THREE URGENT CALLS TO ACTION

The BLM is taking public comments on two Travel Management Plans, (TMPs) and the Bears Ears draft Resource Management Plan (RMP), which you’ve already heard about. RAF Utah Liaison and UBCP board member Wendy Lessig has followed the progress of each and urges that your help is needed NOW to preserve many Utah backcountry airstrips. You’ll simply need to click each of the three links below and comment on EACH of the three plans.

The BLM needs to hear from us what the value and purpose of these airstrips is on public lands. Here are a few talking points that apply to all three BLM Plans. Comment in your own words, and share personal experience you’ve had.

  • Airstrips enable recreationists to enjoy hiking, fishing, camping, backpacking, hunting, and other activities in remote areas that require no road infrastructure;
  • The backcountry pilot community strongly subscribes to the “Tread Lightly” and “Leave No Trace” camping ethic;
  • Remote airstrips need little in the way of resources, and have been enjoyed quietly by many different users for over one hundred years.
  • Aviation has a very small environmental footprint, the lightest footprint form of access to these lands. 
  • Airstrips are valuable recreational assets that offer dispersed primitive camping.
  • Aircraft do not have driving wheels and once landed, do not go “off trail.”
  • Noise from aircraft is transient and of short duration.
  • Airstrips are situated on natural flat land features, with little occurrence of soil disturbance or erosion.
  • Airstrips provide vital access to aid Search and Rescue, emergency response, and firefighting.

For more information about BLM Travel Management click here. For more information about Planning and NEPA in the BLM click here.

FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT 
Henry Mountains TMP Preliminary Routes
Comment deadline: June 10

COMMENT HERE ON HENRY MOUNTAINS TMP ROUTE

There are 30 airstrips within this area. 

When commenting, thank the BLM and indicate your support for designating routes for the following 12 airstrips in TMP preliminary routes: 

Angel Point – Route WYBD0099
Big Thompson Mesa – Route GAHM0442d
Cave Flat – Route GAHM0076
Eagle Benches North – Route GAHM0150
Gold Creek / Shootering – Route GAHM0373a
Middle Canyon – Route WYBD0037a
Neilson Wash – Route WYHM0063e
Point of Rocks – Route WYBD0172 and WYBD0169
Road Junction 95-276 – Route GAHM0248
Sams Mesa – Route WYBD0361
Starr Spring – GAHM0384a
Twin Corral Flats West – WYBD0350

We request that the following 18 airstrips be included in the Henry Mountains TMP, in this current TMP revision or as a follow-up NEPA action.

Select those you can speak personally about. 

Below Buckacre
Blackburn Draw
Bullfrog Creek
Burr Point
Butler Wash
Dirty Devil
Eagle City (Eagle Benches South)
Fiddler Butte
Halfway Bench
Hatch Canyon
Little Antelope Valley
Moqui Fork / Barrier Creek
Poison Spring
Robbers Roost Flats / Little Y
Simplot / Funky
South Hatch Canyon
Twin Corral Flats East
Willow Springs

SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT
Dolores TMP Scoping
Comment deadline: June 21

COMMENT HERE ON DOLORES TMP SCOPING

We request that two airstrips in the Dolores area be included in the TMP to allow their continued recreational use:

Steamboat Mesa Airstrip has outstanding recreational value. It offers visitors a remote, wilderness type experience. It is an existing airstrip that has been in use for over 70 years. With increasing pressures on public lands, Steamboat Mesa offers dispersed primitive airplane camping, without the need for additional infrastructure.

Polar Mesa Mine Airstrip is in an area that is difficult to get to by land, but less than a half hour by air from Moab offers dispersed primitive camping and opportunities to hike to nearby waterfalls and panoramic overlooks.

No additional infrastructure is needed from the BLM for this airstrip. As is the case with these backcountry airstrips, pilot organizations volunteer their labor to keep the landing area safe for aircraft use.

THIRD PUBLIC COMMENT (REMINDER)
Bears Ears Nat’l Monument Resource Management Plan 
Comment deadline: JUNE 11 

COMMENT HERE ON BEARS EARS NAT’L MONUME

It is essential that we submit positive, personal comments about preserving these recreational assets. Your voice counts!

Submitted May 31, 2024

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RAF OUTFITTER JULY FEATURED COLLECTION

July 5, 2026
FEATURING: RAF PULASKI GLASSES Raise a glass to the work that keeps backcountry aviation alive! These RAF Pulaski Glasses are a perfect addition to your bar or a thoughtful gift for any aviation or backcountry enthusiast. Each glass features the RAF’s signature Pulaski tool, a tribute to the hardworking volunteers who preserve, improve, and protect airstrips across the country. Just like the tool itself, these glasses celebrate grit, utility, and a commitment to getting the job done. The Pulaski is a versatile, heavy-duty tool used for trail building, chopping wood, and clearing brush, making it an essential part of backcountry work for RAF volunteers. Made in the USA from high-quality glass, they’re built to last. Get yours today. 

