Sen. Ron Wyden has made another attempt to stop helicopter tours over Crater Lake.

The Oregon Democrat has included language in a bill for the Federal Aviation Administration that would enable park officials to ban helicopter tours.

We’re not saying Crater Lake deserves no protection. It was formed more than 7,000 years ago when Mt. Mazama grew, blew, fell and filled. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet, one of the clearest lakes and Oregon’s only national park.

Helicopter tours already provide breathtaking views of many beautiful and unique places — the Grand Canyon, Mount St. Helens and more. The plan for tours of Crater Lake was proposed a few years ago by Bend’s Leading Edge aviation. We couldn’t reach an official at Leading Edge on Thursday to give us an update. The original plan was for as many as 300 flights between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, depending on the weather and customers. The flights would not buzz the lake in strafing runs for photographs. They would not fly over the lake. They would stay high, at least 1,000 feet above the northeast rim.

Would that make people look up? Maybe.

Would it shatter the pristine calm and quiet of the park? We don’t see how.

An average of 482,249 people visited Crater Lake National Park each year over the last 10 years. Even the large parking lots fill up. People can stay in the adjacent lodge and find places to eat. They can drive around the rim. They can take a trolley tour. They can swim in the lake. They can fish in the lake. They can take boat tours. Somehow, a helicopter is going to ruin it?

Crater Lake is a magnificent piece of Oregon and it’s sturdy enough not to collapse under the weight of helicopter tours.