to above is, “Return the status of the Banff and Jasper airstrips to open and restrict landings through NOTAMS and CFS Prior Permission Required (PPR) and cautionary notices”.

Parks Canada has disregarded COPA’s and Kootenai’s recommendations. In their final report Parks continues to maintain the only way to control the use of the airstrips is by complete decommissioning. The purpose of responding this time is to point out this flawed reasoning and request that CEAA force Parks to conduct a detailed examination of the above option in consultation with the aviation community.

In the 2 1/2 years since the Air Safety Risk Assessment report came out there have been two diversionary landings and one emergency landing at Banff, and six diversionary landings at Jasper. Five of the Jasper landings occurred on the same day in July of last year due to an unforecast severe thunder storm. Click on the link below to read COPA’s original submission to the Air Safety Risk Assessment workshop.

In spite of the fact that the Banff airstrip is still open for emergency and diversionary landings the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society reported that the restoration of the Cascade wildlife corridor in Banff is successful. (See link below.)

Please read Park’s final report (A Consolidation of the Findings) then send your comments to CEAA. You can view all the study reports on the CEAA website: www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca or click on the links below or visit COPA’s website: www.copanational.org. Printed copies are available for viewing in Banff, Jasper, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. (See Notice to Public link below.)

The public consultation period is only open for 35 days from January 24 to February 28, 2006. Send your comments to:
Debra Myles, Project Manager
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
160 Elgin Street, 22nd floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3
Or email: debra.myles@ceaa-acee.gc.ca 

If you have any questions contact Bob Kirkby, COPA Director for AB & NT, at bkirkby@copanational.org or 403-291-5560.

Thank you for your support.

CEAA’s Notice of Public Comment Period in English

CEAA’s Notice of Public Comment Period in French

CEAA’s Notice to Readers in English

CEAA’s Notice to Readers in French

Parks Canada’s Complete Reports in English  http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/010/0003/0001/pn060124_e.htm

Parks Canada’s Complete Reports in French  http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/010/0003/0001/pn060124_f.htm

COPA’s Submission to the Air Safety Risk Assessment workshop

Report from Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society on restored wildlife movements in Banff

Meteorological Study Executive Summary

Response From Mountain Aviators