After months of bitter debate, the Jackson Hole
Airport at the edge of Grand Teton National Park has decided to
allow some helicopter flights.
Vortex Aircraft
CEO Gary Kauffman originally proposed scenic air tours of the
Jackson Hole Valley, the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the
National Elk Refuge, but not over Teton National
Park.
Jackson residents argued that the flights
would be obnoxious and unacceptable. The Jackson Hole Conservation
Alliance gathered more than 4,000 signatures on a petition opposing
the proposal.
“This is considered a very special
place by a lot of people,” Jackson resident Dan Fulton told
Kauffman at a public meeting. “We will make it difficult for you to
come in here and do what you want to do.”
On
July 17, the publicly owned airport came up with a compromise that
allows Kauffman to rent out his helicopter for charter flights, but
prevents him from advertising air tours.
Kauffman
says unless he can recoup his investment, including the $1 million
cost of a new helicopter, he will continue to press for air tours
and may even launch from private land in the
valley.
“There is a point when it can be
economically persuasive when they say, ‘We’ll make it worth your
while to leave,’ ” he says. “Until there’s something serious on the
table, I am going to forge on with this.”
Copyright © 2000 HCN and Rachel Odell
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Whirlybirds will fly over Jackson.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
