Cape Lookout National Seashore, Airstrip Closure

The National Park Service (NPS) is publishing this final rule to close the Portsmouth Village Airstrip at Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina, to the operation of aircraft. The special regulation is necessary for the operation of the airstrip. Removal of the special regulation will effectively close the airstrip as a violation of 36 CFR 2.17. This action is necessary to prevent aircraft accidents and eliminate a use that is incompatible with preserving the historic scene in Portsmouth Village, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This rule will protect the flying public by closing an airstrip that does not comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and North Carolina Department of Transportation safety standards. Closure of the airstrip will also eliminate the potential for an aircraft accident that could destroy one or more irreplaceable historic structures, eliminate the anachronistic intrusion of aircraft in a historic village and provide for the safety of park visitors who cross the airstrip runway as they walk from Portsmouth Village to the beach.