Whitelaw and his brother John sacrificed flying in to haul all the cooking equipment and supplies in a pickup. They provided a ‘Milk Can Cooker’ dinner, consisting of a variety of grilled sausages and boiled vegetables Saturday night. Guests brought salads and desserts and no one went away hungry. Wolf stayed for the meal and campfire and answered questions about other state recreational airports, and complimented the RAF and the local chapter of Washington Pilots Association for successful cooperation with WSDOT.
SULLIVAN LAKE ANNUAL CLEANUP AND POTLUCK
“Enough work has been completed in past years that this year was pretty light,” RAF Washington State Liaison Dave Whitelaw said of the tasks scheduled at Sullivan Lake state airport, 09S. A group of about a dozen volunteers arrived early on the July 15-17 weekend and joined Washington State DOT Airport Manager Paul Wolf on the work. They removed small trees in the approach end of Runway 16, replaced damaged reflectors and did general clean up. Wolf planned to close the runway following the weekend for a few hours to mitigate ground squirrel evidence and weeds.
Sullivan Lake is near Metaline Falls, in the northeast corner of Washington State in the Colville National Forest, and the shoreline of the 1,290-acre lake has no structures other than East and West Sullivan Lake Campgrounds – adjacent to the airport – and Noisy Creek Campground at the far (south) end of the lake.
The warm weather made the 312-ft deep pristine lake very appealing, and folks cooled off in the chilly water while some stayed dry paddleboarding.
See the Airfield Guide for more information.
Submitted on July 29, 2022.
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FLORIDA AMBASADOR
CALIFORNIA AMBASSADOR
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
DIRECTOR
TEXAS LIAISON
