NEW PILOT SHELTER AT ASTRONAUT KENT ROMINGER AIRPORT

From left to right: Airport manager (and RAF member) Jay Sarason, County Commissioner John Nofsker, CO State Liaison Tom Haefeli, County Administrator Trish Slater, County Commissioner Chairwoman Suzanne Bothel, County Commissioner Gene Glover

Thanks to a $30,000 grant from the RAF, a new pilot shelter is near completion at Astronaut Kent Rominger Airport (KRCV) in Del Norte, Colorado.

RAF Colorado Liaison Tom Haefeli reports that other funding includes $5,500 in cash donations, $18,200 in donated labor, supplies, heavy equipment use and operation from the various contractors involved. Rio Grande County supplied the balance of funding from its Airport Fund. “It was truly a community project,” Haefeli said.

The Airport Advisory Board developed an idea for a multi-use facility that would be easy to maintain and could be of benefit to the local community as well.

The facility will offer WiFi, refrigerator, stove and restroom with shower. Next spring will see the addition of prepared campsites adjacent to the pilot shelter to accommodate people flying in to recreate in the area.

Haefeli has served with Pat Romano as an RAF Colorado Liaison for the past six years. In that time, the RAF invested in the area with a grant to the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust to assist in their successful effort to acquire a conservation easement for La Garita Creek Ranch. The RAF also provided a grant to the owners of the La Garita Creek Ranch for maintenance of the recreational use airstrip located there.

Haefeli invites pilots to come and enjoy the new facility while exploring the many recreational opportunities in the region. “I especially want to thank Lisa Yund for designing the eye-popping interior,” he added. Watch for the upcoming Grand Opening this summer!

– RAF Colorado Liaison Tom Haefeli

Pilot Shelter exterior

Submitted on December 11, 2019

Posted in News

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RAF AWARDS GRANT FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF HCRC

February 24, 2026

Oregon RAF Liaison Bill Ables has been awarded a $5,000 RAF grant to retain RAF membership in and support the Hells Canyon Recreation Collaborative (HCRC) for the next five years. The HCRC was organized in 2016 at the request of Idaho’s Congressional Delegation as a framework for the various recreational user groups to collaborate with the US Forest Service within the 652,488-acre Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Ables, a past Director and current member of the group, explained that HCRC membership is a cross-section of user groups from both the private and commercial sectors, including river rafters and jet boaters, backpackers, horse packers, aviators, and governmental management agencies. Providing ongoing support ensures continued aviation representation. The rugged Snake River canyon region hugs the borders of northeastern Oregon and western Idaho, and includes nine backcountry airstrips within the Recreational Area. All are maintained by volunteer aviation groups in collaboration with the USFS: Cache Creek, Salmon Bar, Dug Bar, Temperance Creek, Pittsburg Landing, Sluice Creek, Lord Flat, Memaloose, and Big Bar. “Our support of HCRC, combined with the other involved aviation groups, ensures ongoing maintenance and improvements at each of these nine airstrips. It benefits general aviation by preserving access to enjoy the beauty of the Hells Canyon area, which directly speaks to the Mission of the RAF,” Ables said. For more information on Dug Bar, Cache Creek, Big Bar, and Memaloose, see the Airfield Guide . Pittsburg Landing, Sluice Creek, Temperance Creek, and Salmon Bar are not listed in the Airfield Guide at this time. Submitted February 24, 2026