Birds, weed menace airport

By Phil Hayworth

Pioneer Press Staff Writer

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones , CA

530-468-5355

mailto:pioneerp@sisqtel.net

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Page E4

The Klamath Falls airport, also known as Kingsley Field, is caught between flocks of birds and a weed.

Specifically, it was recently discovered that a small swath of airport land could be the only place in America - perhaps in the world - where you'll find a certain species of a white and green weed-like plant called Milk Vetch. It was thought to be extinct and now, a five-year building moratorium has been placed on the land where the tiny, red-stemmed weed was discovered.

Airport officials have been charged with protecting the weed. They, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, will spend some $36,000 a year to monitor the soil, hydrology, how much the weed grows, how other plants around the weed are affected, and finally, issue a report.

In the end, airport officials hope they'll be allowed to build new maintenance facilities on the land. Such a facility could generate millions for the airport. It was something they had hoped to do much earlier, but now they'll have to wait it out.

And then there are the birds. Flocks of starlings, blackbirds, ducks and geese live in and around the waterways near the airport. Some of their habitat is nothing more than old drainage ditches. But there is a significant Bureau of Reclamation drainage project that runs through airport land. It's actually more of a short river than a ditch, but is perfect for birds. The problem is that it's just feet from the airport runway.

It's the river area in particular that has airport officials concerned. They're afraid the myriads of birds that frequent the area each year - but especially during migratory months -- will get caught in aircraft engines, causing damage and, possibly, death.

It's not far fetched. Indeed, airports around the world face the difficulty of operating near bird sanctuaries and each year, planes of all description are  menaced by our winged friends. Most pilots handle bird strikes well, and having more than one engine often helps. But some planes crash.  

For example, Air Force Two, the plane that carries the U.S. Vice President, in April sucked a bird into one of its engines in Chicago forcing pilots to land. In 2006, over 15,000 bird strikes were reported countrywide. Closer to home, a plane taking off in Medford recently was forced to land after ingesting a bird into one of its engines.

Airport officials take the problem so seriously that they're willing to spend nearly $7 million in federal and state monies to relocate the birds' habitat. Specifically, they'll move some 27 acres of wetland and rebuild that wetland on 60 acres of nearby airport land, essentially recreating the birds' old habitat. Meanwhile, they'll bury the Bureau's water drainage "river" and use huge pipes to transfer the water. Just a few more feet from an airport runway sits a 30-acre pond. It's ground zero for birds in the area, and the Bureau and the airport have agreed to drain the pond in the winter, but fill it only in the summer months for irrigation-water storage.

How is all this affecting the airport?

"It'll cost us a lot of money, but it's really the right thing to do," said Bill Hancock, airport operations manager.

He said working with the Bureau and U.S. Fish and Wildlife is far easier - and likely less expensive - that fighting them. Hancock has been at Klamath for 11 years now and, over that time, has seen environmentalists and farmers square off. He's decided the best thing to do is grin and bear it.

But new Airport Director Derek Martin isn't so thrilled. Martin has been here for two months and spent the last few years at a small airport near Chicago . To him, the Milk Vetch "is just a weed." He's right. The vetch is one of nearly 60 species that grow in colossal abundance around the world.

The birds have Martin more concerned. He said it's worth spending the money now to make the airport safe for the 55,000 take offs and landings that happen at Kingsley each year.

That number includes both commercial and military aircraft, but he expects both to grow.

To Martin, Kingsley is really a diamond in the rough and an airport that locals - let alone outsiders -- know little about. He said it costs travelers just $30 more to fly out of Kingsley than Medford . When you factor in drive-times to Medford , gas and parking fees, you actually save money by flying out of Kingsley.

And then there's the creature comforts.

"You can fly into Kingsley and go from the airport to your pajamas in 15 minutes," he said.

The future looks busy for Kinglsey Field. Horizon Air, which services the area, will be using bigger jets in the future, and that means more passengers will be coming through Kingsley.

There's a 25-acre hunk of airport land that Martin wants to use for a business park and that could attract more corporate jet aircraft, he said. Already, a fleet of jets owned by window-and-door maker Jeld-Wen use the field. And some 25 U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters use the field year around.

In the end, Martin figures the mitigation and preservation work could make Kingsley an attractive place to do business. It could be the official airport headquarters of the Milk Vetch weed. They could sell t-shirts and coffee mugs in the lobby. And it could all happen in five years - that is, unless scientists suddenly discover another species of weed or bird.
 

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