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33 Based on the review, including the interviews of airport managers, helicopter and fixed-wing operators (pilots), and U.S. Forest Service officials, the state of the wildland fire- fighting industry appears solid. This document was prepared with the idea that there are airport operators who have yet to experience the seemingly overnight transformation of their airports into a firebase supporting significant aerial fire- fighting efforts. That uninitiated airport operator, after read- ing this study, will have a reasonable idea what to expect, which agencies are involved, what issues he or she will face, where to get help, and how to deal with most of the chal- lenges. If there are matters not covered in this study, help from a neighboring airport operator is only one telephone call away. Airport operators and the firefighting agencies (U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management primarily) will have to continue to work closely as they both face signifi- cant financial stresses in the future. Clearly, from the inter- views, goodwill and understanding of each otherâs needs already exist. Both airports and agencies appear willing to work out win-win solutions to benefit the communities they serve. One important issue remains: how to get this document into the hands of those airport operators who are not familiar with how to support an aerial wildland firefighting effort. The airport operators who can use the information in this study are the small community general aviation airports with part-time managers or managers who also are responsible for other city operations. Several airport operators suggested that ACRP take the initiative to notify as many aviation organizations as pos- sible that the publication is available online; however, a sig- nificant number of airport operators (particularly the smaller operators) do not know about the work of ACRP. Various industry representatives were also mentioned as possible ave- nues for âpushingâ this research to users, including the Air- portâs Council International (ACI), the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), and the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO). The synthesis uncovered that airports with existing opera- tions and experience with the various firefighting agencies have a significant amount of information that they are willing to share with other airport operators. It appears that one of the strongest, if not the strongest, sources of information is the network of airport operators, if only that resource can be fully utilized. chapter eight ConClusions
