Backcountry pilots land status in Forest Service planning rule

The biggest challenge to backcountry flying is having a place to land your airplane. That’s why small-plane pilots around the country were celebrating last week when they got official notice that recreational aircraft are now a recognized part of the U.S. Forest Service’s planning process. While the change doesn’t bring any new resources, it does mean planes get considered along with horse corrals, bike trails, snowmobile routes and other backcountry user needs. “Our discovery when dealing with the Forest Service was that most of them aren’t pilots,” said Ron Normandeau, a Polson pilot and member of the Recreational Aviation Foundation which fought for the recognition. “Therefore, they lack an appreciation for our training, of the requirements for licensing and maintenance of our aircraft. They’re familiar with four-wheelers and snowmobiles. They deal with them every day of the year. Aircraft are a little different. They only deal with us when they come across one of us at an airstrip.” About a century ago, Missoula-area pilots and Forest Service staff pioneered backcountry air use as a way to fight forest fires and resupply remote ranger stations...more 

Planes in Wilderness?  In the areas written about the landing fields existed prior to Wilderness designation and were grandfathered in.  

But it also contains this info about Wilderness which I want to share:

But that doesn’t mean the fields are universally accepted. A wheelbarrow at Schafer Meadows has drawn controversy because visitors have used it to haul rafting gear to the nearby Middle Fork of the Flathead River – in violation of the wilderness prohibition on wheeled equipment.

This reminds us of the Wilderness legislation introduced by Senators Udall & Heinrich.  Their legislation exempts military overflights and one of the proposed areas will have 160 trains a day running next to it's boundary.  These aren't light planes like the above, but jets that break the sound barrier.  Military jets above, trains to your east every 9 minutes.  Now that's a wonderful way to experience “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation” as required by the Wilderness Act.

But no wheelbarrows.  No sir, they would ruin your solitude.