AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2015 - 32

SAVING AIRPORTS

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Friendly neighborhood airport
Marshfield overcomes challenges
BY JIM MOORE

A DOZEN YEARS ago, Marshfield Municipal Airport-George
Harlow Field had a problem. The 3,000-foot runway was not up
to modern safety standards, and had begun to decay. The airport,
tucked amid marshland along the Massachusetts coastline south
of Boston, needed an overhaul to secure its future. It would prove
to be no easy job.
First of all, there were applications to be prepared for state
and federal grants that ultimately covered most of a budget that
would exceed $15 million.
As much as money, they needed patience.
The local FBO, Shoreline Aviation, took the lead on coordinating the logistics and navigating the bureaucratic processes.
Shoreline Aviation President Keith Douglass managed a smile
as he described two dozen turtles being fitted with GPS tracking
devices so biologists could monitor their comings and goings, and
confirm that the runway (with enough new pavement to extend
the paved length to 3,900 feet, including overruns) and taxiways
would not interfere with the turtles.
"We have a lot of turtle replication areas out here," Douglass
said, smiling, his sense of humor still, apparently, intact.
Then there was the farmhouse foundation dating to the
Pilgrim era, about which archaeologists were quite enthusiastic,
as Shoreline Aviation Vice President Ann Pollard recalls. The only
surprise was that the artifacts were connected to European settlers rather than Native American tribes from the area.
Douglass, who paid a portion of the cost of renovating the
FBO's home, said it was worth the effort.
"It's state-of-the-art. It's a brand-new airport from the ramp
out," Douglass said. "It's not that often that you see an entire,
brand-new airport. We have that, now."
Pollard said the staff learned a great deal about how to

32 | AOPA PILOT June 2015

navigate the complexities of
Marshfield Municipal
a major renovation and runAirport-George Harlow
way reconstruction project
Field (GHG)
in the middle of a marshy
93 Old Colony Lane
wetland dotted by protected
Marshfield, Massachusetts
781-834-4928
turtles and 400-year-old artiElevation: 11 feet
facts. One important aspect of
Runway: 6/24; 3,900 feet
the overall strategy remains
by 100 feet
in place-forging and maintaining strong ties to the
community.
That strategy goes beyond explaining, patiently, to neighbors that no Boeing 737s would be on the way. It extends to what
has become an annual "Safety Day" event that draws dozens of
public service and emergency management agencies to the airport to display vehicles and meet with visitors, who arrive by
the dozen. Even on a regular day, the staff will offer a tour of
the newly renovated terminal building (which retains a classic
New England look, and contains vestiges of an old barn within
it). There is a viewing area overlooking the ramp, chairs circled
around a bronze plaque set in stone that commemorates Charles
Lindbergh's famous flight-and the fact that Marshfield was the
last bit of American land he saw on his crossing.
Pollard said the value of community goodwill cannot be overstated. That, along with a few tips on grant applications, wetlands
construction permits, turtle behavior, and archaeological excavations are among lessons learned that Shoreline Aviation's staff
would be happy to share with other airports facing their own
challenges.
EMAIL james.moore@aopa.org

AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2015

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