Glacier Park and 22 other national parks is being forced to devise a formal air tour management plan . . .
A federal appeals court has ordered Glacier National Park along with 22 other national parks to come up with an air tour management plan with the federal Aviation Administration within two years.
The May 1 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is in response to a lawsuit filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
“For almost 20 years, the FAA and the NPS have allowed an airborne reign of terror to go unmitigated over park skies,” PEER attorney Paula Dinerstein, who argued the case before the court said. “PEER will work with affected communities and parks to, at long last, develop responsible air tour management plans.”
The Air Tour Management Act of 2000 requires vendors who wish to conduct commercial air tours over certain national parks and tribal lands to first obtain a permit from the FAA.