Friedman Memorial Airport

FAA Grounds New Blaine Co. Airport

HAILEY • The future of air service in the Wood River Valley is now up in the air.

The Federal Aviation Administration has notified the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority Board that it has suspended indefinitely any further work on a draft environmental impact statement for the replacement airport project.

The FAAis concerned the project might not be affordable locally or for the federal agency itself, given the drying-up of federal funding, according to a letter from FAA Airports Division Manager Donna P. Taylor to Friedman Airport Manager Rick Baird.

Inflation and better data about costs pushed the estimated price tag from $107 million for an unnamed site to between $285 million and $314 million, depending on the specific site considered.

The FAA, which spent about $6 million on field studies, is also concerned about the project’s potential impact on wildlife — namely, the sage grouse and pygmy rabbit, both considered sensitive species.

Len Harlig, who served on the airport authority board for years, said he wasn’t surprised by the decision but thought it premature to speak on it until hearing firsthand from the FAA. That chance will come at a airport board meeting Sept. 13. Taylor also will meet with Blaine County commissioners and Baird the next day.

“Once they started to delay the EIS, it was clear that something was awry. And then we started to see the costs going up dramatically,” Harlig said. “I think everybody realizes we need air service for the resort. But we have to figure out how to do that. I don’t think anybody knows where we’re going at this point.”

County Commissioner Tom Bowman said the community will have to revisit what it needs in an airport and see which of the original sites considered, including Friedman, warrant further investigation.

“The thing we want to impress upon the FAA is the need to do anything we can to maintain commercial air service to the valley,” Bowman said.

Capitalism and freedom

The next decade, where we've been -- and where we're going

The World Is Flat, A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century

Free to choose, a personal statement

Airport