Machmell Airport

The closure was due to economic reasons, specifically the cessation of the large-scale logging operations it was built to support. The airstrip was a private, industrial aerodrome serving remote logging camps in the Machmell River valley. As the timber supply was exhausted, logging methods changed, and companies consolidated or shut down these remote operations, the airstrip lost its sole purpose and was abandoned.

The site is completely abandoned and is slowly being reclaimed by nature. The gravel runway is still visible on satellite imagery but is overgrown with grasses, shrubs, and young trees, making it unusable for aircraft. The area is now part of the Great Bear Rainforest and falls within the boundaries of the Machmell-Sheemahant Conservancy, a protected area established to preserve biological diversity and First Nations cultural values. The site is now wilderness, used by wildlife and occasionally visited by backcountry explorers or researchers arriving by boat via Owikeno Lake.

Machmell Airport was a vital piece of infrastructure for the remote logging industry in the Central Coast region. Its significance was purely logistical and industrial, not public. When active, it handled:
- **Crew Transport:** Flying workers in and out of the remote camps for shift changes, using rugged bush planes like the de Havilland Beaver and Otter, or Cessnas.
- **Supply and Equipment:** Transporting essential supplies, mail, and smaller pieces of equipment that were difficult or slow to bring in by boat or barge.
- **Emergency Services:** Acting as a critical point for medical evacuations (medevacs) in case of injury, which was common in the dangerous logging profession.
In essence, it was a lifeline that connected an isolated industrial community to the outside world, enabling the logging operations in the otherwise inaccessible Machmell Valley.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Machmell Airport. The likelihood of it ever being reactivated is extremely low to nonexistent for several reasons:
1. **No Economic Driver:** The original industrial purpose for the airport no longer exists.
2. **Protected Status:** Its location within the Machmell-Sheemahant Conservancy and the Great Bear Rainforest makes new development or industrial reactivation highly improbable and subject to stringent environmental regulations.
3. **High Cost:** The cost to clear the overgrown runway, restore it to a safe condition, and maintain it would be substantial, with no economic return.
4. **Lack of Population:** There is no permanent population in the immediate vicinity to serve.