Park Service opposes proposed heliport sites

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

The National Park Service is opposing three potential sites for an area heliport, saying the sites near Henderson are too close to bighorn sheep habitats and planned nature trails.

Two of those sites are at Railroad Pass between Henderson and Boulder City, and those sites have raised strong opposition from Henderson neighbors who fear a heliport there would be too noisy for residents and wildlife.

William Dickinson, superintendent for the National Park Service's Lake Mead National Recreation Area, said his agency also opposes a site near Three Kids Mine, which has not drawn strong criticism from neighbors.

"Noise, dust and the compromise of equestrian as well as other trail use objectives are at issue," Dickinson noted in an Oct. 14 letter to Clark County Aviation Department Director Randy Walker.

The three locations are among 13 possible heliport sites being reviewed for the Aviation Department.

Walker said the parks officials' concerns will be reviewed if any of the objectionable sites are identified as viable locations for a heliport, but their concerns don't necessarily remove the sites from consideration. Sometime in early November, the Aviation Department will narrow the list of potential sites to two or three preferred locations, which will be studied further, Walker said.

The sites being considered include 45 acres in Sloan that were purchased by the county for about $11 million during the summer, as well as land near Sam Boyd Stadium and the closed Sunrise landfill.

The County Commission will be presented with a recommended site for an area heliport by the end of December, Walker has said. The county is looking for such a location because the state Legislature imposed a Jan. 1 deadline for counties with a population over 400,000 to study nonurban heliport locations. Ideally, all Grand Canyon helicopter tours would be based from a nonurban heliport, officials have said.

The two Railroad Pass sites were recommended for consideration by Henderson city officials, who say the selection of the Sloan site could lead to an increase of helicopter traffic over Henderson neighborhoods.

But the Railroad Pass sites would also have to win approval from the Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees uses of that federally owned land.

Dave Curtis, a realty specialist with the Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Regional Office in Boulder City, said his agency would give strong consideration to the parks' officials objections.

"It would carry a fair amount of weight," he said.