PUBLIC COMMENTS REQUESTED TO SUPPORT ACCESS TO 10 OF UTAH'S BACKCOUNTRY AIRSTRIPS
CALL TO ACTION:
Public Comments Requested to Support Access to 10 of Utah's Sensational Backcountry Airstrips
The BLM has issued an Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding the following ten Moab-Monticello backcountry airstrips. Pilot comments will help to open access to the airstrips.
Your Comments are Needed by Thursday, September 3.
Please use the link below to state in your own words why you support access to these backcountry airstrips:
- Nokai Dome
- Piute Canyon
- Potato Ridge
- Playa
- Big Flat
- Red Canyon
- Spring Canyon
- Castle Creek
- Steer Ridge West
- Wee Hope Mine
For more specific information about the BLM's Environmental Assessment click here.
Talking points:
- Thank the BLM for their careful evaluation and for approving the airstrips. As a recreational pilot, I/we support BLM's decision to formally designate the 10 Moab-Monticello airstrips in the BLM Travel Management Plans and to limit their use to aircraft use only, to promote safety between OHV recreationists.
- These existing airstrips have been in use for as many as 70 years and have not attracted public attention, nor have disturbed other recreational users. They will create no additional impacts to our public lands.
- Pilots are responsible for familiarization with all seasonal wildlife or nesting bird closures at these airstrips. These conditions will be posted on aeronautical resources.
- No maintenance takes place March 1 through July 31 during migratory bird nesting season.
- Most of the airstrips are adjacent to roads designated for motorized use. One is next to a paved highway. Aircraft impact to sight and sound is considerably less than other motorized use. Aircraft noise is infrequent and extremely temporary.
- Once parked, pilots and passengers are no different from backpackers and hikers. Aircraft have no driving wheels, and create minimal impact to surface area.
- Peaceful solitude and enjoyment of the remote Utah backcountry is a primary motivation for pilots to seek these 10 airstrips.
- The RAF has an MOU with the BLM for cooperative maintenance, saving the agency resources. We are available to work with the BLM on the stewardship and care of the airstrips.
Your public comments count. Remember to use your own words when writing comments; templated comments are seen as one comment, not individual submissions. Personal comments are counted as individual comments, so please take the time to make it personal.
Thank you for helping preserve these backcountry aviation assets.
Submitted August 25, 2026
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Join the excitement as the RAF continues its momentum Expanding The Map, making these the most exciting years in our history! We encourage you to explore the growing number of destinations where you can share the joys of recreational aviation with family and friends. This time, we’re announcing the reopening of Keg Knoll Airstrip in central Utah, closed years ago by the designation of the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness Area. Thanks to RAF efforts to gather widespread support from pilots and RAF allies, the BLM has allowed this airstrip to be reopened for public access. RAF Utah Liaison Wendy Lessig has led the effort over the past three years in advocating for the reopening of Keg Knoll airstrip. Various meetings were organized with the BLM to explore whether the airstrip could be reopened as allowed by the Wilderness Act. After the BLM prepared an environmental assessment of the airstrip, they issued a final decision to approve Keg Knoll airstrip for reopening, subject to a set of reasonable conditions that protect the wilderness area. Keg Knoll Airstrip has outstanding recreational value and offers pilots ready access to a true wilderness experience. Visitors can experience dispersed primitive camping next to their airplanes, hiking around Horseshoe Canyon, and stargazing under the dark skies at night. “One thing that makes Keg Knoll airstrip unique is the accessibility of the relatively easy two-mile hike to Colonnade Arch, also known as Five-Hole Arch,” RAF Utah Liaison Wendy Lessig points out. Keg Knoll is now open, with a cooperative work party to further improve the airstrip and install a windsock planned for the fall that will include volunteer pilots and the BLM. Since Keg Knoll airstrip is in a Wilderness area, no motorized or mechanized devices are allowed, so volunteers will be limited to the use of hand tools to perform maintenance. Current reports state the airstrip itself is in good shape, but pilots must be aware that the south 700 feet of the original airstrip is closed, and will be marked with rock X’s. What remains open is 2,000 feet of runway length. “We will need help from all the pilots who visit Keg Knoll airstrip to be good stewards to help protect and preserve the Wilderness environment for this special airstrip,” Lessig said. For more information about Keg Knoll, visit our dedicated web page . Submitted August 15, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray
When a few New Mexico backcountry pilots observed the closure of a backcountry airstrip on public land, they understood the need for a goal-focused group to preserve these valuable recreational destinations — places in the high desert where you could land your own GA aircraft, pitch your tent with panoramic views of ponderosa, piñon pine, and Rocky Mountain juniper, and easily hike into the Gila Wilderness area. New Mexico Liaisons Ron Keller and Larry Filener started the New Mexico Backcountry effort in 2009 and the New Mexico Airstrip Network partnership formed in 2014. “With their vision and a bit of organizing, we got a lot accomplished,” New Mexico Pilots Association former President Joyce Woods says. Their work brought about a historic MOU, formalizing “the collaborative partnership of federal and state agencies, aviation groups, landowners, and other stakeholders to preserve, promote, and enhance New Mexico’s growing inventory of recreational airstrips and related airports.” This document was signed at the USFS Regional Headquarters in Albuquerque in 2016. Thanks to these visionaries, access to choice flying destinations is available to pilots, nearly 20 in number. The RAF has provided grants for improvements at several New Mexico airstrips, and has formal agreements with the Gila National Forest to maintain and improve airstrips within the Forest. Additionally, NM Liaison Ron Keller has put in many hours and weekends organizing RAF and New Mexico Pilot volunteers for work parties. Joyce credits Keller as a “real workhorse", mowing the airstrips and leading work parties. Plan your New Mexico flying adventures, and bring your camping gear and hiking shoes. Lining the trails are 1,500 different plant species like the Wright's silktassel, Apache plume, cliff fendlerbush, mountain snowberry, and manzanita. You can access sites with prehistoric rock art. Spring visitors might hear the sweet song of the warbler during its migratory stop in the Gila. Night brings the darkest skies you’ve ever seen, sparkling with the Milky Way. Enjoy the warmth of a campfire as the desert night cools, and thank those wise and determined pilots who worked to preserve these New Mexico gems among the New Mexico Airstrip Network. Find more about these airstrips using these valuable resources: RAF Airfield Guide New Mexico Pilots Association Submitted August 15, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray
