Editor:
On Feb. 22 Alpine Helicopters held an Open House to which residents of Canmore were invited (by way of an unnecessarily heavy, plastic door flyer). This was as a thank you for our support.
I know there are many residents in the Eastern area of Canmore who have not supported their operation mainly due to the noise generated by the almost continuous sightseeing flights during the summer months. Certainly, we did not expect the significant reduction of the quality of life this has caused when we built our house 25 years ago.
As, or more important than the noise pollution is the climate affecting factor. On October 2, 2019, the Town of Canmore proclaimed in a letter to the Provincial Premier a “state of emergency--- supporting action to reverse the impact of human contributions to global warming."
I hope this declaration of intention will be taken into account when the lease renewal for Alpine Helicopters will be addressed in November 2021.
According to the Bow Valley Helicopter Noise Alliance, the organization estimates there are over 8,500 takeoffs and landings of sightseeing flights annually, a 74 per cent increase in the past decade. This must make a significant contribution to the carbon footprint in the Bow Valley.
Does Alpine have a carbon footprint reduction program to address this; for instance by reducing the number of flights and using more efficient (and quieter) machines?
Faith Harckham
Canmore
