History
The airport was created in the 1930s as the best place to put an airport in Teton County. The airport was declared a national monument in 1943, and merged with Grand Teton National Park in 1950. In 1959, the runway was extended to its current length to better accommodate larger planes, especially the DC-3. In the 1960s and 1970s, the possibility of extending the runway to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) to accommodate jet aircraft was considered. Strong opposition from the National Park Service over noise and other environmental effects prevented such an extension. However, development of better jet engines in the late 1970s made it possible to land jets on the existing runway. Being inside a national park and the Jackson Hole area, the region is very noise sensitive and the airport currently allows only stage III jet aircraft which have newer, quieter engines. The airport is a popular mating ground to the rare Sage Grouse.
Read more about this topic: Jackson Hole Airport
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