Change in thinking: Airport expansion to come on north end

Libby Airport officials know times are tough and funding for development is tight, however, they know they must look toward the future.

So, despite cinched purse strings, the Airport Board is making plans for expansion, which includes adding an additional 1,000 feet to the 5,000-foot runway located out on Farm to Market Road.

“You have to look toward the future,” said Airport Board Chairman Ron Denowh. “It may not happen in my lifetime, but you never know. We have to be ready.”

Recently, when Lincoln County Commissioners agreed to look at runway expansion, Denowh said the thinking reflects a change in philosophy.

“We used to look toward the south, but there are homes and development there. We’re now looking at expansion toward the north.”

Denowh said he has a commitment from the U.S. Forest Service to allow the expansion to the opposite end of the airstrip.

“If we can complete the studies and get everything in place, the Forest Service said they would give us the land in 2015.”

During that commissioner’s meeting, Tim Orthmeyer, an airport engineer for Morrison Maierle, Inc., said an expansion could make the airfield accessible to USFS water-tanker aircraft, which could open avenues for further funding.