The city of Vancouver and the National Park Service have signed a 40-year lease pact for the western half of the runway at Pearson Field Airport. The park service has owned the 72 acres where the runway is located since 1971.
Pearson Field, part of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, is one of the oldest operating airfields in the U.S., with its first flight on Sept. 19, 1905.
The unusually long 40-year lease allows Pearson to continue to operate as a general aviation municipal airport, the city said, and makes it eligible for capital and planning funds through the Federal Aviation Administration.
Pearson Field is operated by the city as a self-supporting enterprise fund. Funding for the lease payment will be generated through the airport operations.