FEATURED AIRSTRIP: DRIGGS-REED MEMORIAL, ID

By Carmine Mowbray • July 1, 2026
You’d have a hard time finding a more beautiful place to fly than Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport (KDIJ). The Grand Teton, Big Hole, and Snake River mountain ranges surround this eastern Idaho valley. Driggs has become a world-class destination for the pilot community. National Geographic magazine listed Driggs as “one of the ten best outdoor recreation destinations in the U.S.” Just a 45-minute drive over Teton Pass is Jackson, Wyoming, a famous Western destination. The airport, at an elevation of 6,257, accommodates aircraft on both its 7,300-ft paved runway and 3,000-ft turf landing area, marked with cones. Note: The SW 3,451 feet of the paved runway is closed until August for reconstruction. Check NOTAMS before landing. Fly-in visitors are welcome to camp underwing at its grassy tie-down area. It’s an ideal gateway to the Idaho backcountry. Enjoy views of the nearby Teton Range from the 12' x 16' cedar pilot shelter. There is potable water, a toilet, power, a gas barbecue, and a charging station nearby. Within walking distance of the campground is the Forage restaurant. A bike shed and loaner bikes, provided by the Idaho Aviation Association Borrow-A-Bike program, are available to ride into town. If you desire a more urban experience or wish to explore further, the airport has rental cars. “It’s a great destination for the pilot community, with access to hiking, biking, fishing, floating, golf and a small town with numerous shops and restaurants,” RAF Director and Driggs resident Tim Riley says. He and a local RAF supporter recently completed a spring cleanup to ready it for the season. The amenities were provided cooperatively through the RAF, the Idaho Aviation Association (IAA), the City of Driggs, and its Airport Board, with financial contributions from each. For more information on Driggs, see the Airfield Guide . Submitted July 1, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray

VOLUNTEERS COMPLETE SEASONAL TASKS AT RYAN FIELD

June 30, 2026
It’s bear grass season around West Glacier, Montana, and nearly a score of volunteers from three different states drove in to Ryan Field June 12-13 to complete seasonal maintenance, and enjoyed spotting the showy blooms throughout the woods. Bear scat was also seen in several places – a reminder that a clean camp protects both campers and wildlife. The airfield remains closed until the new runway grass has stabilized for landing, so watch the Airfield Guide for an announcement that the field has re-opened. As a result, there was no annual Ryan Fly-in this year. Volunteers removed downed trees, cleared and marked hiking trails, mowed around the buildings and part of the runway, cleaned bear boxes, the pilot shelter, cabins, and barn. “We welcomed new volunteers and continue to work hard maintaining the field. We are as eager as everyone for the grass to take good hold so the runway can open again,” Administrative Director Tricia McKenna said. Submitted June 30, 2026

MAGEE, ID FLOOD MITIGATION ASSESSMENT BEGINS

June 26, 2026
RAF President Bill McGlynn met in mid-June with the US Forest Service, Idaho Dept of Aeronautics, and Idaho Aviation Association to evaluate steps to improve Magee (S77) airstrip, 23 nm east of Coeur d’Alene. On the way, Bill picked up Joe Sober, one of two airport engineers from Oklahoma City who have volunteered their professional services and have been instrumental in creating maintenance and remediation plans on Idaho backcountry airstrips. “The Forest Service engineering teams have too much on their plate just addressing roads, so having this resource to make airstrip engineering assessments and plans is instrumental to resolving challenges on USFS airstrips like Magee,” McGlynn said. The improvement project at Magee has been organized through a Cost Share Agreement that the RAF has with the USFS. McGlynn, Sober, Willy Acton of the Idaho Airstrip Network, along with USFS District Ranger Holly Hampton, Don Macintosh of IAA, Dan Conner of Idaho Aeronautics, and RAF Idaho Ambassador George Weaver investigated the sources of flooding that plague Magee airstrip every spring and analyzed means of redirecting the problematic water. Magee airstrip was created in the 1940s by the Corps of Engineers as a hidden fighter base in case of a Japanese attack on the western US coast. A dike that was built to channel water away from the runway has eroded over the past eighty years. Sober took numerous measurements and will develop a plan to submit to the USFS for approval. Work could begin over the next year or two to recover about 700 feet of runway. “We truly could not do this work without our volunteer engineers and are very fortunate to have their expertise,” McGlynn said. Weaver said, “The airstrip is a real gem, and the restoration work will make it a great backcountry destination.” Submitted June 28, 2026

TEAMWORK GETS THINGS DONE AT HISTORIC MEDICINE BOW, WYOMING

June 26, 2026
“It was really nice to spend some time with Wyoming folks cleaning up a little piece of history,” RAF WY/UT Ambassador Karen Larson said of the May 30 work party at Medicine Bow airport, on the historic US airmail route. RAF Wyoming Liaison Joe Feiler organized the work and reports that about 15 people with a wide range of backgrounds arrived at 9 am to help. Attendees included RAF supporters, EAA Chapter 420 members, local residents, as well as Lee Cook, Medicine Bow airport board member and town council member.