Whether falling water echoing off the canyon walls of the Grand Canyon, or the call of an eagle, natural sounds are important part of any visitor’s experience in a national park. But despite the passage of legislation to protect natural sound in the parks, little has been done to ensure that visitors have the opportunity to be inspired by the sounds of nature.

The Air Tour Management Act of 2000

In addition to specifically banning air tours over Rocky Mountain National Park, the law requires that all commercial plane and helicopter tour operators apply to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for authority to conduct air tours (the Air Tour Management Act does not apply to Grand Canyon National Park or national parks in Alaska). The law also took a major step towards protecting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Glacier National Park, and other parks by requiring the FAA, in cooperation with the National Park Service, to develop an Air Tour Management Plan for every national park that has air tours.

However, after seven years of deliberations, not a single plan has been developed due to the unwillingness of the FAA to defer to the National Park Service in making decisions regarding the significance of noise impacts on park resources and the visitor experience. Since the National Park Service is mandated by the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916 to "promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks," and is recognized by the Council on Environmental Quality for its jurisdiction by law or special expertise to examine the "effects of noise on national park areas," NPCA and others agree that the National Park Service alone should have authority to determine noise impacts on the parks.

Until Air Tour Management Plans are completed, parks are managed under "interim operating authority," which sets flight limits for each park based on unverified flight numbers over the parks provided by tour operators soon after the passage of the act. As a January 2006 General Accounting Office (GAO) report confirmed, park superintendents have been unable to deal with what has been, in many cases, actual increases in the number of air tours since the passage of the law.

The Parks Overflight Act of 1987

Enacted 20 years ago, the Parks Overflight Act directs the Park Service and FAA to provide for the "substantial restoration of natural quiet" in the Grand Canyon through the management of both air tours and commercial airline use. The park has established the goal of having at least 50 percent of the park achieving natural quiet (having no aircraft noise) 75 percent to 100 percent of the day, but is far from meeting this goal.

Lack of record keeping, reporting, and enforcement by the FAA is impeding restoration of natural quiet in the Grand Canyon. As a result, the Park Service has been unable to collect air tour fees it is owed. (Grand Canyon, Haleakala, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks were authorized to collect air tour fees by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.) This problem was noted in a 2006 GAO report that found that "13 of 21 operators underpaid their air tour fees for calendar years 2000 through 2003 by more than $1.5 million." At a time when our national parks suffer crippling budget shortfalls, this is especially problematic.

NPCA Recommends

• Legislative clarity be provided by Congress to the Air Tour Management Act to specify that the Park Service has sole authority for evaluating noise impacts on park resources and the visitor experience, while the FAA fulfill its mandate to ensure air safety;
• Congress follows the GAO’s recommendation that the "FAA establish a procedure for operators to record and report to both agencies the number of air tours they conduct over national park units." This would provide the agencies with the necessary information to manage air tours;
• Congress only allows for the modification of interim operating authority if "modifications improves protection of national park resources and values and tribal lands" as required by the Air Tour Management Act.
• Public comment, provided through the NEPA process, should be required for any park with, or may consider allowing, air tours. Air Tour Management Plans should be based on a foundational Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment, and adhere to Congress’s intent of improving the protection of natural sounds in the parks;
• The two agencies release a rule detailing incentives for reducing total noise impacts from aircraft by using new quieter technologies as mandated in the Air Tour Management Act of 2000;
• Where appropriate, air tour operators should pay a basic fee to the Park Service for the privilege of flying over parks. Lack of payment should trigger the suspension of their flight authority; and
• In Grand Canyon National Park, seasonal closures for aircraft based on park management objectives should be implemented to restore natural quiet.

If appropriately managed, air tours provide a unique way for park visitors to experience some of America’s parks. However, NPCA believes it is unfair for air tours to detract from the experience of other visitors.

Listening to natural sounds is an increasingly rare experience in America. We must insure our national parks provide solace and peace for future generations.

For More Information

Contact Bryan Faehner, NPCA legislative analyst, at 202-419-3700 or bfaehner@npca.org.