Eastern slope opens for tundra travel

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The eastern coastal area of the North Slope opened for tundra travel at 8 a.m. Dec. 22.

This is the second of the four North Slope areas to open; the western coastal area opened Dec. 17. The upper and lower Foothills areas remain closed.

The Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land and Water said soil temperatures and snow cover within the eastern coastal area have now met the criteria for opening, which is six inches of snow and a soil temperature colder than minus 5 degrees C at a depth of 30 centimeters.

The opening applies only to operators who have valid off-road vehicle travel permits to operate on state-owned lands on the North Slope.

The division said that while overall snow cover is good, it may be thin in some areas and those areas should be avoided or special construction methods should be used to protect the tundra surface.

The division’s stipulation for winter off-road vehicle travel requires adequate frost and snow cover.

—Petroleum News