Helicopter Skiing Curbed in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — Helicopter skiing will be banned two days a week in the canyons near Salt Lake City, the Forest Service has ruled in the latest skirmish over noise in national parks and forests.
The ruling limits Wasatch Powerbird Guides to flying just one helicopter at a time in Creek Canyon, Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon Tuesday through Saturday from Dec. 15 to April 15.
Wasatch-Cache Forest Service Supervisor Bernie Weingardt said the clash between the guide service, which has flown skiers into the canyons since 1973, and back-country skiers looking for solitude and virgin powder is “intense and deep-seated.”
A similar dispute has raged for years over helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon. Backpackers complain of excessive noise, but tour operators say the flights provide access to people who could not otherwise see the canyon.
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