Norbury Lakes Airport

The primary reason for the airport's closure was a change in land use. The airstrip is located entirely within the boundaries of Norbury Lake Provincial Park, which was established in 1959. As park management priorities shifted towards conservation and recreation, maintaining an active airstrip became incompatible with the park's mandate. The closure was not due to a specific event like an accident or economic failure, but rather a gradual decommissioning as the land was formally managed as a protected park area.

The site is an unmaintained former runway. Satellite imagery clearly shows the linear clearing of the north-south oriented turf runway, but it is overgrown with grass, weeds, and small shrubs. It is located within Norbury Lake Provincial Park and is not marked or maintained for any type of aviation use. The official policy of BC Parks is to allow the area to undergo 'natural vegetation succession,' meaning it is being intentionally left to return to a natural forest/grassland state.

Norbury Lakes Airport was a small, unregistered general aviation airstrip. It was never a commercial airport with scheduled services. Its primary role was to provide air access for private landowners, local ranchers, or recreational pilots flying light aircraft such as Cessnas and Pipers. It served as a utility strip for accessing the scenic but relatively remote East Kootenay region for activities like fishing, hunting, or visiting private lodges before its use was discontinued. Its significance was purely local.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening the airport. Its location within a protected provincial park and the official management plan to let the area return to nature make any future aviation use extremely unlikely. Reopening would require a fundamental change in park policy and provincial land use designation, for which there is no known initiative or support.