LAST CHANCE to influence National Park Policy

[markc]

The comment period for the proposed National Park Service
Management Policies expires TOMORROW, Saturday Feb 18th.

So you have one last chance to urge the NPS to recognize and
support hang gliding and paragliding activities within the park
system.

There is a website where comments can be posted, however
it doesn't seem to be working at the moment:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm ... ntId=12825

Your alternative is to send an email to:

waso_policy@nps.gov

I've appended the letter I just sent below, since it might help others
compose their own. This previous forum topic has more examples:

http://chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1635

REMEMBER: HG/PG pilots provided the largest amount of feedback
during the Sport Pilot comment period, and we were really noticed!
Let's do the same thing with the NPS.

This is incredibly important, given the threat that development poses
to so many of our flying sites. So take 15 minutes out of your Friday
and send an email!

Mark C.



Mr. Bernard Fagan
National Park Service
Office of Policy-Room 7252
Main Interior Building
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Mr. Fagan,

I learned through the United States Hang Gliding Association (USHGA)
that the National Park Service is redefining its management policies,
and that public comment is solicited through February 18th. So I am
writing to urge the NPS to recognize hang gliding and paragliding as
activities which are wholly in keeping with the mission and goals of
the NPS, and which enhance the park experience for non-flying visitors.

Our national parks are an undisputed treasure. All citizens can
experience that treasure through a variety of activities, such as
hiking, nature trails and interpretive centers, and back-packing.
Even vehicle travel (though hardly low-impact) through parks has its
place, since it can allow the elderly and disabled to enjoy vistas that
would otherwise be inaccessible.

And there is another type of activity which should be supported within
our treasured parks: silent, powerless, non-polluting, soaring flight
via hang glider or paraglider.

Such craft are launched via foot-power and with the help of the wind,
from a mountainside clearing, an overlook, or a cliff. Once airborne,
they silently glide through the skies above the park. The colorful sight
of these wings, and the excitement of watching them launch, is a thrill
for park visitors. I know this is true, based on the reaction of
visitors at Shenandoah National Park that I've seen while flying above
them.

But the situation at Shenandoah National Park is a rarity: it is one
of the very few national parks that allow hang gliding and paragliding
through a Special Use Permit.

In Section 8.2.2 of the proposed National Park Service Management
Policies that are under consideration, there is no mention of hang gliding
and paragliding among traditional/low-impact recreational
park activities. Rather, these purest forms of flight are grouped
together with noisy and polluting activities such as snowmobiling and
personal watercraft.

I urge the NPS to alter this position, recognizing hang gliding and
paragliding as environmentally-friendly activities that should be
*encouraged* within the park system. With this as a national policy,
individual parks could then develop flight rules and guidelines that
are appropriate for each location, and the cumbersome Special Use
Permit system could be eliminated.

(As an aside, note that the USHGA is a self-regulating association
that oversees all hang glider and paraglider pilots, administers
ratings, defines flight instruction standards, and supports safety
programs. The NPS and/or local parks can interact with the USHGA,
and with local association chapters, to define flight guidelines.)

Soaring, unpowered flight is about as low-impact an activity as I
can imagine. If *any* forms of recreation are appropriate for the
parks that we so treasure, surely hang gliding and paragliding deserve
a place among them.

Respectfully,


Mark Cavanaugh
Hang glider pilot/back-packer/hiker
4606 Coachway Drive
Rockville, MD
20852