Flying Site Assistance
Coordinators
Wes DeCou Coordinator, Western Region Districts VII–XI Voice: (480) 460-9466 Cell: (480) 296-9515 Fax: (480) 460-9434 202 W. Desert Flower Ln. Phoenix, AZ 85045 E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Beshar Coordinator, Eastern Region Districts I–VI 198 Merritt Dr. Oradell, NJ 07649 Tel.: (201) 261-1281 Fax: (201) 261-0223 E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
ROCKY MOUNTAIN High-Flying: Imagine reaching an altitude of 5,500 feet with an RC model airplane, engine racing to compensate for the thin atmosphere, and no structures or power lines to contend with. What could be more exciting than having your aircraft at an altitude of 5,500 feet, and it’s still sitting on the tarmac? What could be one of the highest privately owned model airplane parks in the United States—and possibly the world—is under construction by the Montrose Model Aircraft Association in western Colorado.
The altitude is not the only unique feature of this park. A 95,000-acre National Conservation Area adjoining a National Park is its neighbor to the east, and it is surrounded by a minimum of 1/4 mile of Bureau of Land Management public lands on the other three sides. Residential and commercial development can never encroach on this park.
In fact, this park is located in the critical-approach area for Montrose Regional Airport, roughly 15 miles to the south and 200 feet higher in elevation. The county requires all residents to acknowledge in writing the existence of the critical approach area and aircraft activity prior to obtaining permits to build in the area.
When people think of Colorado, they usually think of snowcapped mountains, skiing and snowmobiling. Believe it or not, there is also a high-plains desert. This particular area is referred to locally as the “banana belt,” receiving only eight inches of precipitation annually. The Gunnison River flows north through the Black Canyon National Park three miles to the east and connects with the north fork of the Gunnison River 12 miles north, traveling west along the base of the Grand Mesa. The Uncompahgre River flows north five miles to the west along the base of the Uncompahgre Plateau and connects with the westerly flow of the Gunnison River. The south end of the valley is bordered by the San Juan Mountain Range with peaks reaching 14,000 feet. This combination of mountain ranges and river confluences sets up a weather pattern that people would think more in terms of Southern California or Arizona than Colorado. Want a winter wonderland? World-class skiing is less than two hours away by automobile at Telluride, Crested Butte, Monarch, or Powderhorn.
In 1909, a tunnel was completed to divert part of the Gunnison River into the valley for domestic and agricultural use. This was one of the first water projects completed by the Bureau of Reclamation. President Taft was present for the dedication. What was a desert 100 years ago is now a lush agricultural community.
The closest town to the park is Olathe, eight miles to the southwest and nationally known for its “Olathe Sweet” sweet corn. The annual Sweet Corn Celebration, held the first weekend in August, draws more than 20,000 visitors to a community of 1,800. The largest metropolitan area is Delta, eight miles to the northwest. This particular flying site is actually a 1,000-foot step down in altitude from the leased location approximately 21 miles to the south. It will provide more flying days per year and the opportunity to construct permanent facilities.
An 800-foot north/south runway and a 400-foot cross runway will handle any RC fixed-wing aircraft. A 100-foot-diameter helipad is available for vertical takeoffs and landings and CL operations. A shallow pond is being engineered for water takeoffs and landings. Construction on the flying site is 80% completed and the north/south runway is fully operational.
History and background
The struggle to get to this point actually started as two isolated events in 1997 that joined forces in 1999. The president of the Montrose Model Aircraft Association at the time, Fred Wyngarden, approached local county officials about sponsoring the acquisition of public lands under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.
The Recreation and Public Purposes Act became law on June 14, 1926, and can be found at 43 U.S.C. 869–869-4. In general, before any public land can be disposed of under these sections it must be shown that:
- the land is to be used for an established or definitely proposed project,
- the land involved is not of national significance nor more than is reasonably necessary for the proposed use,
- for proposals of more than 640 acres, comprehensive land-use plans and zoning regulations applicable to the area in which the public lands to be disposed of are located have been adopted by the appropriate state or local authority.
For recreational purposes, the governor, on behalf of the state or any political subdivision of the state, can make individual applications for as much as 6,400 acres, not to exceed 25,600 acres to a particular state in any given year. A nonprofit corporation or association can obtain as much as 640 acres.
There are other provisions that apply to non-recreational uses. Since its inception in 1926, the act has been amended in 1954, 1959, 1960, 1976, and 1988.
At the time it seemed to be totally unrelated, but in 1997 a real-estate developer came across an 80-acre piece of property that nobody was sure of its location. According to the legal description provided by the seller, the property was located in a neighboring county.
After researching records at the courthouse, the developer determined the approximate location of the property, the correct county in which it was located, ensured that it was 100% surrounded by public lands, and found it one mile north of his home. The developer and his wife purchased the property in 1997.
While the private property was being surveyed in 1998 to determine its exact location, Montrose County Commissioners passed a resolution to sponsor the acquisition of public lands for the Montrose Model Aircraft Association under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.
What happened in 1999 is truly ironic. The developer noticed an unfamiliar vehicle on his property and went to investigate. It turned out to be a botanist with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program at Colorado State University, looking for a particular plant.
She showed the developer a picture of the plant and his heart sank. He knew that the property a mile north of his house contained the plant the botanist was looking for. They drove to the other property and confirmed the existence of the plant—clay-loving wild buckwheat—federally listed as an endangered plant species.
Also in 1999, despite all dealings with the county being conducted in open public meetings, a small segment of the local population objected to 40 acres of public lands being used for a model airplane park.
"... there is not an acceptable location in all of Montrose County for the Montrose Model Aircraft Association flying field."
