Hat Creek Rim ­ The Method in the Madness

To Whom it May Concern:                                                                                                                                      Updated 11/6/11

The Hat Creek Committee was put in an awkward position last year at Hat Creek Rim – we had to insure the site as a condition of the Use Permit.  It's awkward because securing site insurance from the USHPA is contingent upon a requirement that we found out that we technically can't meet.  That of course is being able to enforce the two things that USHPA requires of us in order to insure a flying site; making sure everyone who flies there is a USHPA member and that they are wearing a helmet.  

If you've read the information below you'll see the message from the USHPA President, Rich Hass.  He wants us to make a good faith effort to ensure that the requirements for insurance are met at the site or, if voluntary compliance fails, to work with the Forest Service to find a way to make it mandatory.

The Forest Service is also clear; anyone can fly the site, USHPA member or not, qualified or not. They have however, provided a letter below supporting our volunteer efforts at the site.  They understand that only USHPA members are covered by the liability insurance.  They know it's in the Forest Service's best interest that only USHPA pilots fly there.  

So, that leaves the Hat Creek Committee to pull a rabbit out of our hat.  The dilemma is how to keep the USHPA happy, thereby keeping the site insured, and thus the Forest Service protected by the liability insurance they required at the site.  

We opted to do a voluntary site protocol.  It has the look and feel of requirements you would likely find at a customary flying site insured by the USHPA, but it is all voluntary.  

To date, more than 45 stickers have been sent to pilots, most have followed site protocol and sent in an application. That's great considering this is the first year implementing these changes at the site.  Not everyone has sent a donation with their application, and that's OK too.  One pilot sent a donation via PayPal and included his USHPA number – that works too.

The bottom line is, we now have a growing file of applications to show both the USHPA and the Forest Service that their requirements at the site are being met.

We are relying on the flying community to make the voluntary site protocol work – so far we're encouraged by the response.  

Those on the committee are aware that not everyone will support this effort at the site.  For the many who have opted to follow the suggested site protocol, THANK YOU.  For those who feel it's unnecessary, please reconsider - it takes only a few minutes to register and shows the flying community's willingness to cooperate with the USHPA and the Forest Service.

So there you have it – the logic behind what we are doing at Hat Creek Rim.  If you have a different idea or a suggestion to improve the volunteer system in place at Hat Creek, feel free to share it.  Please keep comments constructive and on-topic.

 The Hat Creek Committee

Below is the documentation that lead to our decision to promote the suggested site protocol at Hat Creek Rim.

Here's what the USHPA President Rich Hass communicated to us in an email:

"I understand the awkward position your chapter is in, being required to have site insurance by the FS but not having any authority to enforce the conditions your chapter has agreed to enforce as a condition of securing site insurance. As a precondition to granting site insurance, USHPA's insurance carrier REQUIRES chapters to enforce two rules: USHPA membership and helmets. USHPA understands the Forest Service cannot and will not grant your chapter police powers. This shouldn't stop your chapter from posting the USHPA membership and helmet rules as REQUIREMENTS. So long as your chapter is making a good faith effort to enforce these requirements through education and peer pressure, you shouldn't run afoul of USHPA or our insurance carrier. 
If peer pressure and education aren't working, your chapter should consider asking the FS for support. The FS needs to understand that your chapter's ability to secure site insurance is dependent on requiring all pilots to be USHPA members and wear helmets. The FS can help by writing to offending pilots, when asked by your chapter, advising them of these two requirements. By doing so, the FS can help your chapter and USHPA keep the USHPA insurance program operable. It is in the FS's interest to do so, as the USHPA insurance coverage only applies to USHPA members."

 

Here's the recent Forest Service letter supporting our efforts at the site.  BTW, this letter also shows how important the Use Permit is to the future of the site:

File Code: 2700

Date:  December 21, 2010

Mike Hunter
c/o Phil Sergent
Shasta Sky Sailors
1203 Sisley Road
Penryn, CA  95663

Dear Mr. Hunter:

Thank you for your prolonged commitment to the Hat Creek Rim as a hang gliding and paragliding site.  We are grateful for your willingness to renew your special use permit with the Forest Service and maintain improvements on the site. 

This special use permit allows for the maintenance of improvements (i.e., launch/set-up area clearing, sanitation facilities, and windsocks) at the flying site by the Shasta Sky Sailors; for which we are appreciative.  Given our economic climate, we must occasionally rely on community partnerships in the provision of recreation services.  Without the authorization of this special use permit, flying at the Hat Creek Rim may not continue due to the undeveloped nature of the site.  Improvements made by the Shasta Sky Sailors would not be maintained (e.g., ground improvements, sanitation facilities, and windsocks).  In addition, vegetation could be expected to return and reclaim the launch and set-up areas.  However, because of the efforts of the Shasta Sky Sailors to maintain site improvements and special use permit with the Forest Service, these concerns are negated.

Moreover, I am grateful for your diligence in implementing best practices at the site and in site maintenance implementation such as obtaining the required site insurance for member pilots and implementing flying rules and regulations including elective membership into United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association as well as a membership sticker program. 

Thank you again for you diligence to ensure an important recreation activity of the Hat Creek Ranger District continues in the future.

 Sincerely,

 ODELL E. TUCKER
Acting District Ranger

Clearly there are responsibilities and obligations at this site, not only for the permit holders but for the flying community too.  Hopefully if you read the above information carefully you will understand why we are asking for the flying community's cooperation.  Hat Creek Rim may be officially an "unregulated" site but the Forest Service is clear about what they require (a Use Permit and site insurance) and the USHPA is clear about what they expect.

We know of very few, if any, unregulated sites that offer the facilities, improvements and conveniences found at Hat Creek Rim.

Is a piece of paper and ten bucks really too much to ask to support a site as awesome as Hat Creek Rim?

Site protocol info here