Hunting predators from air OK’d
BOISE – Idaho’s congressional delegation and the administration of Gov. Dirk Kempthorne spent the past two years convincing the Federal Aviation Administration to give ranchers permits to shoot coyotes and other wild predators while flying overhead in powered parachutes and ultralight flying machines.
After initially refusing to allow the state to issue aerial gunning permits for experimental aircraft operated by non-certified pilots, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey relented last spring and agreed to come up with “the most appropriate means of accommodation,” according to correspondence obtained by the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
The FAA is now allowing Idaho to issue permits to ranchers for aerial shooting of predators to protect livestock if their vehicle qualifies as a “light sport aircraft” under new FAA regulations. The new category has spawned a squadron of unconventional flying craft known as “aerial ATVs.”
“These are the newest, hottest things for ranchers,” said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the FAA in Renton, Wash.
But wildlife activists say the use of kit-built and experimental flying contraptions for airborne attacks on wild animals is dangerous and absurd.
“I’m covering my eyes and laughing,” said Wendy Keefover-Ring of Boulder, Colo., coordinator of a national coalition of environmental groups that wants to end aerial gunning of wildlife. “It’s unsafe even when you are in a plane that has a stronger engine than these ultralights have.”
State law authorizes the Idaho Department of Agriculture to issue permits for people to “shoot, capture, harass or kill” wildlife that is threatening livestock while the person is airborne in an aircraft. The practice did not get FAA scrutiny until 2003, when a southeastern Idaho rancher was cited by the FAA for illegally using his powered parachute – a cage-like cockpit with a motorcyle-size engine and propeller suspended from a parachute – to shoot coyotes.
The agency determined that because ultralight craft could only be flown for sport and recreation, using them for livestock protection or to collect a bounty on predators was prohibited.
“It was animal rights people who turned him in,” said Eulalie Langford, a former state legislator from Montpelier who took up the fight on behalf of the rancher, whose name was not released by the FAA. “Baby lambs have rights too, and I told our officials that people might be getting a lot of sport and recreation out of shooting these coyotes that were eating their lambs.”
In April 2003, the state formally asked for a waiver to allow the use of powered parachutes in airborne predator control.
“As technology has improved, it has become apparent that powered parachutes are an ideal vehicle for airborne predator control,” wrote Stanley Boyd, a lobbyist for woolgrowers, elk breeders and cattle ranchers who heads the Idaho Animal Damage Control Board.
The application was denied, prompting Idaho’s all-Republican congressional delegation to write an appeal to Blakey.
“It is important to note that these activities occur in the vast open spaces of rural Idaho and pose no real threat to human safety,” Sens. Larry Craig and Mike Crapo, along with Reps. Mike Simpson and C.L. “Butch” Otter, wrote in September 2004 .
After several months of investigation and negotiation Blakey responded, writing that FAA “does not want to unduly restrict these activities, but only wants to ensure they are conducted safely and in appropriately certificated aircraft.”
The solution came with the creation of the new light sport aircraft category and new sport pilot certificate issued by FAA. Under the new rule, lighter-than-air balloons, gliders, airships, powered parachutes and other ultralights that meet certain weight, speed and capacity standards can be certified and receive a tail number just like a full-size private airplane.