Questioned by The Times, acting airport manager Deb Potter was unwilling to provide many details about the hunt, and expressed concern about the public’s sensibilities. Hunters approached by The Times directed all questions to Ms. Potter.
“It’s for wildlife mitigation,” she said Tuesday morning prior to the start of the hunt. “There’s multiple plans that go on simultaneously for that, and this is one of the issues we need to resolve.” Ms. Potter had no estimate of how many deer were within the perimeter. “We’ll find out when they’re done,” she said.
“It’s hunting season,” Ms. Potter said. “They’re all authorized hunters, and we’re doing this in accordance with the hunting laws in Massachusetts.”
Asked about scheduled Cape Air flights, Ms. Potter, in an email to The Times, said the airport issued a notice to aviation authorities (NOTAM). “The NOTAM closes the Airport to all aircraft,” Ms. Potter said in an email received Tuesday afternoon. “We had coordinated the closure with Cape Air ahead of time and selected this window to have the least impact on their operations. In the event of an emergency, such as a Medflight requirement, we would terminate the other event early.”
While the sound of shotguns echoing in the State Forest is not unusual, the source of those shots, the airport runway, is. This is the second week of the Massachusetts deer shotgun season.
There was no information about the hunt or the airport closure posted on the airport website. Airport officials issued no press release in advance of the Tuesday hunt.
West Tisbury Police Chief Dan Rossi told The Times in a telephone call Tuesday morning he was aware a hunt was planned but was not told when it would begin. Environmental Police Lieutenant Matt Bass said he was unaware of the hunt. The Island Communications Center was notified.
The hunt is an effort by airport officials to correct one of the deficiencies cited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following an annual inspection in May.
These include completion of a 10-year master plan, building a new aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) building, updating a wildlife hazard-management plan, and repainting lines on the runway tarmac.
One of the FAA’s main concerns, wildlife management, had to do with deer found within the perimeter fence. While there had not been any sightings of deer on the runways or taxiways, their presence within the fence opened up the possibility of that occurrence, airport commissioner Robert Rosenbaum said following a meeting in August. He said the FAA has a zero-tolerance policy toward deer within the perimeter because of the potential for a serious accident.
The airport has since updated its wildlife management plan and updated its training of airport employees.
Story and comments: http://www.mvtimes.com
With only scant public notice, the Martha’s Vineyard Airport was closed to flights Tuesday to allow a deer hunt to take place inside the airport proper.
Acting manager Deborah Potter confirmed that the airport was closed to all flights from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for wildlife mitigation.
Mrs. Potter said a hunt was underway but refused to elaborate.
At 12:30 p.m., there was little activity at the airport terminal and no activity on the runways. No hunters were visible from the terminal area.
Other than a standard Notice to Airmen filed with the FAA and displayed in brief abbreviations on the FAA website, it appears there was no advance notice to the general public about the airport closure. There was no information on the airport website and no signs were posted at the airport terminal.
Safety hazards from wildlife, including deer inside the airport perimeter have been a point of contention with the FAA following a series of inspections this spring and summer. The FAA gave airport management until Oct. 15 to submit a wildlife mitigation plan to correct the deficiencies.
Mrs. Potter declined to provide the Gazette with a copy of the airport’s wildlife mitigation plan, which she said has yet to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Michelle Haynes, communications director for Cape Air, said the airline was told about the hunt. “We were informed last month that they were going to have a one-day closure during the deer season,” she said by telephone Tuesday. “We cancelled two flights . . . . it’s a very, very slow time right now. At this time of year we have very few walkups and we knew who was flying. We expect to open and be back in business tomorrow.”
- Source: http://vineyardgazette.com
Environmental Police??! hoo-boy.
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