Should this idea fly? Or at least go to the airport?

Image by Bill Liao via Flickr

Thinking about countries like Holland (and Japan) today, and how they make maximal use of every square inch of land, which they have fought to reclaim from the North Sea for so many centuries. One image that always stays in my mind is the picture of Dutch airports and highways, which seem to be commonly used for agriculture.

Then I thought about the huge footprint of the Salem (McNary) Airport, much of which is essentially idle land right now.

Is there anyone interested in making a run at the airport folks about establishing community gardens and maybe even some small animal husbandry at the airport? It seems like (pending soil testing to ensure pollutants are not an issue) that it would be a great location -- close enough central location so that plenty of people could bike/walk/bus or drive to it, plenty of room for garden sheds/tool storage, lots of sun, etc. No problems with noise, obviously; few close-by neighbors; and a nice way to make productive use of currently not-too-well-used land.

With land being the critical issue for would-be farmers and small growers, what about making better use of land we already have?