Nope...not preservation....just a handful of folks do not like a tour operation in their town.
Don't you love the definition....5% of land....within a county. They really had to scrape that one up.
North Carolina also limits the number of EMS operators by requiring a minimum seperation of the operations.....eliminates competition but also increases response times when the local aircraft is out on a flight and then neighboring unit has to respond.
Just another case of government and politics getting in the way of good businesss.
The net result of this will be the Cherokee operation will close and all tour flights will be based out of Gatlinburg....which is in the state of Tennessee. Sadly, it will mean a decrease in the business of that tour operator....and the loss of that resource in time of emergencies.
If I got the boot like it looks like will happen...I would let everyone know that any assistance to local interests like SAR, fire fighting, aerial support for law enforcement was over....and refer them to the State Police and Forestry departments which maintain helicopters when they are not crashing them.