Bedford Minuteman
December 19, 2002

Letter: Local control key to Hanscom

Last Sunday's Boston Globe reported the gratifying news that Boston-Maine Airways is considering pulling out of Hanscom Field. The lack of demand for Boston-Maine flights, and the shrinkage of Shuttle America's Hanscom operations to a single destination (Trenton), show that the public is heeding our message that it is wrong to grow a commercial airport next to a national park.

Citizens' groups and elected officials have worked diligently to get this message out - most recently at the MEPA hearing on Nov. 19. In particular, our HATS selectmen -- Shelly Moll of Bedford, Gary Clayton of Concord, Peter Enrich of Lexington and Sara Mattes of Lincoln -- have done a tremendous job coordinating HATS' devastating critique of Massport's draft Environmental Status and Planning Report (ESPR). State Representatives Jay Kaufman and Tom Stanley, and State Senator Susan Fargo, also spoke eloquently against Hanscom expansion at the Nov. 19 hearing.

The Globe article also shows why, regardless of how MEPA decides to deal with the ESPR, the battle to protect our historical and natural treasures from the threat of Hanscom expansion must and will continue. The article quotes Massport spokesman Richard Walsh as saying, "Obviously, we wish they'd stay and find markets that would sustain them." And yet, in 1999, when Shuttle America came in, Mr. Walsh and many other Massport officials repeatedly claimed that Massport didn't want Shuttle America at Hanscom but that they were legally required to accept them! In fact, Shuttle America could not legally operate at Hanscom had Massport not asked the FAA to change the airport's certification status.

Massport's continuing intention to push for dramatic growth in all aircraft activity at Hanscom -- corporate, commercial, and cargo -- is clear. So is its continuing duplicity. An airport that sits in the middle of more than 1,000 National Historic Register sites and over 8,000 acres of protected public open space must not be left to the unfettered ambitions of a development agency like Massport.

As we move forward into the new year, we will be working on federal legislation to limit the number and type of operations at Hanscom, and we will be researching ways to increase local control of the airport. And with the continuing help of our elected officials and thousands of concerned citizens, we will succeed.

Marty Pepper Aisenberg
Projects Director
Save Our Heritage

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