State shuts down CSP airport

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks (GFP) Commission has voted to let the Federal Aviation Administration license lapse for the Custer State Park airport, meaning the airport’s days were over effective Dec. 31 of last year.
Nick Harrington, communications manager for  GFP, said immediate costs to repair or update the airport would have been $250,000, and would have needed to be completed within the next 18 months. Longer term, within the next seven to 10 years, the runway would have needed a complete rebuild, which is estimated to cost $2 to $3 million.
Harrington added the airport was no longer used by state planes, nor did South Dakota Wildland Fire utilize the airport for fire suppression activities. In addition, public use of the airport was minimal, with an estimated average of 50-75 recreational pilots utilizing the Custer State Park airport for personal reasons on an annual basis.
The GFP commission sought input on the airport before casting the vote to let the license lapse at its Oct. 5, 2023 meeting. Commission vice chairman Travis Bies, a former Custer County Commissioner from Fairburn, said there was very little comment on the issue, with a handful of comments asking GFP to keep the park.
“There was not a lot of strong opposition to closing it,” Bies said. “It’s kind of an icon for the park. Everybody knows the airport. The locals do, anyway. If it weren’t for the type of maintenance problems, I’d say let’s keep it. The money doesn’t make sense to keep it open.”
Harrington said the state has removed the storage hangar off the site, and is working to remove other structures, shut the lights off and post a notice the airport is closed.
In the coming months, he said, the state will solicit a bid to remove the asphalt runway, and that cost and process will dictate future plans regarding that structure.
“The goal is to have these structures removed to allow for reseeding of native grasses in June, leaving the fence in place to allow the grass to establish, and then opening the area up after that,” Harrington said.