The latest closing, of National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, was announced today.

Mike Worley of BLM’s Arctic field office said NPR-A tundra travel would close at 12:01 a.m. May 1.

“Ice roads and snow-packed trails have become soft and impassable, requiring an end to their use. All stream crossings have been breached,” he said in an e-mail this morning.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Mining, Land and Water closed off-road travel in the upper and lower foothills areas as of noon April 26 and said that off-road travel in progress within the upper and lower foothills must be completed within 72 hours — by noon April 29.

DNR closed state-owned North Slope coastal lands for off-road winter travel effective noon April 28; the 72-hour completion window for off-road now in progress in eastern and western coastal areas is noon May 1.

See full story in May 3 issue available online at noon, Friday May 1 at www.PetroleumNews.com