Seaplane pilots once again have access to Waldo Lake in the Cascades after pilot groups banded together to encourage the Oregon State Marine Board to exclude floatplanes from its ban on internal combustion engines operating on the lake.
Floatplanes had been banned from the lake since January 2010. The Columbia Seaplane Pilots Association, Oregon Pilots Association, Recreational Aviation Foundation, Seaplane Pilots Association, Oregon Department of Aviation, Waldo Lake for Everyone, and AOPA worked together to advocate for restored access to the lake. Additionally, the Columbia Seaplane Pilots Association initiated a legal challenge against the ban, and the Oregon State Marine Board acknowledged that it did not have the jurisdiction to ban floatplane operations on the lake.
The Oregon State Aviation Board will now work to create operational rules for floatplanes flying to and from the lake.
“This is another great example of aviation groups working together to maintain general aviation access to landing facilities,” said Greg Pecoraro, AOPA vice presidents of airports and state advocacy. “It took many AOPA members and aviation associations weighing in to overturn this ban.”
