As billionaires, executives and political insiders arrived for the annual Bohemian Grove gathering, many Sonoma County neighbors noticed something they have been asking for since last year: a break from the constant roar of planes overhead.
During the exclusive retreat, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily moved away from a disputed flight route, directing many outbound aircraft onto an older and less noisy path as private jets crowded the regional airport. Once the secretive event ended, the agency returned to the previous routing.
That brief change has fueled new anger across the community, with residents arguing the FAA effectively showed it had the ability to ease aircraft noise over local neighborhoods all along.
On Wednesday, Rep. Jared Huffman said the FAA appeared to be extending special treatment to the wealthy visitors of Bohemian Grove after repeatedly declining comparable relief for people who live in the area year-round.
“When the Bohemians come to town, they get the response that I’ve spent the better part of two years demanding with my West County constituents,” Huffman told KQED. “But when the private jets go away, we’re not sure what happens. I want to make sure … that the folks I represent get the same consideration as the billionaires and oligarchs who are having a good time in Bohemian Grove.”
The controversy comes at a notable moment, as a purported 2023 membership roster from the famously private Bohemian Club has recently come to light.
Founded in the 19th century, the all-male Bohemian Club has held its summer retreat at a secluded 2,700-acre Sonoma County campground since the 1870s, drawing powerful names from politics, Silicon Valley, finance and corporate America.
But for residents living near the flight paths, the high-profile annual event has come to represent a familiar and frustrating form of privilege.
The FAA rolled out its “Redhead” departure route in January 2024, sending aircraft over communities including Sebastopol, Forestville and Guerneville at lower altitudes. Residents say aircraft noise complaints have quadrupled since the change.
But during July’s Bohemian Grove encampment, locals noticed something unusual.
Of the roughly 24 daily departures from Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, most were suddenly using the older “Charlie Eight” route instead of Redhead.
Only about three flights a day continued on the newer path.
The FAA said it temporarily adjusted departure procedures “for safety reasons due to the increased air traffic from the nearby Bohemian Grove event” before returning to normal operations once the additional traffic cleared.
That explanation did little to calm angry residents.
“If this relief can be given to the powerful elite for a holiday retreat at a moment’s notice for 27 days, then it can be given to us who live under that flight path every day,” resident Andrea Oreck told KQED.
Huffman said the temporary switch also undermined the FAA’s repeated insistence that Charlie Eight was no longer a workable option.
“They’re doing Charlie Eight right now. So, that’s a problem,” he told KQED, calling the situation “corruption.”
In a letter Wednesday to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, Huffman urged the agency to immediately restore the pre-2024 departure procedures at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport while working with county officials and residents on a permanent fix.
Airport officials have previously said the FAA implemented the 2024 changes without the county’s input. The county has since proposed a revised route, known as “Redhead Two,” but residents argue it won’t meaningfully reduce the noise.
Airport administrator Jon Stout has said Redhead Two is “not the end solution,” noting that creating an entirely new departure route could take years.
