Gary E. Slagel, Monument Manager
Bureau of Land Management
Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument 
PO Box 1160
Lewistown, MT  59457-1160

RE: PRESERVE MISSOURI RIVER SEAPLANE ACCESS

Dear Mr. Slagel:

As a seaplane pilot, I was alarmed to learn that the Bureau of Land Management is proposing the closure to seaplanes of 146 miles of the Missouri River. I was especially disappointed when I learned that the Bureau decided to pursue this course of action without studying the characteristics of seaplane operations as they pertain to the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.

Seaplanes use the Missouri River as a safety net while transitioning between the eastern and western United States. This route is the only passage through the Rockies that offers seaplane pilots both water and fuel. To remove access to the water is to endanger the lives of seaplane pilots and their passengers, since pilots rely on water to for safe landing areas to wait out poor weather conditions, transfer extra fuel from containers to fuel tanks for an added safety margin, and inspect malfunctioning equipment.

The impact of these operations on the Monument and its visitors is absolutely minimal. The desolate nature of the Monument combined with the infrequency of seaplane operations in the area assures this. Your agency’s statement that seaplanes have not utilized the Monument in the past five years only reinforces my assertion, as seaplanes have in fact used the monument in the past five years, and simply were not noticed. Prohibiting seaplanes, then, will have no positive impact on the Monument to balance the negative impact on the safety of interstate commerce and travel in seaplanes.

While I understand that some have argued that seaplanes may harm wildlife, threaten the safety of boaters, or soil the environment, these claims are bunk. The wildlife claim has come from hunters, who themselves endeavor to mortally harm wildlife. The safety claims seem reasonable at first blush, but an examination of NTSB safety records show that a collision between a seaplane and boat is very rare indeed. Finally, with respect to the environment, seaplanes use the natural waterway, and require neither roads nor shoreline facilities. A seaplane leaves behind only a short, mild wake and negligible, clean emissions. Compared to boats, which require ramps for access, leave wakes for many miles, increases turbidity with their submerge propellers or jet drives, and often discharge oily two-stroke exhaust into the water, a seaplane is downright saintly.

As a seaplane pilot looking out for the safety of my crew and passengers, I must insist that you reconsider this odd policymaking decision, and continue to allow the occasional floatplane to take refuge in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.


Sincerely, 






cc:  Seaplane Pilots Association