RAF FEATURED PARTNER: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

Good friendships happen over time, and the RAF loves making good friends. Beginning in 2009, John Nadeau of Massachusetts – the first RAF State Liaison east of the Rockies – approached The Nature Conservancy in Maine about restoring and reopening Red Pine Grove, a remote paved airfield on land along the St. John River just a dozen miles from Quebec. Pointing out our common goals of good land stewardship, he wondered if TNC would consider partnering on the idea. RAF Maine Liaisons Andy Rowe and Steve Mason joined the conversation. Andy had good friends in the region, and Steve, a long-time Northern Maine bush pilot and logger, added professional credentials. Pilot and new TNC Trustee John Sowles joined as well and widened the friendship circle.

 

Not long after, Arkansas Liaisons Dave Powell and Harper Goodwin identified a pristine hilltop meadow above the Kings River in northwest Arkansas on land owned by The Nature Conservancy, locally known as Trigger Gap. Encouraged by the friendship beginning up North, the two RAF Liaisons engaged TNC in conversation about partnering on building an airfield, with its far lighter environmental footprint than a road. “What was merely raw land and a vision by some determined backcountry pilots became a common goal of both organizations,” Harper says.

 

Thanks to this successful partnership with TNC, volunteers from the RAF and Fly Oz built a new turf airfield, pavilion, and toilet at Trigger Gap, and announced its opening in October, 2016. “Our partnership with the Recreational Aviation Foundation has always been built on trust, stewardship and a shared love for the outdoors,” says Roger Mangham, State Director of TNC in Arkansas. “Trigger Gap gives people a way to experience the Kings River landscape while demonstrating what we know in Arkansas to be true, that conservation and recreation can go hand in hand.”

 

The airstrip's visitor log has proven that many folks enjoy landing lightly on the land and pitching their tents. Evening brings fellowship together around the fire in the pavilion. Often, acoustic music spreads to the surrounding forest.

 

Things were still happening back up in Maine. Nadeau says, “We stressed the RAF culture and our desire to enhance the Red Pine facility to the benefit of all users. I pointed out to their Boston attorney that statutes protect TNC. It helped that we spoke with the same accent.”

 

In spring of 2021, TNC signed an agreement with the RAF to open and maintain the runway. “TNC recognized that remote Red Pine Grove was a wonderful, already built resource that was easily accessible by small aircraft to provide just the sort of outdoor recreation The Nature Conservancy favored and promoted,” Nadeau added.

 

Common purpose binds friendships, and friendships build trust. These two examples of trust and friendship prove a mutual commitment to good land stewardship, and the idea that nature and people can thrive together. 


Submitted October 13, 2026

By Carmine Mowbray

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