At U.S. national parks, visitors experience unsullied American nature. They see forests and canyons. They hear chirping birds, burbling hot springs . . . and whirring helicopters . . . and buzzing airplanes.
Air tours offer some travelers a bird’s-eye view. But ground-level visitors have complained about the noise for decades. Flight noise distracts from sounds of nature. It can also disrupt Indigenous (native) tribes who live near the parks.
Soon, new regulations might take air tours out of the skies.
The strictest rules target Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park, both in South Dakota. In April, tour flights will be banned from flying within half a mile of these sites. Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico has proposed a similar rule. Glacier National Park in Montana plans to phase out tour flights by 2029.
Kristen Brengel works for the National Parks Conservation Association. She approves of the new rules. After all, most tourists stay on the ground. Should a handful of airborne sightseers spoil their experience?
Visitors want “to hear the sights and sounds of these places,” she says. “It’s so utterly clear that the vast majority of people who are going to these parks aren’t going [there] to hear the sounds of helicopters over their heads.”
Nature lovers might rejoice. But for some air tour companies, the new rules spell disaster.
“I don’t know what we’re going to be able to salvage,” says Mark Schlaefli, co-owner of Black Hills Aerial Adventures.
“This isn’t a management plan,” protests Ray Jilek, pilot and owner of Eagle Aviation Inc. “This is a cease and desist plan, as far as I’m concerned.”
Tourist flights first “took off” in the 1930s. Workers building the Hoover Dam asked helicopter pilots to give their families flyovers. From there, air tours grew to be a staple of American sightseeing.
The first major regulations came after a tragic accident in 1986. Two tour aircraft collided over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, killing 25 people. Congress took action. Lawmakers set designated tour routes and minimum altitudes. More regulations came in 2000.
Three years ago, a federal appeals court found that the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration failed to enforce some of these rules. That finding led to the recent round of stricter tour flight laws.
Should regulators prioritize the unspoiled nature of national parks? Or should they focus on survival of tour companies? Nature declares God’s glory, and He wants us to steward it well. But people bear His image—and their livelihoods matter.
It’s a tough balancing act. But for now, the skies over national parks might look—and sound—a little emptier.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. — Psalm 19:1