To place this into proper perspective, Montrose County comprises 2,241 square miles, approximately 1,434,240 acres. Roughly 70%, or 1,003,968 acres, is held as public lands by the federal government.
The developer became aware of the controversy and attended one of the public meetings concerning the Public Lands Application. A map was prepared by the Bureau of Land Management of possible alternate sites. Public meetings were conducted and presentations were given by all sides.
In a conversation between himself and an individual who represented himself as the spokesperson for the group of opposition, the developer was told that "there is not an acceptable location in all of Montrose County for the Montrose Model Aircraft Association flying field."
The developer was later contacted by an RC manufacturing company in Ohio that had expressed a desire to relocate to the area if a suitable flying site could be obtained. The owner of the company had received a letter which not only insulted him but requested he keep his company in Ohio. Having experienced NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) opposition with other projects relating to children, the developer decided to literally put it in his own backyard—well, almost.
Because of the endangered plant and the property being an island in a sea of federal lands, some interesting challenges above and beyond normal application procedures had to be faced. Fortunately, the Regional Director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife was the current president and a botanist with the Bureau of Land Management was a past officer of the Montrose Model Aircraft Association.
The number of agencies that became involved in various aspects of this project was large. They included:
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Bureau of Reclamation
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Conservation Area
- National Park Service
- State of Colorado
- Montrose County
- Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association
- Town of Olathe
On July 11, 2000, a Special Use Permit Application was filed with Montrose County to allow the construction and operation of a model airplane park, an outdoor earth science education center, an observatory, and a planetarium on the 80-acre property.
Part of the group of opposition infiltrated a regional environmental organization and attempted to stop the project—on private property—with a grocery list of environmental issues including endangered wildlife.
The line was crossed when the organization mailed a flyer to its membership giving a map to the private property and attempting to gain additional opposition to the project.
A simple letter faxed by the developer to a United States magistrate requesting a federal restraining order against the organization and suspension of its IRS nonprofit status led to an immediate resolution between the organization and the developer.
On July 18, 2001, the Montrose County Commissioners approved the Special Use Permit and the private property with "conditions precedent" relating to obtaining access to the property across an irrigation canal system and public lands. Permission was obtained to begin construction of the park.
On December 31, 2001, a conservation easement for the west 40 acres containing most of the endangered plants and the proposed Outdoor Earth Science Environmental Laboratory, planetarium, and observatory was recorded between the developer and the Black Canyon Regional Land Trust.
On September 3, 2002, a right-of-way application was filed with the Bureau of Land Management. This was the culmination of more than a year of negotiations and countless meetings between the county, the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association, the Bureau of Land Management, and two engineers from Blueline Engineering who are members of the Montrose Model Aircraft Association.
Outdoor Earth Science Environmental Laboratory incorporated in December 2002 as a Colorado nonprofit corporation. Its purpose is to develop the Earth Science Education program and facilitate the construction of the planetarium and observatory on the west 40 acres. Ownership of the east 40 acres—where construction of the model airplane park was underway—was transferred to a Colorado corporation owned by the developer and his wife.
On March 10, 2003, the developer requested the Olathe Town Council to enter into a recreational conservation easement on the east 40 acres containing the model airplane park. This meeting was the culmination of six months of negotiations. A five-year lease on the property for $1 a year, with the option to buy the property for $10 contingent upon the corporation obtaining the recreational conservation easement, was negotiated with the Montrose Model Aircraft Association and was executed on March 10.
In October 2003 it was determined that insurance sufficient to indemnify the Town of Olathe from potential litigation was not available. The developer and the trustees of the Montrose Model Aircraft Association went back to the drawing board.
The land trust that assisted in the conservation easement on the west 40 acres agreed to do an additional conservation easement on 13 acres of the east 40 acres, which left 27 acres that could be developed by the Montrose Model Aircraft Association and used for overfly.
On November 20, 2003, at the annual Thanksgiving celebration of the Montrose Model Aircraft Association, the developer and his wife announced their plans to deed the property to the club in the coming weeks. A congratulatory letter from United States Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell was read at the dinner. Senator Campbell was instrumental in securing the designation as a national park—the newest one in the United States—for the Black Canyon and the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area near the flying site.
On December 17, 2003, the Centennial of Aviation, the developer and his wife transferred ownership from their corporation to the Montrose Model Aircraft Association. The park has been named Olathe Centennial Field commemorating the location—Olathe—and the centennial of human flight.
Outcome and community impact
If the reader were to carry a message away from this article, that message would have to be: "don't give up!" When this project was started it faced insurmountable odds.
Since this project began, the Colorado State Legislature adopted a law giving tax credits for the dedication of conservation easements, which ultimately allowed the Montrose Model Aircraft Association to purchase $125,000 worth of property for $10.
The humanitarian work the Montrose Model Aircraft Association has performed for years—working with children in the Partners program and children in foster care, not to mention the classes the members teach children about constructing model airplanes—caught the eye of a tenacious real-estate developer who is a promoter of child advocacy and doesn't have the word "no" in his vocabulary.
In addition, the club's work has qualified the Montrose Model Aircraft Association to be designated as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) by the IRS and eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Two hundred spectators watched more than 90 children experience the thrill of flying an RC model airplane for the first time at the Educational Fun-Fly sponsored by the Montrose Model Aircraft Association at the new field this past fall.
And what about that Colorado weather? Members held their first chili—the food, not the temperature—fun-fly on New Year's Day.
Fred Wyngarden, who proposed this project seven years ago, is currently a board member of the local Partners organization. His picture and that of his junior partner with an RC aircraft appears on the cover of the brochure for Partners.
Coincidentally, the developer was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, the birthplace of aviation. He and his wife are now taking flying lessons and have been given life memberships in the Montrose Model Aircraft Association.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
