The Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) joined representatives of federal and state agencies, aviation groups, landowners, and other stakeholders at the U.S. Forest Service Regional Headquarters in Albuquerque on November 10 to sign a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) creating a partnership called the New Mexico Airstrip Network (NMAN). The groups will collaborate to preserve, promote, and enhance New Mexico’s growing inventory of recreational airstrips and related airports.
RAF SIGNS MOU SUPPORTING NEW MEXICO AIRSTRIPS
The RAF was represented by President John McKenna, Director Rol Murrow, and RAF State Liaison Larry Filener, who also chairs the New Mexico Pilots Association Backcountry Committee. Filener noted, “This MOU culminates more than four years of work and is the most significant event that has ever happened concerning backcountry and recreational flying in New Mexico.”
The NMAN began through a team effort involving the Aviation Division of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, New Mexico Pilots Association, and the RAF. State Aviation Director Steve Summers said, “NMAN hopes to replicate the collaboration achieved in Idaho which advanced aviation and produced positive economic impact for rural communities throughout the state.”
New Mexico has a wide range of public and private airstrips, offering excellent recreational opportunities. However, the state has never fully capitalized on these aviation assets for providing access to hunting, fishing, outfitting, hiking, and camping. “New Mexico offers unparalleled scenic and backcountry options combined with a moderate climate and an average of 280 days of sunshine per year,” said Murrow who owns an airstrip in the Northern part of the state.
Initial efforts will include identifying and maintaining existing airstrips, followed by the development of a plan to add new airstrips to the inventory. The MOU establishes a framework for cooperation to implement the NMAN action plan. “MOUs create an understanding of how we can work together and share responsibilities and resources to achieve common goals,” said U.S. Forest Service Southwest Region Recreational Director Francisco Valenzuela.
Joining the RAF at the signing were representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico Dept. of Transportation, New Mexico Tourism Dept., New Mexico Pilots Association, New Mexico Council of Outfitters and Guides, New Mexico Airport Managers Association, New Mexico Aviation Aerospace Association, and United States Pilots Association. A number of other organizations will sign on in the coming days.
McKenna said, “The RAF is proud of all the organizations, their staffs and volunteers who made this possible. The future of recreational flying in New Mexico will certainly be brighter as a result of this partnership. What is learned here can be applied across the nation.”
Photo:
Seated: Loren Hatch, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, NMDOT; Amy Leuders, New Mexico State Director; John McKenna, Pres. RAF, BLM, Calvin Joyner USFS Region 3 Regional Forester.
Standing: Ron Keller, USPA VP – Safety; Steve Summers, New Mexico Aviation Director; Francisco Valenzuela, Director of Recreation, Heritage & Wilderness, USFS Region 3; and Rol Murrow, RAF Board Member.
Submitted on November 10, 2016.
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At about this time, every year, we have this conversation at the RAF about what our year end letter (code for asking for your financial support) should say to you, and about the RAF and the accomplishments of the past year.
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This guest editorial is by Stef Goza, a pilot and an RAF Alaska liaison.
Bill credits aviation for much of his success in business and the ability to serve his companies and family. What began in a Champ, and a Tri-Pacer owned by five people, turned into what Bill calls, “a key business tool” in which he accumulated 9,000 hours – in a Cheyenne, a Pilatus, and a TBM, where ninety-five percent of his flying was for business. “My retirement enabled me to recall ‘Why I Learned to Fly’, a slogan from an old RAF video.” Bill’s son, Patrick, purchased the C185 they now share. “While attending a business function, some associates arrived in corporate jets. As they joined up on the tarmac, the jet pilots gathered around Patrick’s 185, and one of the passengers asked, ‘What’s special about this?’ No explanation needed for this RAF audience,” Bill says. “My involvement in the RAF is, in a partial way, repaying the rewards aviation has endowed me with. Having been involved in many worthwhile nonprofits, this is one where financial support is only part of the picture. Physically participating in great projects that have a lasting effect, with good people, returns a great personal benefit,” he says. “My only regret is that I wasn’t there at the start.” Bill and his wife Jane are privileged to be able to split time between their long-time home in eastern Nebraska and Scottsdale, Arizona. While still serving on several boards, he enjoys golf “about every third shot,” biking, cars, and reading, but always looks forward to the time he can be involved in the RAF. “It’s flying with a purpose,” he adds. Bill can be reached at bdugan@theraf.org
AR Ambassador
A Christmas gift of flight lessons from his parents started Scott Anttila’s aviation journey in 1985. “I learned at Johnson Field, a small grass strip tucked into the woods in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and that early exposure to simple backcountry flying stuck with me,” Scott says. Growing up in the U.P., he spent a lot of time outdoors and found that flying was another way to get to the places he liked to explore—especially the ones most people never saw. As he earned more ratings and eventually moved to the Detroit area for work, Scott realized he needed a way to stay connected to northern Michigan. He bought an airplane and used it to get back to the smaller airstrips and lake country he enjoyed. Along the way, he also flew gliders out of Frankfort, soaring along the Sleeping Bear Dunes and towing sailplanes over the Great Lakes. “Those flights gave me a different appreciation for the landscape and made me even more interested in the small, out-of-the-way airports scattered around the state,” he says. Visiting those kinds of places, Scott first came across the Recreational Aviation Foundation. He started using RAF-supported airstrips both inside and outside Michigan. “I noticed how well-kept they were and how much access they opened up,” he says, adding, ”Over the years, I’ve watched a number of grass strips close, which made the RAF’s mission feel especially important to me. Maintaining these airstrips keeps aviation connected to the outdoors and makes it possible for more people to reach the quiet, remote areas that inspired me to fly in the first place.” Scott joins the other two RAF Michigan Liaisons, General Grant and Tanmoy Ganguly. He can be reached at santtila@theraf.org . Submitted December 11, 2025.
