MORE TUWEEP

The Arizona Pilot's Association

The Voice of General Aviation for Arizona

A section of Arizona State Trust Land, in Northern Mojave county, called Tuweep/Touroweep, is currently managed by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD). Located on this property is a dirt airstrip that has a federal FAA designator of L-50. Most refer to the airstrip as Tuweep International.

For the better part of a decade, ASLD has threatened to close Tuweep airstrip to reduce liability to the Land Trust. We were informed that Tuweep was in fact closed In December 2004, due to the lack of obtaining a responsible party to lease the property. A grazing lease does currently exist on the section of land.

In order to prevent its closure, the Arizona Pilots Association (APA), offered to lease the airstrip from ASLD, but Tuweep was closed prior to the formal submission of our lease application. This closure deprived APA’s members and all backcountry aviation enthusiasts of its use as well as other interested parties.

Our lease application specified that we wished to lease approximately 20 acres, an area large enough to encompass the existing Tuweep airstrip. We offered $1,000 per year on a 10 year lease.

We were advised that we would have to obtain five million dollars worth of liability insurance. Following numerous phone calls and inquiries we were able to locate the insurance they requested.

A meeting was arranged with Charles White, the individual handling this matter for ASLD, in the fall of 2006. He devised a plan that would eliminate an engineering study of the property in question, and provide right of way from the main road at the east end of the property to the airstrip. This plan sub-sectioned the property to accommodate this right-of-way. At the same time it increased the amount of land we had originally requested from 20 acres to 280 acres.

ASLD then advised us that we would have to conduct an archeological study, due to the historic nature of the land. This study had to be performed by a state approved archeologist. We hired Peter Bungart from Flagstaff to perform this task. He completed his survey in December 2006, and we submitted his written and pictorial report to ASLD on December 23, 2006. We were advised at the time that Charles White was off ill and would get back to us as soon as the archeological report was examined.

ASLD subsequently advised us that they would have to obtain an appraisal of the property in order to establish an annual lease fee. Several telephone conversations later Jamie L. Hogue, Deputy State Land Commissioner left a message on my phone answering machine in which she stated that they would be asking an annual lease fee of $36,000. In still another telephone conversation Ms Hogue indicated that the lease fee would be reduced to between $11,000 and $14,000. This was followed up by an email from her denoting these amounts. We were told we would receive a written lease proposal in the mail the week of April 9. To this date we have not received the written lease proposal.

APA’s initial involvement was to just keep Tuweep airstrip open for public use. Subsequent research however, revealed that an enormous amount of historical information existed relating to this airstrip. From it’s origin in 1928, through a colorful era that included a National Park Service Ranger who spent almost four decades of his life at this desolate outpost of the Grand Canyon National Park. From 1942, John Riffey, lived, worked and in 1980, died at Tuweep. He became a legend while flying his Super Cub “Pogo”, patrolling the canyon from above. He greeted thousands of visitors and was truly the provider of good deeds. Riffey is buried here and on his headstone is the following verse that reads; “The man who could spend a lifetime on the rim, and never waste a minute-good Samaritan, gentle friend, teller of tall tales.” It is the intention of APA to dedicate Tuweep International Airstrip to the memory of John Riffey.

In subsequent telephone conversations Ms Hogue kept referring to our request as a commercial venture with 500 landings per month. I assured her we have no intention of conducting a commercial operation in fact when we obtain the lease we will not allow a commercial operation on the premises.

In the most recent conversation with Ms Hogue she indicated that the current grazing lease holder on the property would have a right to appeal. I contacted Jimmy B. Hughes of St George, Utah the current grazing lease holder and told him of our intentions. He said that he had no objections and would support our effort. Ms Hogue was informed of my conversation with Mr. Hughes. At this time she indicated that it would help if a governmental agency would be involved to which I replied that the National Park Service had a definite interest in using the facility and that they would be writing her a letter supporting our efforts.

In addition to having Tuweep serve as a recreational and an emergency airstrip the Arizona Pilots Association would also encourage its use by the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and any other governmental agencies that would benefit from its use.

Mr. Jim Wessel a ranger with NPS, who is stationed at Tuweep, has agreed to oversee the airstrip operation. Mike Ebersole, an NPS ranger and pilot is in full support of our efforts as is Claire Roberts also a NPS ranger now based in Yosemite Park, Calif. Both were former rangers at the Tuweep post.

Jamie L. Hogue, Deputy State Land Commissioner

Arizona State Land Department

1616 West Adams, Suite 305

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Charles White

Lease Administrator

1616 W. Adams Street

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Barkley Dick

ADOT Aeronautics Director

Kim Stevens

Assistant Director ADOT Aeronautics

Barbara Harper

Governors Aviation Council

Stacy Howard

Governors Aviation Council

Bob Littlefield

Governors Aviation Council

Bonnie Allen

Governors Aviation Council