ALASKA—Air support is essential for successfully conducting Forest Service operations, especially when working in Alaska’s Tongass and Chugach National Forests where airstrips are few, water landings are frequent and rough weather is always around the corner.

Collaborative relationships with the local commercial aircraft community impacts whether Alaska personnel are able to work in remote areas for the season. Work varies from transporting equipment and employees to flying data-gathering surveys.

Creating and keeping aviation agreements with partners can be a challenge, especially when national requirements and certification processes don't quite mesh with requirements in Alaska. However, regional aviation staff worked diligently to find a way to negotiate these issues and successfully create partnership agreements.

Before federal agencies can contract with private vendors to supply aviation services, the company and its assets must meet federal criteria. This is done by following a detailed inspection and certification process. When completed, the vendor is "carded" and ready to fly missions in the area.

Federal aviation certification standards can be inconsistent depending on the location and the type of plane. This was the case with Alaska's workhorse, the de Havilland Beaver.

The Beaver is the plane of choice for work in the Alaska Region. Its versatility in the type of landing gear it can use as well as its payload capacity helps keep costs lower. Smaller planes that can do remote beach or water landings cannot carry the needed load. This results in higher costs and lost work time trying to get personnel and equipment to and from the work site.

Maintenance programs for the Beaver differ from those for other aviation options. Previously, the agency’s “carding” procedure did not take this into account, preventing the use of this type of plane in the region.
    
In the spirit of finding solutions, regional aviation staff brokered discussions between national aviation managers at the Washington Office and the de Havilland Beaver manufacturers which resulted in added understanding and coordination between both groups.

Today, the aviation policy wording for Beaver aircraft certification has been clarified, recertifying Alaska vendors for the 2023 season.

“It is amazing what continued collaboration can do,” commented Regional Aviation Officer Heath Schaaf. "In the end, we are able to use our local vendors which is a wise thing, as we are supporting local communities, making use of Alaska-specific talents and ensuring we are leveraging unique local experience."

Aviation staff said things are looking positive for the Alaska Region’s 2024-25 air mission. Today, Region 10 is ready to fly in both Cessna and de Havilland aircraft. The Tongass National Forest has six aviation vendors available, while the Chugach has secured one. Staff are pre-planning with vendors to work mission needs into next season’s schedules even as they perform this season’s flight tasks. The diligence and efforts of those involved paid off nicely, as the region is in the path towards a successful and smooth season with the appropriate aviation support ready to go.