State opens upper foothills to tundra travel

The upper foothills area of state North Slope lands is now open for winter off-road tundra travel.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Mining, Land and Water said that in field sampling Jan. 17 it documented that the upper foothills has met the criteria for opening — nine inches of snow and minus 5 degrees C or colder soil temperature at a depth of 30 centimeters.

Effective 13:00 hours, Jan. 18, the tundra was open to all vehicles in the upper foothills area for the 2006-07 winter season, the division said.

All tundra opening areas on state lands are now open.

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

Snow is thin in some areas, the division said, and those areas should be avoided or special construction methods used to protect the tundra surface. The ground may also be relatively soft in areas with heavily drifted snow.

The division said attention should be given to its stipulation regarding winter off-road vehicle travel and said state personnel will conduct site inspections periodically to ensure compliance.

—Petroleum News