The Catalina Island Conservancy, one of California’s oldest and largest land trusts, announced an innovative partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps to bring troops to Catalina to repair the aging main runway at the Island’s only airport and allow for strategic training of Marines.
“The Conservancy Team and our great military partners have been working really hard behind the scenes to make this project a reality,” Kellie Johnson, chair, Conservancy Board of Directors, and CEO of Ace Clearwater, a local aerospace manufacturing company. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we are really excited to better serve the communities of Catalina and to attract aviation enthusiasts from around the country.”
The $5 million runway repair project at the Airport in the Sky will be funded by donations to the Conservancy, a nonprofit organization. The project will provide the Conservancy with much-needed repairs for the airport it owns and operates for the public while also offering a unique training opportunity to prepare troops for deploying to islands and other remote destinations to build or repair airfields and other infrastructure.
The Conservancy has entered into this public/private partnership with I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, California as part of the Department of Defense’s Innovate Readiness Training Program, which pairs community needs with military training opportunities.
“The Airport in the Sky is an historic and critical asset, providing access to Catalina Island for first responders, travelers and more than 2 million tons of freight each year. Although privately owned by the nonprofit Catalina Island Conservancy, the Airport in the Sky is operated as a public airport serving the Island’s 4,000 residents, businesses and approximately 1 million annual visitors,” said Tony Budrovich, Catalina Island Conservancy president and CEO. “After approximately two years of working together, we have entered into this win-win partnership between the Conservancy and the Marines to repair the runway, which is aged and beyond its useful life. With this runway repair project, I would project more than 75 years of runway operations in our future.”
More than 16,000 passengers arriving on the Conservancy’s Wildland’s Express visit the airport annually, along with the more than 50,000 tourists annually via other Island tour operators.
