What's that noise?

BAYVIEW - A group of Bayview residents is hoping to ground helicopter tours taking off from their lakeside berg, saying the chopper makes it sound like a "war zone" and could scare away mountain goats.

The promoter of the helicopter tours, which debuted last weekend, said those opposing the flights represent a very vocal minority of residents and the tours could draw visitors to the tourist destination.

In one day, the helicopter rides drew more than 50 people to town, said Phil Stephan, who is promoting the tours and other summer events for businessman Chan Karupiah - owner of five Bayview marinas. Before the day was out, Stephan said, a handful of local residents were trying to shut down the operation.

One, Stephan said, told the pilot he was on private property and that the Federal Aviation Administration had called and was en route to Bayview.

A spokesman for the FAA told The Press that no complaints had been received as of Thursday and the helicopter company - Spokane-based Inland Helicopters - has proper credentials and licensing and had permission to use a private parking lot as a landing pad.

"The FAA spoke with several individuals in Bayview who said they saw the helicopter and did not witness it doing anything unsafe," said Allen Kenitzer, an FAA spokesman. Kenitzer said the FAA only made contact with Inland Helicopters following an inquiry by The Press.

Some Bayview residents have expressed concerns in forums like the "I Love Bayview Idaho" group on Facebook that the parking lot landing pad - smack-dab in the middle of town - could pose a threat to public safety.

The parking lot is situated off Bayview's Main Street between a bar, the no-longer-in-business Bayview Mercantile, a closed restaurant and a small RV Park.

"If they were to lose control of that thing just a little bit, they could certainly do some damage," said Tom Lloyd, who lives on nearby Cape Horn Mountain. Lloyd said he was unaware of the tours until he heard the noise on Saturday and then saw the chopper.

"It's pretty loud," he said. "One of the most frightening things, is there's a lot of research that says helicopters near the goats will scare them out of there."

Stephan, however, said the aircraft is no louder than some of the boats plying the waters of Lake Pend Oreille.

He said there were nine flights Saturday, and "even if the noise was an issue, there was less than 15 minutes of irritation" throughout the course of the day.

Lloyd and others say a 2003 study on wildlife and aircraft operation, conducted for British Columbia's Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, supports their concern for the mountain goats. The author recommended a 2,000-meter buffer between "intensive helicopter activity" and mountain goat habitat.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game website says "helicopters generate the disturbance of the greatest concern" to mountain goat habitat.

Bayview resident Sheryl Puckett said the helicopter tour went over Echo Bay, an area of the lake popular with sightseers watching mountain goats.

"They don't call it Echo Bay for nothing," Puckett said. "Sound reverberates and amplifies in this area."

She said the helicopter tours will disrupt "the peace and solitude of everyone."

"A lot of people were upset to the point where there could have been a monster rally in the parking lot to keep them from landing," Lloyd said. "It wouldn't take us long to rally 200, 300 people."

Stephan said the parking lot is just a temporary landing pad. Plans call for building a heliport on other property owned by Karupiah if the flights prove popular.

The helicopter tours are meant as "fill in" for summer weekends when no other events are planned, Stephan said. He's also promoting RV, boat and car shows for the summer months. The marinas will also offer recreational rentals for summer visitors.

"We are not going to let a handful of people decide what we do," he said. "We have five businesses here that struggle and struggle to make it. They bank on, say, 12 weekends in the summer. If it rains, they're lucky if they get eight good weekends through the summer to help them make it the rest of the year."

Stephan said Bayview's economy continues to decline. There are thousands of visitors to nearby Farragut State Park, he said, and many don't even realize Bayview is just down the hill.

"We're trying to create some activities in town so people come here and everybody prospers," he said. "If the only thing you can do is walk around and sit at a bar, you're probably not going to want to come here."