Lake Hood grapples with growing pains.

• Author: Richardson, Jeffrey
• Position: Lake Hood, Alaska

It's an old Anchorage landmark that figures in a million memories of locals and visitors alike: early morning departures to favorite king salmon streams. Springtime clam digging expeditions across the inlet. Fondly remembered trips to hunt moose and duck, and berrypicking expeditions to remote and secret spots. Flying home in sunset golds, reds and lavenders.

Lake Hood, largest and busiest seaplane base in the world, is plain, unobtrusive and dependable as an old uncle. It's never the traveler's focal point, just a humble stepping stone to adventure for many and to prosperity for a few.

Breaking the Boundaries

Like the uncle, Lake Hood is often taken for granted. It's easy, especially for non-aviators, to miss the seaplane base in the rest of the airport bustle. But before there was much of anything else in the area, there were pontoons bobbing in the shallow, marshy water. Even before 1940, lakes Hood and Spenard had been joined by a channel with a gravel strip to the south. The float plane base was enlarged during the 1950s; a control tower was added in 1954.

"All we had out there were Super Cubs and Cessna 180s. There were practically no sightseers in those days," says Hank Rust. Rust's Flying Service has parked at Lake Hood since 1963, when the aviator finished a tour of military duty.

More recently, it's been the best of times and the worst of times at the lake: Growing demand for the services of the base reflects a positive economic environment, but the facility is busting its seams, with more than 300 float planes based at Lake Hood during the summer. Commercial float plane operators have expanded their operations in response to tourist demand for fishing trips and flightseeing, which has surged in the last five years. Waiting lists for slips are long and commonplace. Small companies hauling passengers and freight to the Bush add to a growing concern about congestion and related problems.

"It gradually grew over the years, but the big influx didn't occur until the late '80s," says Rust. "There's been a lot of clamoring for more space."

Crowded Travel Routes

Long famous as the world's largest float plane haven, Lake Hood has now gained mild notoriety for defying efforts to prepare it for the next century of aviation. Planners persist in conducting studies and workshops, but seem no closer to finding the magic mix of political consensus, dollars and raw acreage needed to meet growing aviation needs. Commercial and private operators...