The Sound of Silence

GRAND CANYON, Ariz., May 27, 2007 — -- Sunrise is a magical time at the Grand Canyon. The low angle rays of the rising sun, slowly paint the canyon walls light yellow, subtle orange, pinkish red, gray blue and desert tan.

It should be a quiet time. Should be.

But even before the sun peeks over the canyon rim, hundreds of visitors have lined up along the railing above the Bright Angel trailhead to witness the beginning of a new day. They shuffle and chatter among themselves, slurp coffee, and snap photographs. Nearby, mules are saddled up for the journey down the impossibly narrow trail to the bottom. Soon, cars, campers and motor homes (called "land yachts" in these parts) begin arriving to jostle for parking spaces in the turn-out lots.

Then the sounds get serious.

As the morning wears on, helicopter flights take off and buzz over the canyon. And not just a few. At last count, 90,000 flights were authorized to fly over the Grand Canyon. That's nearly double the number since 1987.

"It's kind of like the 'wild west' over some of the parks, said Bryan Faehner, who used to work for the Park Service but now spends his time as a legislative analyst for the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association. "This is a growing, growing issue of concern for the National Parks."

And it's not just the Grand Canyon that's become an increasingly noisy place.

Overflights above Haleakala and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks have also been singled out for "noise pollution." In 2003, more than 24,000 air tour operations occurred at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 23,000 at Haleakala. More daunting is the prediction from the FAA that there will be more than two million air tours over our National Parks in the next 10 years.

The soundtrack of our life in the great outdoors is beginning to resemble what we'd hear back home in the city. And then some.

For example, Yellowstone National Park became so inundated with snowmobile noise that all snowmobiles now entering the park must be powered by quieter four-stroke engines instead of their noisier two-stroke predecessors. Still, the unmistakable whine can be heard for miles and miles.

Battle Over Noise and Air Tours 'a Power Issue'

Americans love their National Parks and will escape to them beginning this Memorial Day weekend. Time after time, they have said they come here for the natural beauty, the awe inspiring views, the chance to bond with family members and to get away from the hassle of urban life. That deep affinity for the parks also extends to the desire to hear natural sounds. According to a 1998 survey, 72 percent of those polled said that one of the most important reasons for preserving the National Parks is to experience peace and the sounds of nature.

So what's gone wrong?

The Air Tour Management Act of 2000 in addition to specifically banning air tours over Rocky Mountain National Park, required that all commercial airplane and helicopter tour operators apply to the Federal Aviation Administration for authority to conduct air tours. The law also required the FAA, in cooperation with the National Park Service, to develop an Air Tour Management Plan for every park that has such tours.

After seven years of deliberations, not a single plan has been developed because neither agency can agree on who is entitled to make decisions on the noise impacts on the parks and visitors.

"The FAA is just not willing to give up any of their jurisdiction to allow the Park Service a say," said Faehner. "It's a power issue."

As a result, a 2006 GAO report on "National Parks and Air Tour Fees" calls for "effective verification and enforcement in order to improve compliance."

"Relying largely on voluntary compliance, the Park Service has collected some, but not all, fees from air tour operators at Grand Canyon, Haleakala, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks," the report states. "Voluntary compliance with the air tour fee requirement (enacted in 1994) has been inconsistent, and several operators are not paying required fees. For example, GAO found that 13 of the 21 operators conducting air tours over Grand Canyon underpaid their air tour fees for calendar years 2000 through 2003 by more than $1.5 million."

It's not just a complaint about money. The report also addresses regulating the number of overflights.

In summary, the GAO found that air tour operators are not required to record and report to either the Park Service or the FAA the number of flights except at the Grand Canyon. And at the Grand Canyon, operators are required to report their tours only to the FAA. The Park Service has a difficult time enforcing compliance because it doesn't have jurisdiction over the air space. "Conversely, FAA is not required to assist with collecting or enforcing the collection of air tour fees," says the report. As a result, both agencies told the GAO they can't take enforcement action against "noncompliant operators."

Lack of Regulation a Longstanding Problem

Until plans are established, the parks are managed under an interim operating authority which sets flight limits for each park based on unverified flight numbers provided by tour operators. Some regulation, right?

And it's not a new problem.

In 1987, the Parks Overflight Act says the FAA and Park Service are supposed to "provide for the substantial restoration of natural quiet" in the Grand Canyon. The idea was to manage both air tour and commercial airline use with the goal of having 50 per-cent of the park enjoying natural quiet. In other words, no aircraft noise 75 percent to 100 percent of the day.

That didn't happen. Far from it.

The National Parks Conservation Association has recommended a seven-point solution to bring quiet back the parks. Among those recommendations, the NPCA says the Park Service should have "the sole authority for evaluating noise impacts while the FAA should be left to fulfill its mandate to ensure air safety." The NPCA also parrots the GAO report and calls on the FAA to "establish a procedure for air tour operators to record and report to both agencies the number of air tours they conduct over national park facilities."

While air tours provide a unique view of some of the world's most breathtaking natural wonders, the challenge is to keep them from detracting from the experience of other visitors.

Until then, "The Sound of Silence" will remain a 31-year-old song title and not the hallmark of what the "dean of western writers," Wallace Stegner, once called, "the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst."